But he isn’t that technical and he isn’t a guitar genius. He’s just a pop punk guitarist who plays simple because that suits him and make his fans pick up also playing simple riffs
@@stantorren4400 I mean he has been playing all his life and can play a lot of complex stuff on his guitar. however I don't think just because most of his songs lack the complexity he's capable of, doesn't mean he's not a genius, anyone who can make music that can inspire people to make bands and relate to people across multiple generations with "tHrEe cHoRd pOp-pUnK" riffs has to be a genius to an extent.
"Billie Joe Armstrong sucks at guitar" - Teenager who just picked up guitar and only plays "Iron Man" and "Come as you are" and has never actually played at a gig.
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I’m surprised you didn’t mention the fact he plays hard and fast while singing. He’s a showman. He does play power chords maybe 95% of the time, undeniably, but that’s the sound of pop punk. He doesn’t do it because it’s easy, he does it because it SOUNDS RIGHT. He’s not bad, but not exceptional either. He’s an exceptional song writer though.
@@brogan-guffey listen to the band germs or poison idea then you’ll understand what POPular punk is. Then I’ll show you the difference in punk and punk rock
The thing that impresses me the most about Billy Joe's playing is how fast and clean he changes chords. A lot of Green Day's songs have a ton of really fast chord changes with very syncopated rhythms and he nails them so cleanly that it just punches you in the gut. It's even more impressive that he does it while singing
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Shred guitar solos barely compliment anyone, thats why i dont like showoff guitar that much, hate me as much as you can, i cant get into EVH that much cuz of the complication, i mean its good, but not something im gonna listen a lot.
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He is a great guitar player. What impresses me most about his playing is the coordination. He can play an entire show as the only guitar player, while doing all the lead vocal work. Adding a touring guitar player is not done because he needs him, and one reason is simply because touring is difficult, and tiring, thus it makes it easier. You don't often hear his guitar stop during the vocal parts, and while playing power chords and singing at the same time is pretty easy for simple and slow patterns, I've seen him play some incredibly involved rhythm guitar parts while simultaneously singing. You can't do that if you're not a good guitar player as well as a good musician in general. Also, it is virtually impossible to play guitar so often and for so long and not become proficient.
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Good music is good music, simple or complex. Complex music can sound bad as well when done poorly. This notion of 'complex = better' is totally untrue - the question should be whether what you are playing or singing sounds good or not, regardless whether it is complex or simple.
I think it's an argument from metal fans, mainly, as in a genre that largely binned the idea of melody, complexity is the only deviation from the simple headbanging beat. I love a good solo, or a bit of tapping for variety, but it has to be there to complement the song, not just to be a "look at me! Aren't I great!" bit of twiddly nonsense.
As a professional player I can attest that Mr Armstrong is a beast of a player with nothing to prove anyone anymore. Green Day as a band are as tight as it gets, rock solid, and have been since practically day one.
Nah, do yourself a favor and watch the video. I'm a huge green day fan and i've never seen most of these clips. And i definitely wasn't expecting to see Steve Vai praising him.
@@cezerelecrucio9717 I mean, rolling stone gave it 4 stars and Rolling stone usually doesn’t give GD great reviews. When you have been making albums since 1987, you’re bound to recycle some lyrics here and there
@@dominiccollison7778 wrong, good guitar comes from technique and understanding music theory, because this will elevate your passion and make you compose better songs .
@@dominiccollison7778 That’s what you want to believe. That’s what a lot of people who don’t have the will want to believe. Passion is not just playing the pentatonic scale and bend the strings while you make faces(not talking about BJA) If you have real passion, you will practice for hours and make your technique better. You can find the biggest music lover ever, and give him a guitar for the first time he won’t do shit with it. Passion is not gonna play the notes for you. Passion is what makes you practice for hours everyday, and practice makes a perfect technique.
When I started playing guitar Green Day songs like "Welcome to Paradise" and "Longview" were among the first I learned among Nirvana and Ramones stuff. I have to say the older I get the more I respect and admire Green Day and Billie Joe. He is one of the most consistent players ever and just about as on point as one can be. He chooses not to shred as a stylistic choice not because he can't do it. And all those wannabe shredders who judge him could not write what he does even if their life depended on it.
