“One note can be a hell of a lot better than 50 notes”: Angus Young shares the key to a perfect guitar solo
Expressive moments of raw rock talent or superfluous moments of self-absorption? Guitar solos divide opinions within music circles. Ever since the dawn of rock and roll, guitarists have been keen to showcase their individual talent through long, sprawling guitar solos which completely change the narrative of a song. If anybody is well-placed enough to uncover the secrets behind the elusive perfect guitar solo, it is AC/DC’s Angus Young, who is partly responsible for the popularisation of the hard rock guitar solo.
Hard rock became the defining sound of the 1970s, thanks to groups like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and AC/DC. The Australian outfit paved the way for countless future rock and metal acts through groundbreaking live performances and an apparently endless repertoire of adrenalin-fueled compositions. During those early years, guitarist Angus Young became an iconic image of rock music on the whole, complete with his school uniform stage getup and awe-inspiringly energetic performance style.
Over the past five decades, Young has become the only continuous member of AC/DC as other members gradually retired, left the band, or succumbed to the consequences of a life spent immersed in rock and roll excess. As such, you could claim that Young’s guitar playing holds the boiled-down essence of AC/DC in general. Certainly, it has been his numerous iconic guitar riffs that have earned the Sydney band a place in the upper echelon of hard rock and metal artists.
One of the things that has really helped to set Young apart from his contemporaries, however, is his ability to generate captivating guitar solos. Giving the guitarist the opportunity to showcase his unparalleled proficiency with a six-string, the vast majority of notable AC/DC tracks are complete with a wailing solo from Young. After all these decades, how does the guitarist find ways to keep his solos fresh and impressive? According to the guitarist himself, the secret lies within the rhythm.
“If you listen to where you would say, ‘Here comes the guitar solo…,’ it’s actually more rhythmic playing,” Young told Guitar World Magazine in 2020, highlighting the key importance of rhythm over sprawling guitar solos. “It’s got a little bit of a guitar bite to it, but it’s more of a rhythmic thing,” he continued. “And it’s only really at the later part of the song, after a little breakdown piece, that the guitar — what you would call lead lines and phrases — picks up more.”
On the whole, though, Young also highlights the importance of simplicity when it comes to guitar solos. “So what I’m trying to say is, it’s really down to the song itself and how you hear it,” the guitarist shared. “Because one note can be a hell of a lot better than 50 notes, you know?” When guitarists get too bogged down in crafting a needlessly complex guitar solo, the riffs themselves often lose their spontaneity and, by extension, their appeal.
After all, much of the guitar solo’s appeal is derived from its spontaneous, almost improvisational quality. Hence why the live performances of AC/DC are afforded such a legendary reputation; the audience never truly knows exactly what is going to happen next. Young himself is a fairly unpredictable character, so it makes sense that his guitar solos are imbued with the same unpredictability along with an obvious rhythmic education and knowledge.
Even with this priceless guitar advice given by Young, it is unlikely that many other guitarists could replicate his unique playing style or quality. Not only is Young one of rock and roll’s definitive axe men, he has also been performing for upwards of 50 years, giving him an almost unparalleled level of experience to add to his guitar playing.
