The Secret to AC/DC's Groove - How I Learned to Play Like Phil Rudd! 

My congratulations for this study of Phil Rudd... Phil Rudd is The Groove Drummer... And not many people knows It ...

This really hit me out of nowhere. Philosophical, artistic and insightful! Didnt think i would stick around for an hour long essay about a drummer, but here i am. Great stuff!

This was so fascinating, enlightening, and insightful. It may have been a study on Phil Rudd, but equally a study and application of all music and life. Outstanding job of presenting principals to flow through music and a fulfilling life. So good!

You've got swing in your hands too, Andi! Awesome feel just like Phil! Everyone in ACDC played like a drummer on their instrument. The band had pocket on every tune and I believe when they were writing most of their material, it started with a nice big easy dance beat. And that formula always worked. I watch the River Plate '09 concert over and over just to hear that incredible groove and Phil Rudd's snare drum thud. Nice video Andi - all good stuff - Thx

After being a ACDC fan for the last few decades I took Phill Rudd for granted...he's a drumming genius.

Great video and insight. One thing that’s been often pointed out is that Phil is “a human metronome” with consistency in timing throughout a whole song, but that is so often debunked and he on purpose will change tempo for different parts of the song. I think the biggest thing is how well he synchronised with Malcolm and Cliff too, drop him in with other band mates and it doesn’t quite work.

I came for the Phil Rudd but was captivated by the life philosophy.

Meditation, ice baths... and Phil Rudd. A unique insight indeed. Very interesting, thanks. I also love Rudd's drumming and I think your tips will help trying to replicate it.

Thanks Andi! Interesting insights and really engaging. Will be taking the time to digest what I've learnt...

I love Phil Rudd's style and I have always wanted to know about him and his way of playing. I have always thought that Phil has a very classic and very strong touch, a very clean and very precise sound. With Chris Slade AC/DC sounds different, I feel that Chris has a more technical style and that he has a more "modern" style but somehow AC/DC sounds better with Rudd, the Ballbreaker tour in 1996 is simply incredible and Phil He's on fire on that tour, Phil, one of my favorite drummers.

Feeling Mal Cliff and Rudd drive the band is something else.. i was lucky to catch a lot of the shows on ballbreaker stiff upper and. Black ice and they were soo dam tight, and it really had a swing you couldnt not tap your foot to, incredible rythm section totally high .level playing most of the audience cant even comprehend ...

10/10 video! You truly got the Phill groove totally right. Really informative and just what i needed to grow as a drummer. Thank you so much!🙏🏼

My attention span is generally short, but I watched this entirely and I believe I gained some true insight. I bought a drum kit to be delivered Sunday. I've never played drums before so I'm ultimately starting from scratch. I've always been interested and I'm finally making the leap. Much appreciated, fingers crossed, and you're right, technique is important, but as in anything we do in life, it's about the passion. Thank you. 👍🥁♥

This is next-level brilliant, absolutely fascinating and shows an incredible understanding of Rudd's unique abilities.

Just stumbled across your channel and mind blown, as a guitar player people like you are freaking genius! Love it! How you don't have a trillion followers is hard to understand, but onwards and upwards!

Absolutely enthralling. Brilliantly constructed and narrated. Passion and focus on display. Well done!

Thank you much for this on Phil Rudd. I have tried to drum like him often because it always sounds good. He is a great fit for ACDC. This was very enjoyable to watch.

Wow! I feel this to my essence, not even being a drummer. Bringing two of my favourites together: Wim Hof and AC/DC. This enlightens me! Everything is energy, and you will be the energy through focus! Much love brother!

Phil does not hold his sticks upside down- they are handle thickness the whole length - I've known him for years, you're observation about his kick is almost there. I was lucky enough to live in his recording studio in Tauranga ,NZ for a few years. The main room was built around his kick drum . Bricks, size, height etc. He came by one day and showed me exactly where to put the kick- every thing else followed. Ive also been lucky enough very recently to stand next to him when he let loose on Shoot to Thrill. Unbelievable. So much power from such a little guy.

Such an amazing This is much more than “just” about Phil 🤜🏼🙏🏼 🔥

Interesting ... learnt this lesson many years ago but great to hear it from an intelligent, articulate musician. Well done!!

Rudd's strikes are magnificent to watch, and Andi,you are getting there too!

I love how ACCURATE you are in what you're saying --> not surprising, based on your drumming! 😁

Excellent analysis and storytelling!

Thank god someone has addressed this so articulately, I want to do something like this myself. Nice one

Fantastic video!! Vielen Dank!!🙏🏻

Thanks for that video! Phill Rudd is absolutely legend!

Really interesting insight!

Brilliantly explained my friend!

Fantastic video!❤

not even a drummer but a big fan of the band and found the video suuuuper interesting! Nice one!

Wow thank you one of the best videos I’ve seen on drumming

Nice to see someone using masterwork cymbals. They're great!

Thank you for the detailed analytic description. For information, there is a youtuber called "Julio Valdez" which is one of the very few which have the Phil Rudd groove. You should check him out. Thanks for posting.