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No one would confuse Billie with an expert guitarist, but it blows my mind that someone would consider him bad. He is a good guitar player and an even better producer of music. Funny to hear someone who shreds a bunch of covers mock a rock n roll hall of famer who has sold millions of records. I will say this, Green Day is one of the tightest live bands that exists. They may play a lot of power chords, but those damn chords are struck perfectly, and on time with the drums and bass. Also, I've seen them live over 7 times and no one has the energy and gives it their all like Billie does. That SoB is all over the stage and, I would say, one of the top 10 rock front men of all time.
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I think most of the bands my daughter plays ARE Green Day, such is the influence they have over others. People listen to him. I’d need to be paid to listen to shred
@limelight81 You must not play guitar nor understand music theory. You can be an expert at guitar in the same way you are an expert in many other things in life. I can listen to Billie play guitar, appreciate him for the art he creates, and still know he is not an expert guitar player.
I'd say he's an expert, not the best in the world but after playing for 45 years and being better than most people I'd say he's an expert, even if he doesn't play at an expert level for his music it doesn't mean he can't
Billie has a forceful punk energy that he utilizes while playing minor pentatonic classic hard rock style solos. The vibrato is pretty superb with that kind of energy. Severely underrated guitar player.
He’s good. He’s not a virtuoso, but he doesn’t really need to be. He’s the perfect guitar player for the music he makes, and that by itself makes him an excellent musician, even if his songs don’t personally talk to you. He is the victim of envy from people that want his success from playing “simple chords”. I’m not a fan of Greenday, but I respect them as a band and their musicianship.
Nobody would ever say a bad thing about him or his skillset unless they were jealous - this is so idiotic. The fact is that if someone never displays something beyond a more beginner's repertoire, you would naturally assume that they don't know anything more than that and probably wonder why they don't know more if that were the case.
Dude I get so triggered when people say that my boy Billie is a bad guitar player, or that he sucks, because you can’t dis reality. ITS A FACT THAT HE IS AWESOME!!!
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I have 39 smooth and Kerplunk and there's a solo in almost every song. And some of the riffs on Kerplunk are the best he ever wrote. It's just one of those cases where somebody hears like 2 songs by an artist/band and decides that everything they do is just like that. People still say John Mayer sucks because his first 2 albums are mostly pretty boy pop.
Mike Dirnt said in a documentary, that Billie never wanted to be a big or very good guitar Player or anything like that he just wanted to be a good Songwriter and he is until this day!
Certainly he plays power chords. One of the things I've most admired about Green Day is their ability to write simple songs with power chords that everybody knows and turn them into hits. There's beauty in simplicity.
Shredding has nothing to do with whether someone is a good guitar player. You could only know how to play power chords, but if you can play those power chords the way Billie Joe does, you’re a great guitar player. He has such a consistent right hand with the perfect attack, dude is probably a dream to record in the studio. And clearly he can shred too.
Ah, someone who gets it. Yeah, his rhythm is always on point, even while singing. He plays back on guitar like you're listening to a recording. It's always that tight.
There is a skill in being a great rhythm guitarist that those who only focus on shredding or complex riffs will never understand. I remember one of my really technical guitar playing friends who loved complex metal saying to me that he tried to learn a Green Day song in a way actually fully emulating Billie Joe's style of playing, and he couldn't because it is actually very unique (much like Steve Vai was explaining). At the end of the day, most riffs that hold up as memorable (and even more so legendary), are actually pretty simple. It's how they are performed and how they are written into a song that end up making them riffs that stand the test of time.
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Imagine thinking a musician that plays guitar for living only learned how to play power chords. Also as tight as Billie plays dude really cares for his craft.
Billie is a genius because he knows what NOT to play. No one wants to hear someone play the same blues solo for the thousandth time in a row. He shredded alot on the first 2 albums but I remember him saying something like, it was what everyone was doing at that time so I went a different direction.
Mike once said in a documentary about their early years that he credits most of their success to Billie not trying to become the best guitar player like everyone else did back than, but instead concentrated on song writing and arrangement and try to be the best songwriter.
