Learn How to Play "All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks on the Guitar

In this lesson, we'll learn how to play All Day and All of the Night by The Kinks on the guitar. This iconic track, penned by the legendary British songwriter Ray Davies, offers a fantastic opportunity to work on your power chords and full A-shape barre chords. And the best part? You'll learn the song exactly how it was played on the record and live performances!

Getting the Groove On

A unique aspect of this song is the rhythm. Despite having a very specific rhythm, The rhythm hand is almost always moving. You'll want to mute this hand when you're not playing a chord. It's important to keep it moving, even if it's just slightly touching the strings sometimes. This constant movement is crucial to getting the song's groove on.

Chords and Riff

If you're a beginner guitar player, you can play power chords. They work fine for this song and sound just as good as using a full barre chord. However, we're focusing mainly on the thickest strings for this song, so we're not playing the thinnest strings too much. I'll be discussing the chords in their full form rather than saying five all the time.

The song's riff is a simple yet catchy progression. It goes G, G, F, F, B flat, G, and G, with a specific count that helps you maintain the rhythm. Learning the count can be very helpful if you're struggling with the rhythm. Of course, it's always better to listen to the original recording to get the rhythm of it in your ear.

Pre-Chorus and Chorus

Just like a great story, a song also needs a build-up, and that's where the pre-chorus comes in. In this song, it's the only time we use an A-shaped barre chord. If you're struggling with that barre chord, don't worry! There's always the option to play the B flat up at the 6th fret with the 6th string root.

The chorus is where the song truly shines. In the chorus of All Day and All of the Night, we're staying on the thicker strings. It may seem unusual at first, but it adds a certain character to the song that's in line with the music of the 60s and 70s. So, don't be afraid to venture up to the dusty end of your guitar! The chorus riff is a simple progression that's really fun to play.

Solo

While we won't cover the solo in this lesson, if you want to have a go at working it out yourself, you should start by looking around the G minor pentatonic scale. That's the scale you would use if you wanted to improvise your solo. It's also the scale where you're going to find most of the notes of the solo on the original recording if you want to try and work it out.

Wrapping Up

This song is a lot of fun to play. I loved playing this in a band when I was younger, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Don't forget to watch the video for a more detailed explanation and demonstration. Keep practicing and have fun!

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