Excellent explanation and presentation. Fully agree with your view that science can only add to an experience. Feynman does too :) Many thanx from a neuroscientific ac/dc fan!

Thank you so much for this 🙏🏼

Greatest pocket of all time any genre

Phil sets the dynamics and timing of each hit and then locks that in throughout the whole song and that ain't easy. Also his job is to add the pulse that allowed two of the greatest rock guitar players in history to add their own rhythm on top of that. Phil was the foundation, Malcolm was the framing and drywall and Angus was the paint and trim package. So its essential that every beat in that foundation be consistent or the entire framework collapses above it.

I was Very Glad to SEE this vídeo, I love Phil's Groove and always Thought that the whole drumming was a tad behind the timmig. One plus is his ability to make the Bass drum sound like a big steel Scoop being hit against a Well padded leather couch. By the way, I love Ohrenfeint. Cheers from Curitiba, southern Brasil.

I found this very interesting! Especially on Phil's hi-hat technique. I had also thought he was delaying the one on his bass drum, but now I see he is actually slightly ahead on 1.

Great observation I total agree in one word his playing is Solid all the way !

Great video. I'm not a drummer, but I make drums with Logic Pro for my songs. This helped me understand Phil Rudd's magic. Thanks a lot.

Great analyse, thanks !

Great life's work Andi! Rudd, simply is smooth like Jeff Porcaro and his mastery is what takes AC/DC to untouchable. His timing is impeccable and Chris Slade and he are the best two drummers that ever played in the same band but Rudd is the hard rock g.o.a.t. of the two

Fantastic analysis.

Because its tap boom tap boom tap boom boom tap boom...a solid yet so simple groove.!!..keeping a good 4/4....its exactly how i play...not all this loud fast all over the place sloppy like most drummers tryin to impress..good on ya phil🤟🥁

Best break down of Phil's swagger, swing and groove skills I've seen. There's seriously no one like him. I don't care what the nay sayers go on about. I'd have bought a ticket for this tour ONLY if Phil was gonna be on it. Phil's sound is simply, sexy. It swaggers along like Bon Scott picking up chick's down the pub. All feel, lilting rhythm and yet perfectly within the timing. Your tantrum made me cackle. I've been there too.😂

We call that playing in the pocket here in the states! It definitely requires many repetitions of concentration to develop your technique, relaxation and balance. Everything has to align almost like the universe has to align to play a groove. If I have a hard workday, come home and sit down on the drums it ain’t happening. The mind isn’t there. It’s a pretty elusive thing to achieve over and over and when you need it but when it comes, it’s like magic I get it almost every time I sit down now, and I really do notice when the kicks are crisp and clean with my heels up with the same velocity , it’s cool! Keep rocking man doesn’t matter how fancy you get or how progressive you can play if you’re in the pocket there’s nothing else like it. Rock on. 💪🏻🥁

Absolutely outstanding. I need a lessons from a drummer to be a better bass player.

Phil Rudd is one of the best rock drummers ever!👍

Thank you

Dude : there d be a million words i could say with reference to this gem /as an amateur jazz n acdc maniac-drumwise for sure/ but prefer to keep it short: !revelation!

DANKESEHR!

now please analyze Cliff's bass playing. Two minutes on one note... Genius :)

Long story short - play cleanly with conviction

Deep 🤘

one VERY important factor on why phil sounds like, well... phil is because he is fully aware and he fully knows exactly what's going on. in that one short interview clip with him and malcolm, he says how he knows that "technically" he may have some "flaws" and "problems", BUT when he's with AC/DC and he's playing in "the zone" he says that he's got his own "expertise" as he puts it. the more self-aware you are as a musician, the closer you get to finding your own language; your own sound,.

Great video….what do you think the difference is with the AC/DC groove when it’s Chris Slade instead of Phil Rudd?

Wow. I know virtually nothing about Phil Rudd and AC/DC, but have recently taken an interest through drum study. So this was an illuminating first start for me on the subject. Well done and thank you for all the research and thought. Now I have a question. My second watch through I noticed you play open hand on stage, but during your demonstration you were playing crossed over. Do you ordinarily play open and prefer it? I'm strongly cross hand dominant and chose to play OH on a conventional setup, so I lead with the left on the hats, and right on the ride and x-hat. I am always interested in connecting with other OH players to learn. Also that hoodie/pullover you had on that says open handed... I want one!

The thing about Phil Rudd is he's so good that he makes it look easy. And that makes everybody else think that they can play just like him. You learn from a God. you don't impersonate a God.

Is it true Phil Rudd plays kick on 1 2 3 and 4 in the mid paced songs during the Vander and Young era ? 74 to 78 .The snare does not sound stand alone, and the kick does not feel like its missing on 3 and 4 is there a kick behind it?

I think Phil onlyused the the shoulder/tip stick technique on the hi hat on the "Let There Be Rock" album and tour. Accents are always 2 & 4 though.

This is a good explanation to the fact only Phil Rudd sounds like Phil Rudd. Chris and Simon are top notch pro drummers and they played the same songs well but it always sounded a bit "off".

Absolutely briiliant! Where do you meet once per year (which town or city/country)?