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even if he just played powercords, have you ever played along with a band? in a gig? with steaming hot lights on your head running around, singing and performing to a 500.000+ audience? bro its not easy. powercords can be hard too.
not to mention just how tight the band is, listen to their pre-dookie shows. they sound identical to the album, if not better. their music is so heavily accented and all the instruments compliment each other and they have a strong "sound". you can play the same notes, at the same tempo, with the same instruments and still sound nothing like green day if you don't have that heavy accenting and intensity. a tight working unit is very important.
@@leewhitworth9142 eddie did a whole lot more than tapping, almost everyone taps nowadays. installing the humbucker on an angle doesnt mean he plays like EVH
Yeah, but it mostly depends on what you're playing. If you're just playing chords and singing then it's not too difficult once you get to the point of muscle memory. It's exactly the same mechanism as when people drive and change gear without having to look.
Billie is the ultimate rebel. As a middle eastern, I really appericiate him when he did an album opposing to Iraq wars. How many of those "shredder" jackoffs did bother to care about people there? He has inspired more people than u can count P.S: nice video
Well Buckethead, who is a known shredder, donated money to disaster victims of a tsunami in Japan. That’s something at least, and he’s not even mainstream 🤷♂️
@@dgsta8914 It’s normally his most popular song Soothsayer. That and his video playing Whitewash. He is known but definitely not mainstream or popular. Most people would tell you “ah yeah he’s the guy that was in Guns N Roses” or “he’s the guy that made Jordan from Guitar Hero”.
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Billie inspired me to pick up a guitar and play. The first song I learned was Holiday. I feel like Billie makes his riffs easy so it's easier on him at live performances, and so that people aren't so intimidated by guitar. I was initially scared to pick up a guitar, but after learning how simple the Green Day riffs are, I decided to give it a shot. Now I play guitar!
Nah. He just plays what sounds good to him and what fits their style. He is DEFINITELY not writing something thinking about how little Johnny might be intimidated by it. C'mon bro
@limelight81 I remember the first time I heard Basket Case was on MTV...that guitar tone is awesome, it jumped out...it sounds like a vintage Recto chugging that riff under that extremely catchy vocal melody. A banger for sure. Better make this a little easier so that little Danny won't get discouraged. 😂
@limelight81 That's awesome....I was 17 when that came out. I started playing at 14 as well, except the guy who influenced me to pick up the instrument was that Slash character from the Guns. I got Appetite for my 14th birthday and that was it. I took piano when I was 9 and did sax for a few years as well...but I'm a guitar player, I just didn't know it at 12. Haha. Thirty years later and it's part of my identity. Hello, my name is Rick, and I am a guitar addict. I have no will to stop. You might even say I'm guitarded. I'm trying to grab one of those Music Man JP 20th anniversary models before the year is out. I needa.
Even if Billie Joe Armstrong only played power cords, the ability to play an entire show full of fast-paced power chord changes and not run out of steam is impressive all on its own.
I absolutely love this video. BJA has heavily influenced my style of guitar playing and appreciation for the meat and potatoes of a rock n roll sound. His power chords are absolutely necessary to achieve the full, powerful sound Green Day is known for. His soloing abilities are based on the fact that Billie has a melody-focused songwriting style and ear. He plays pentatonic-based solos because they're tried-and-true. The Western-music ear is trained to want to hear solos that aren't too chromatic (using notes from other keys), so that's why pentatonic solos just work over so many songs. I personally wouldn't want to hear Steve Vai-like solos over Green Day's chords because it would disrupt the texture and straight-forward sound that I personally love and listen to GD for. Do I listen to Green Day for a trippy, experimental sound? No, I can listen to bands that specialize in that. Hetfield was right - the world needs Green Day! Stuck-up, pretentious metal-heads can honestly suck it.
