by Billy Sunshine

Created on: March 28, 2007   Last Updated: April 03, 2007

So you want to start a Punk Band, but you don't know if you've got the chops.

Punk rock, referring to the style of simple rock, played fast and loud, made popular by the Ramones in the United States and the Sex Pistols in Great Britain, is and was a reaction against the overblown, over-technical rock and progressive music of the 1970s. Early Punk Rock was not much more than a faster and louder version of 1950s, Blues-based Rock and Roll.

You do not have to have musical training or music education to strum along to a lot of punk music. Punk rock is very accessible, even to novice guitarists.

Personally, I know several tremendous self-taught musicians who play in a variety of styles, from Country to Punk to Heavy Metal. Many famous guitarists are self-taught. It can certainly be very helpful to take private guitar lessons in order to gain fast and focused insight on specific guitar techniques, but people can learn just as much by simply playing along to records, although this might take a little longer.

Punk brought music back to the basic 3 chords on Guitars, Bass, and Drums and away from all of the keyboards, flutes, saxophones, and mandolins that seemed to invade the late 60s and 70s; Where music had started to become something like a talent show of technical virtuosity, punk brought it back to emotion and impolite volume levels. Where Led Zeppelin songs involved exotic scales and arpeggios, Ramones songs could be duplicated with 2-finger power chords and an endless rain of consecutive down-strokes.

Of course, nowadays there are Punk bands that play shredding, virtuoso guitar solos and who have unbelievable, robot-like drummers. Some Punk bands even include non-standard instruments like Violin and Trumpet. Many musicians in the punk scene are absolutely amazing, but at the heart, Punk Rock is a music style meant for people to easily understand; Much like the Blues (and rooted in it), Punk is a music of the masses.

Watching videos or live performances of your favorite players is a great way to pick up the techniques and licks of Punk Rock, as well as many other musical styles. This is the reason Eddie Van Halen used to turn his back to the crowd in the early days of his two-hand tapping solos; He didn't want any parasitic guitar slingers in the audience stealing his tricks.

Chances are, if you can learn to form the famous "Power Chord" shape with your index and ring finger, and move it up and down the neck, you are halfway to starting your very own Punk Band. Now you just need to think of a good band name.

Learn more about this author, Billy Sunshine.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.