Love phil's playing. Tone, feel, power, support. But here's my great contribution to the discussion: Q: What's the definition of a drumming oxymoron? A: Phil Rudd.

Intent and body mechanics! I notice that with Bonham as well, nobody quite has his groove feel, even technically better players can’t seem to capture it properly.

Your point about space and leaving out instruments. There is at least one acdc song, I can’t recall which right now, that Angus doesn’t even have a solo. I assume he just didn’t think it needed one. Edit: I asked Chatgpt and it said Hells Bells has no solo. Finally a good use for that app, lol.

Phil rules!!

Well this certainly had a lot of everything. I think I need to lay down and think about what just happened.

All you need to play like PR is the hats, kick, and snare

Malcolm Young what a guy.

😎👍

Hes got the swing in the hats..

26:06 just for me to come back to dont mind me

Hay posibilidad de traducirlo al castellano?

The most Crocodile Dundee member of the band.

Bingo it's all about his kick

Gotta chime in. Respectfully, you are wrong. I speak as a bass player. Been playing for 40 years. Played professionally for 15 years. What you are hearing in Phil Rudd has nothing to do with emphasis on each note, nor swing, nor feel. It’s time. As a bass player, I’m super attuned to time. It’s subjective, but there are about 6 shades of putting the note behind the beat, and about 3 shades of playing it ahead of the beat. I’m not talking about tempo, I’m talking about playing in relation to the beat. An example of someone who plays directly, perfect on the beat is Frank Beard. He sounds like a drum machine, because that’s what a drum machine does. Phil plays pretty close to the beat. And his tempo is consistent. But that’s not why ACDC are so special. What you are hearing has to do with the combinations of player, ESPECIALLY Malcomb. Both Malcom and Angus play ahead of the beat. Malcomb especially plays ahead of the beat, but it doesnt sound like rushing because he too has good time. What makes it special is Malcomb playing WITH Phil. One is on, one is ahead. It sets up a tension, which we hear as “energy” in the music. RU-vid has isolated tracks of Malcomb from the early 90s. You need to listen to those. Play along with them, just you and Malcomb. I bet you lose the tempo, because of how “up” he plays. It isnt slop, it’s just how he plays. Thinking about how you play in relation to the beat will open up worlds for you. Listen to some zydeco, and notice how up on the beat the guitar usually is. Zydeco is a study in front edge playing. Then check out some P funk. Very behind the beat. Bonham was behind the beat. Tom Morello is a good example of perfect time but ahead of the beat. The bass player has spoken.

The equipment needs to be correct. The drummer needs to anticipate. The absolute key is to listen. Listen to what is happening. I’ve played for 50 years predominantly for my own pleasure and nothing is as satisfying as getting it just right but you never will unless you listen.

No matter how hard we try. We will never be as cool as Phil smoking a cig playing drums. Haha. Good study! Interesting and fun video.

Eckhart Tolle, in the moment

it was also important for him to smoke one cigarette at a time while playing the present note on the drums

Technical drummers will never get this.

I feel like Lars Ulrich needs to watch this video. Cause ever since the late 90s he’s been clearly trying to copy Phils whole setup and style and has done nothing but fail miserably and has made him nothing but worse as of now compared to his old style. The only modern drummer i think i see carry this style of hard hitting fitting drumming with precision in every stroke is Fab from The Strokes

AC/DC's one major fault is that they never evolved their sound throughout the years. The drums sound the same. The Guitars, everything.

You don't get to be the drummer in a world famous band because you suck. He's a solid rock drummer. He isn't as technical as Tony Royster JR. or Terry Bozzio but who is? Phil is a solid player and that's all you need.

Phil is tops just a fact

No!!! Chris Slade! He’s the drummer of AC/DC! Look at the technical ability!

For Those About To Rock was Simon Wright, not Phil Rudd!!! Only bad thing you talked about? Still liked your video!

he is loose and tight at the same time. he is just dancing, thats it)

Hope I’m not saying too much but also besides the click another thing that was extremely helpful was to record myself and listen back when I started doing that immediately. I got closer to the groove but it never really came until my technique was up to snuff so it took a lot of practice, many many repetitions of holding the stick correctly balance posture assertiveness on the kick, heal up, relaxation, etc. but listening back was extremely important that with the click!

The key to Phil's groove is Malcolm, Cliff, and him. It is a pocket of three rhythm musicians, not a separate technique. This magic connection is commonly understood by R&B, funk, reggae, and jazz fusion players as they are intentionally trying to lock into a dance groove to make people move. Rock musicians can only understand such when they are part of a pocket that is meant to sound like ONE instrument. This doesn't happen with just any players. This can be seen as certain "groove" groups are only successful when certain players are present just as the only ACDC performances that sound "correct" involve Phil. Even though all the other drummers for ACDC were excellent, the magic only happened with the classic lineup of Malcolm, Cliff, and Phil....This magic is also seen quite clearly in jazz as certain recordings are considered superior because of the specific lineup during the recording or live show... Thus, Phil would probably not sound good with other musicians since the "magic" was with Malcolm and Cliff...