Are "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Back In Black" The Same Song?! || Riff Theory

Welcome back to my new series called RIFF THEORY! Today I'll be comparing the riffs from Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama and AC/DC's Back In Black. Why do they sound so similar? Check it out!
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[@nonewmsgs]

the lyrics of slob on my knob fit perfectly in Carol of the bells

[@marilynblandford7091]

Werewolves of London and Sweet Home Alabama are pretty similar, to me.

[@TheALyon8]

Definitely

[@bluelinebabe1]

Absolutely!

[@jeffm5991]

Kid Rock agrees. Now who's up for shooting some bud light?

[@treywagers7_hero]

@@jeffm5991 let blow some up! Coors light is way better

[@chucklee347]

You've got to be 80's. I've always said that too. You know what they say about the 80's. If you remember it you wasn't really there.

[@denmar355]

Glad you’re enjoying your 335! It’s pretty awesome!

[@AnthonyBurrito1313]

Gary Rossingtone was strumming around those chords and Ed King added that distinctive response part and made it what it is. A great song!! God I love getting under the hood of these tunes. Hand me a wrench Marty!!

[@chucklee347]

You got it Ed said if Gary wouldn't have been playing that behind the beat lick he was doing he would have never thought of it. Ed said right place at the right time.

[@OMyStarz]

Marty interviewed Ed regarding this. Check out the interview on his channel, it's great.

[@csnide6702]

It was an Ed King original.

[@AnthonyBurrito1313]

@@csnide6702 Wrong. It was an Ed King Gary Rossington Ronnie Van Zant original.

[@tonydelbert1358]

"Can't you see" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" mash up pretty well together. I don't know if that's 1-7-5 or whatever but we throw a Bon Jovi chorus into it seamlessly and it works great.

[@BoReynolds]

You're STILL the KING! I know these are alot of work and I for one REALLY appreciate it buddy. Thank you!

[@nickmcauliffe2133]

Hi Marty - great to see you adding another dimension to the channel with these Riff theory videos - I've found this one and the Police to be really insightful, giving me a new way to look at familiar songs and then see how I can adapt or borrow the ideas when improvising myself. Keep it up!!

[@splashesin8]

I always thought this, but it is nice to get to know the nuances. Thanks Marty❣️ This helps bridge the gap of moving stuff around in different keys and making subtle adjustments. 😃

[@trevorrobinson2431]

It's great that different bands can use the same chords and all have massive hits, and all sound different. Music is magic and I couldn't live without it.

[@stevefielding8324]

A really great breakdown of two iconic songs Marty! Love it, thank you.

[@greermcgreer8596]

I am always surprised by how many popular songs use the same chord progression but change the key, tempo, and fill ins. Thanks Marty, I’m sure tons of people don’t hear it , or can’t hear it. Someone else in the comments called this “demystifying music”, me likey 😊

[@MartyMusic]

Thanks so much my friend!

[@greermcgreer8596]

@@MartyMusic my pleasures

[@Cream_CurdlR]

wow good catch.. i wonder if ac dc knew this or it just happened by chance ? the reason i say did ac dc know this , is cause sweet home alabama came out before back in black. cheers!

[@Jguitar450]

When I was a little kid I honestly thought that Back in Black was Sweet Home Alabama until Brian started sing and I realized it was AcDc

[@Jaybirdtweet]

Love this Thanks Marty I love your channel!

[@chucklee347]

Pretty much every song in 4/4 time sounds close. That happens to be the tempo of most rock songs especially.

[@rayross997]

Marty, they gotta put you in a School of Rock movie, that would be soooo.... awesome, it would be a classic. I'm now teaching guitar because of you and loving doing it.😀

[@MartyMusic]

That’s definitely a dream of mine

[@SlyHikari03]

Yess

[@mikearkous8379]

@@MartyMusichave you covered any paramore?

[@dalepasswaters4898]

You never cease to amaze me Marty

[@fed1up]

A lot of songs use a similar 3-chord basis, it's a pretty deep rabbit hole

[@ashtyn5959]

was literally listening to back in black like 20 min ago and was dead thinking this. crazy it jus popped up on my recommended

[@markmalone279]

Haha, Marty rocking an old Marantz receiver in the background.

[@colinslant]

At one point there I definitely heard MMMBop by Hanson... 🙂

[@thomassmith8441]

Needle and the spoon very similar to Sweet Home Alabama

[@bradleyblauvelt1572]

There is a video with Gary Rossington talking about jamming with ac/dc on sweet home Alabama

[@jacobnewell7845]

That's the big secret of music theory: it's all the same stuff in different arrangements.

