Billie Joe Armstrong sure knows how to make guitars sound big! Even shred god Paul Gilbert described him as one of the best guitarists in the world for his blistering downpicking, and his mastery of palm-muting and powerchord riffing rivals even thrash metal giant James Hetfield. A couple of picking and fretting tricks will help you play like the pop-punk great [see above].
havingablast
BJA undeniably injected some fun into a genre that often took itself too seriously
Billie holds his pick at an angle between his thumb and index finger, not quite flat on the pad nor on the side. Attacking the strings at about 30 degrees gives Billie an aggressive tone and reduces resistance so he can play faster.
When fretting octave shapes with their roots on the fifth string, the tip of Billie’s index finger brushes (or ‘stubs’) the sixth and fourth strings just enough to mute them. Perfect for solos like Americanidiot
1 Holding your pick
2 Fret hand position