For 30-plus years, the elder Young has been wielding his signature 1963 Gretsch Jet Firebird and anchoring the band’s bad-boy boogie with a hard-and-heavy, no-frills mix of open chords and beefed-up Chuck Berry-isms. To many, Young is revered as the quintessential rock rhythm stylist for his simplicity, workman-like consistency, avoidance of excessive flash, and catchy-as-hell riffs.

Ex. 1 recalls the punishing three-chord romps of “Highway to Hell” and “Problem Child” and has three distinct Young-isms—open chord grips voiced on the bottom four strings, syncopated off-beat rhythms, and plenty of space left between chords for the pulsing eighth-note bass and drum undercurrent. Slap on a hefty Young-approved .012-.058 set of strings (including a wound G), fire off this progression through a cranked up Marshall, and you’ll understand the true meaning of the term power chord.

Similar to the slow-burning verse figure of “Hell’s Bells,” Ex. 2 is easily facilitated by nailing the A5 chord with a 1st-finger barre across the 2nd fret, then sliding it up to the fifth and seventh positions for C/G and D/A respectively. Grab the C5 in bar 2 with your 1st and 4th fingers, then slide your 1st finger down a fret into the G/B diad. Simple but brutal!

A backwards re-shuffling of a familiar Chuck Berry rhythm pattern ignites the lowdown groove in Ex.3. Comparable to Young’s riffage in “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be,” this example sounds meanest when played with a palm-mute throughout the first two bars. Keep the A5 power chord at the end short and sweet to leave room for the drum kicks and remember: It may be a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, but getting a grip on Malcom Young’s super-charged rhythm style is an essential first step.