[@eightballsidepocket9467]

When I hear the intro of Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You” I can’t help hearing “Can’t You See” by The Marshall Tucker Band

[@eddieellis677]

If you use your pinky to hammer the 6th with a backward blues vibe I hear "Midnight Rambler". Or maybe "Mama Kin"

[@t-guitar]

They are both mixolydian chord progressions. Great video!

[@craigmccolm285]

Thank you

[@mustaffa75]

Under Pressure and Ice Ice Baby 😂

[@SeriousWrath]

Love this new series

[@markmorris9224]

I'm sorry Allen Collins

[@tjames6427]

I know this wasn't a lesson per say but I definitely learned something about those cage chords, thanks Marty! I hope all is well.

[@krr104]

Guitar theory is a hell of a drug.

[@CHill-uh1fg]

Well this caught my attention, but no there no more similaritie, to these two songs, than a hundred other songs that have similar changes or chord arrangements 🤤🎼🎸

[@Zeebad_1st]

Daffy duck's voice is just Sylvester's sped up.

[@trontosaurusrex9532]

Thanks Marty!

[@onemon22]

Hey Marty. Thanks for the info.

[@sunn_bass]

"We Used to Know" by Jethro Tull was from 1969, and the Eagles "Hotel California" is very similar to me

[@danielgouge4639]

When you were on the C major scale: Allman Brothers "Ramblin Man" came to mind.

[@johnclark1000]

I like this format, you can have a segment called demystifying rock! Show these relationships. Its great!

[@punkinmyvitamins1]

Mary Janes Last Dance by Tom Petty sounds like this as well just in a different key. But then it goes into something else in the chorus.

[@jcburger733]

Hey Marty, as usual, anther great lesson. Appreciated!!

[@davidrogers2085]

Hell no. No way. Ok maybe,,, but do you realize how many tunes fall into that category ?

[@welderway2112]

Just fantastic! This is a great lesson.

[@toddflowers8052]

Thanks Marty !!

[@TraviZ_Games]

Thank you so much Marty!

[@csnide6702]

As a guitar player that KNOWS BOTH SONGS ---- not even close.

[@travispressley4860]

Dave Matthews came out of watchtower into the last verse of stairway to heaven that worked incredibly well

[@mlann2333]

Never realised, wow

[@Gerizzly]

Great new series. Mary Janes Last Dance I think is pretty similar

[@jarmstrong6811]

Similarities to Mary Jane's Last Dance too

[@daviddiehl8523]

Marty! Dude...when do you have time to sleep??😂😂🤟

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

In western music we only use 12 notes in a few octaves so plenty of songs use chord progressions that are used in plenty of songs.

[@velvetnightmare3133]

NO ONE talks about Europe's The Final Countdown vs Eternal Fire by Beast in Black!!!

[@velvetnightmare3133]

I actually think eternal fire borrowed part of the final countdown and they just didn't give credit. I know many songs flat out borrow and then say that they are inspired by...

[@markmorris9224]

And Gary Collins was my favorite.

[@millerman31564]

“Helpless” & “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” have the same chord pattern.

[@lawrenceklein3524]

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. and What I Like About You. Pretty darn close! When I play out, that is one of the most applauded segue! P.S. That is one sweet sounding guitar!

[@rialobran]

The 'boogie' sounded like Werewolf in London

[@tomi-jon8798]

Omg that's so cool Marty. 😎 thanks bro I know what I'm doing all afternoon.

[@PeterBuvik]

In that case more than a feeling is very similar too

[@MrPaul8870]

Stuck in the middle with you springs to mind reservoir dogs woof woof lol

[@ramennoodle4783]

another common W, to me they seem similar but to me sweet home alabama is much better cuz it has more to it as a song (piano and stuff)

[@recksix473]

I always thought Sweet home Alabama was inspired by "Stray cat Blues" from "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out" they sound a lot a like! They liked the stones.

[@glenndavis479]

Nothing I play sounds like anything I've heard...my rendition of back in black sounds more like back to the drawing board.

[@noodle845]

Dani california by the chillies is the same as Sweet home alabama isn't it? I mean pretty much the same chord pattern and same key with different words!

[@guitarman1569]

Wow, I never knew that before.

[@jogmas12]

I think that, as a general rule, anytime one can fit the lyrics of one song into another, it’s pretty much the same. I’m trying to think of these two songs that came to mind at one, I’m forgetting.

