For Orchestra #28: AC/DC ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’
“She had the sightless eyes / Telling me no lies”
This is one of my favorite songs for a number of reasons – the lyrics, the simplicity, and the adversity the band went up against. The simplicity of AC/DC’s music proves their gift for songwriting. I wanted to arrange this piece for months, and so here it is:
Preview!
Buy It!I tried to capture the beauty of the above lyrics in this arrangement. I even wrote a song titled “Those Eyes” 2 years ago.
This song is from AC/DC’s album ‘Back in Black‘ released in 1980. The one thing I always think of when I hear their music is their simple, yet effective riffs. I always remember Kid Rock saying “It’s good to hear a drummer that doesn’t have to play a crash symbol on every eighth measure.” This simplicity keeps the song interesting, and in turn makes for a perfect orchestration.
To begin, I had the flutes play the intro, while the violins slowly entered. The simplicity allows me to use bells, chimes, fill ins, and more – all while the drums laid down the groove.
I wanted the dynamics for the verses to be ‘soft’, while the chorus should be ‘loud’. As a result, the xylophone takes the 2nd verse, which created a great transition just before the Guitar Solo.
For the guitar solo, I wanted the violins to play in their high range right away, rather than build up to it. The problem arised that as the solo continued, the melody also gets higher. Since the violins were already in their high state, I simply had the Trumpets play the last few measures as to create a sense of ‘building up’. This worked out perfect, because in the final chorus I have the violins re-enter after the trumpets play, which created a fresh, and unexpected surprise.
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