10 Greatest Rhythm Guitarists In Rock History

Any rhythm guitar player will tell you how important it is to work on the technique in your right hand. Since you mostly have to worry about playing chords, it all comes down to how well you can keep time and make sure that the band can ebb and flow in the right ways. Then again, you can sometimes get the same results if you turn things up loud and kick the door off its hinges.

As the Ramones were first starting to make a name for themselves, their signature sound was pretty much only in Johnny Ramone's right hand. Favoring downstrokes instead of the traditional strumming style, the entire sound of punk rock was born from this one technique, creating something that felt a lot more forceful and frantic the more you listened to it.

Along with the usual bag of tricks that he had, Johnny was almost proud of not being one of the flashy solo-type guitar players, looking to just hit you over the head with his guitar playing than to waste time learning scales. Combined with the breakneck speed of the traditional Ramones songs, Johnny practically turned the concept of rhythm guitar playing into an endurance test, with mountains of attitude behind him. Considering how fast he played, the more the lack of solos made sense. When you have something this intense leading the charge, why would you want something flashy getting in the way?