2020-03-01 Total Guitar

MARCH 2020 TOTAL GUITAR

GREEN DAY

57

Riffs like this willdevelopyourdownpickingandyourabilityto switch rapidly between palm-muted and unmuted strumming. As you play, mentally check for tension in your

shoulder, elbow,andwrist– it’llslowyoudown,so,if you’reat all tight, stop playing, shake it off and try again. The slide in bar 4 is another essential punk motif. Keep pressure

on the strings as you slide to keep them ringing out.

0 2 PALM-MUTEDDOWNPICKING TRACK 11

The bulk of BillieJoe’sriffsuseclassicpowerchordslikethe D5 and G5 shapes in bars 1 and 3. He’ll also mix things up with the sus4 and slash chord shapes (A/C#, G/B etc)

shown here. You can hear this approach on the outro to Basket Case. Even when he’s not palm-muting, Billie still prefers downstrokes for the most aggressive sound.

0 1 POWERCHORDEMBELLISHMENTS TRACK 10

T

B

#.

.

.

.

..

.

.

œ œ œ œ

≥≥≥≥ ≥ ≥

(^757575757442)
D^5 A/C# B^5
q= 170
cont. sim.
(^4252524255)
3
G/B B^5 G^5
(^55)
3
(^55)
3
(^55)
3
(^55)
3
(^55)
3
(^67)
A
.
(^676777779797)
Asus^4 A^5 Play 4 times
T
B
#.
.
.
.
..
.
.
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥
(^99)
7
9
7
(^99)
7
9
7
9
7
9
7
9
7
(^99)
7
B^5
q= 160
PM PM
cont.sim.
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
9
7
9
7
(^99)
7
9
7
9
7
9
7
(^99)
7
9
7
PM PM PM
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
(^99)
7
9
7
(^99)
7
9
7
9
7
9
7
9
7
(^99)
7
PM PM
œ œ œ œ œ
9
7
9
7
(^99)
7
9
7
(^77)
5
(^77)
5
(^77)
5
(^99)
7
A^5 B^5
PM PM
Play 4 times
08 UNMUTED PICKING POSITION
...rapidly to an unmuted sound, he makes a tiny rotation
of the wrist. The two positions should be extremely
close so you can alternate between them at speed.
09 PICK ATTACK 1
Billie Joe’s pick motion is a combination of forearm
rotation and flicking his wrist. For loud strums, he raises
his hand level with the top of the guitar, palm up...
10 PICK ATTACK 2
...before slamming the pick downwards, turning his
hand so it finishes in this position. The pick needs to
brush the top of the strings to avoid getting stuck.
21ST CENTURY TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN
Make your powerchords faster and your riffs stadium-sized with TG’s Green Day guide
Y
ou’ve looked at Billie Joe’s
playing techniques, now
have the time of your life
with these Green Day
lqvsluhg#ulļv$#Khuh#|rx#fdq#sxw#|rxu#
technical knowhow into practice
while you learn some punk style
ulļv1#Dqg#lwġv#pruh#wkdq#mxvw#sxuh#
technique – we’re looking at some
now standard musical ideas that
can be traced back through punk’s
history. From essential chord
vkdshv#wr#srzhufkrug#ulļv#dqg#
octave-based melodic soloing,
there’s enough food for thought
here to keep you going during
dq|#sxqn0lqvsluhg#mdp#vhvvlrq1#
Have a look at the tab, listen to
the audio tracks on your CD
and try to memorise some
of these essentials.