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Even if he only plays power chords and dont play the solos for his own songs himself, there’s an art to rhythm playing. Best example i can think of would be malcolm young
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Billie Joe is an amazing player, tight rythm but with a loose feel. I'd say he's up there with Hettfield or Malcom Young when it comes to rythmplaying. He obviously plays lead aswell but does it tastefully instead of turning his leadplaying into a pointless shredfest. Live he takes a lead or 2 but lets Jason take most of them so he can interact with the crowd or just run around like a madman... though I've seen footage of him running across the stage while playing a Chuck Berry style leadlick, a lick most of us struggle with standing still trying to focus in just playing it alone. Sure he's most famous for powerchord riffs but many fail trying to copy his attitude, power and swagger. Also, remember Green Day performed as a 3 piece during their early Dookie era heyday. Jason joined as a touring member when Green Day went off the 'mainstream' radar, in the late 90's/early 00's, to get a fuller live sound on a couple of songs.
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As a guitarist I can tell you he is not at all a bad guitar player. He’s just not always out there showing it off. He’s normally jumping around getting the audience going as a front man and leaves it to Jason White live however he does do solos he just shares them. In short by no means a bad player. He’s a great player
Great video. I've fallen into this trap before for other artists: that they're not "good" because the recorded music they play on doesn't have them doing crazy stuff. This happens a lot for drummers. Musicians play stuff because they like the way it sounds or that's what the song (or even band) call for. It doesn't mean that they can't play anything more technically challenging. If they're a professional musician, they're likely pretty darn good.
Agreed! Besides, even if they really cannot play crazy stuff on their instruments, it does not matter anyway. The point of music is to express and not to impress as well as to sound good. Guitarists like Billie Joe Armstrong or the late George Harrison do not shred like Yngwie Malmsteen or Joe Satriani, but that does not make them bad players - if anything they are fantastic musicians for having written iconic tunes, and their work should be celebrated!
I had never heard this criticism before. The one I’ve always heard is “Why does a guy who lives in CA keep singing with the world’s worst faux-British accent?”
above being a great guitar player, Billie Joe is an excellent songwriter. he has an ear for catchy melodies like none other past the 1990s. plus some of the stuff he wrote in the Kerplunk era is just mind bogglingly good for a teenager, especially in that time where there wasn't as much material to learn playing and songwriting as it is now
Nobody can deny,Billie joe might not be playing complex super fasts solos but nobody can deny their Guitar sounds are soooo iconic they stay in the head.Not many Bands have that kind of iconic music.
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I always thought billie was kind of average but I didnt really care because i liked the music he made. Then i saw them live and him and Jason white did a guitar duel and billie was absolutely shredding. Hes a great guitar player his music just doesnt really call for crazy solos
Billy Joe is a good guitar player. What a lot of people don't understand about guitar playing is that it is your picking and strumming hand that determines if you are good enough to play with others and sound good. All the timing and rhythm are in that hand. I haven't been to a Green Day show since the early 90s but back then I went to quite a few. They were an actual three-piece band back then and they were tighter than shit. Believe me, at those shows, there wasn't anybody saying Billie Joe was a bad guitar player.
Thank you for this video. I wholeheartedly agree and its great to finally see someone put it into context and show the world. He inspired me to start playing guitar, he's absolutely incredible live.
FINALLY SOMEONE MADE A VIDEO ABOUT THIS!! Just because someone can shred, play behind their head, sweep pick, it doesn't make them " automatically good ". Who knows, the people that do that maybe can't even play a simple rhythm. And just because someone DOESN'T shred or tap or play a million miles and hour, it doesn't make them bad. Love / hate him or his band, look at their career. Traveling the world playing sold out shows in stadiums while just playing simple chords for so many years, all those hits, the fans. If that isn't considered successful I don't know what is. While some prodigy is still playing to a bar with only 5 people in it.
@@Johnnysmithy24 But you can sure live a good life from it. No point being a master at guitar when the music doesn't call for it. Imagine complex guitar solos and odd time signatures in a green day song, nah totally not necessary.
@@JawJX I agree it’s not necessary in Green Day songs. I’m just saying that just because one is successful doesn’t make him a good musician. Just look at all these mumble rappers today The same way it doesn’t mean because someone isn’t mainstream or famous or rich, he is a bad musician.
JUST NO! BJA is one of the best guitar players ever! He just doesn’t want to be a cocky show off like or some musicians🤦🏽♀️. He’s actually really good considering the fact that he’s self taught. Not to mention he’s inspired countless artists like Billie Eillish that girl y’all are OBSESSED WITH. Even Metallica played one of their songs at the beginning of their concert. They also I Inspired blink-182 and Fall Out Boy.So don’t be stupid.