[@davidfrazier9361]

Couple of Chuck Berry's do that also, to my ear

[@jayluck8047]

Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” lyrics fit nicely over Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded By The Light”.

[@davidchurchchurchy3674]

Made my brain hurt.

[@erz6306]

brilliant !

[@keithh8661]

Fun one,thanks Marty

[@TheMattVeniot]

Riff on 'needle and the damage', and 'sweet home Alabama. They're the same. Also fun because of the 'southern man' beef.

[@uskidsknow19]

I really wanna see you talk about black dog by led zeppelin. Whatever is going on between the guitar/bass riffs and the drums has always intrigued me

[@rickclark4714]

Stray cat strut - Sultans of Swing

[@petemarron6677]

Werewolves in London and that Kid Rock song are pretty much the same

[@deangdmppajj4692]

My wife gets pissed at me every time I tell her that a tune we are listening to is the same as another. Especially if I start singing over it 😂

[@12babyapes59]

Poor George Harrison had piss poor lawyers.

[@genehushak2635]

Highway to Hell and Best of Both Worlds by Van Halen are the same chords just played in a different sequence.

[@leeshaw1684]

If you have a good ear for music they sound alot alike you are opening people's minds to the sounds of music great work

[@Doofusdandy]

They sound alot alike!

[@naomilizama4218]

Marty!!!!!

[@karspillarmen5348]

Wait.. this is make sense..

[@markmorris9224]

Are you doing your live show today?

[@petemarron6677]

You tubes Temptations and Black Sabbath is pretty fun to watch

[@ozzyfarrow9872]

And you got taught this by Ed king

[@MrPaul8870]

Why call the major scale with a flatted 7th is pronounced wrong. The main thing with rock is the dominant chord 5 So the relationship ship is the mixolydian scale. The ole school basic scale Play on the dots 357 on 6 6 4 strings hence = easy reference spots for any new guitarist. The first note G 6st 3fr is mixolydian C major scale is related underneath And a minor is 2frets up from start note easy peasy this way but nobody I see on youtube teach this. Once learned the scale is versatile and makes runs easier to work with from working out to progression. Easy straight in the face no need for any theory if a person can play by ear better than studying the working outs with theory but a great lesson for beginners and worth a mention if doing a video thanks 😊

[@onurgazioglu2364]

Foghat “slow ride” of zz top “la grande” are pretty similar

[@electricacousticplane]

hey marty!! could you do a lesson on hey by pixies? thank you!!!

[@bradynewman6043]

So is fire lake bob segar and rock n roll gary glitter

[@_Rick_S]

Are Best of Both Worlds and Highway to Hell the same song? Yes, but we'll let it slide cause, well, Eddie 🤘🤘😆

[@mikemay8334]

Aura Lee and Love me tender are also the same song

[@gavindabbs06]

Can you cover Voices by Motionless in White Since you're learning metal

[@ElectricLotusBand]

Day 2 of asking Marty to do this charming man by the smiths

[@saltydog8243]

Nice, Your right hand is stupid good.💀

[@cherylesry3513]

Please give 0415heather a shoutout, he is an amazing guitarist

[@christiantaylor4027]

Yeah I never put that together but your right. There are only so many chord sequences that sound like popular music. Style seems to be the defining characteristic. So why do some get sued while others do not. From what I read somewhere it's lyrics that are really copyrighted. I'm no expert and there must be more to it that that. Just sayin.....Bye for now. But wait... Play R.O.C.k in the U.S.A, What I like about you,Cherry,Cherry back to back and no copyright issue.....Go figure.

[@traydequaviontavious5405]

Hey Marty, reckon you could show us a tutorial on Tomorrow by Silverchair?

[@ericmathena]

No do the other 10 million other songs with the same relationship. There are decades of music like this.

[@aarontourangeau4539]

Take the Money and Run is the closest to Sweet Home Alabama!

[@MrPaul8870]

What o am trying to say is basically this if you work on mixolydian than major Mixolydian and major and Lydian The first 3motes in scale are the same or in tech terms the 145 are the same key 236 opposite 7 dom. The mixolydian has a flatted 7th whereas the major doesn't So the reference should be mixlolydian. I usually break a scale into 2 x4 and look at the tone degrees and nobody mention this either but is needed to work out the 3 minor 7 chords out 1234 5678 Hence again the second line starts on the 5 I don't get why teachers of guitar teach thei minor and major before the mixolydian when the fretboard is set up for easy use

[@daviddigital6887]

Same chords but a zillion other songs use the same chords too. It's different strumming and fills. How many times have you been learning one song, only to discover another in the process.