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I've never heard anyone say that Billie Joe Armstrong was a bad guitar player, I've only heard them say that he's "too political." Billie is one of my favorite guitar players ever, I've been playing for almost 6 and a half years now and Green Day is the band I listen to the most
BJ Armstrong makes riffs that are easy, but very very beautiful to listen to, the music is simple and efficient, I don't think it's wrong if he plays a lot of power chords because that's why punk rock music is not only about melody but more rhythm. just my opinion 👍
Another argument that further proves he’s a good guitarist is that Green Day is known for and constantly praised for being very tight sounding and great live. Granted that takes all members of the band to achieve that but he’s the vocalist and guitarist, it’s hard enough to just play guitar so well live but also singing on top of it, you have to be very comfortable on your instrument to be able to do both and do both well.
He can write the shit out of a pop song though. Smells like teen spirit is mainly power chords, but it doesn't make it a bad song. As far as I know, he never claimed to be Steve Vai. I think it's obvious I'm a fan, but a lot of that is because of his ability to write a catchy song, not his guitar ability. I wouldn't call the clash 'shredders' either.. or most punk guitarists for that matter. But again, I'm not a fan of punk for rippers on guitar, I'm a fan because the music hits me in a particular way. Edit.. I swear I didn't know Steve Vai was in this video haha I wrote my comment while watching the video but had not gotten to that part in the video.
The solos on the first 2 lookout albums were my favorite. He’s got this habit of punctuating his solos with little palm muted riffs that just sound so crunchy and aggressive.
Anyone who has tried to sing and play guitar at the same time should know that it's difficult, there is a reason why lead singers almost always play rhythm because it's not easy to play guitar and sing at the same time.
I've seen GD live a few times - the skills, talent and energy that Billy Joe brings to the stage is epic - as a guitarist myself - I wish I could play as good as Billy Joe - and his songwriting ability - the guy is gifted to say the least
I picked up a guitar because of him, hands down.. The energy he projects out of his music is the best thing about his work. He is my favourite musicians because he is the most relatable one.
Not every song needs a guitar solo, much less a shred solo. What makes Billie a GREAT guitar player in my opinion is that he serves the song, not his ego.
it's ironic, most people still can't even play the Green Day stuff like "Basket Case" correctly or get his perfect rhythmic inflections - BJ uses WAY more open chords than people realize. It's not just power chords at all, it opens up the song so much more and fills out the sound. He transitions well between them. Dookie is FILLED with open chord voicings throughout - just listen to "Pulling Teeth" - not a single power chord in there, but there are barre chords.
I feel that he wrote these songs to be able to play 40, or even 50 years after they were written. He played it smart. You have bands like Motley Crue who wrote really impressive songs, but if you have seen recent videos of them trying to play these songs live, it just doesn’t come together quite right. Bille Joe wrote Green Day songs to last, and hey, they’re always catchy.
I think you're out of your mind. He just wrote what sounded good for his style. I don't think there is a musician on the planet that specifically writes music thinking about will I still be able to do this decades later? Look at Liquid Tension Experiment...they just dropped their 3rd album. Tony Levin is like 75, Jordan is only ten years younger. They are AMAZING live and their newest record is phenomenal.
@limelight81 Look at Dream Theater. The band is firing on all cylinders, but LaBrie is struggling. They are even running a half step flat just for him. They never used to do that. Sadly, most vocalists only get a short while. Dave Gilmour still sounds incredible live though. That old timer and his soft hands. It will be a sad day when we lose that dumplin.
I liked that some Green Day songs were easy to play because it made it easy for me to learn guitar back when I started and feel like I was making good progress. Nothing beats the first time you play and sing through When I Come Around perfectly. Even now I have trouble replicating the opening guitar lines of Minority, Shoplifter or Good Riddance perfectly. His rhythmic riff writing is unmatched
I saw green day live for the first time in 98, they are the reason I started a band, went on to be a DJ and ultimately did countless live shows. BJ is an AMAZING songwriter, the guitar is just a tool.
