As far as theatrical guitar strumming techniques go, there's probably only one household name—the Windmill, as popularized by The Who's Pete Townshend.
Recently, Vulfpeck's Cory Wong was in the Reverb studio to demonstrate another showy strum he says he learned from Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, the Lawnmower. Wong teaches the technique to New Zealand six-stringer Emily C. Browning.
To get the full effect, you'll want to use plenty of overdrive, either by diming your amp or using a drive pedal. Fittingly, we had a test model of MXR's Dookie Drive on hand—the pedal, which was designed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Green Day's breakout album and unveiled at NAMM, is available for pre-order now with an expected release date this summer.
Wong explains how there are three different versions of the Lawnmower—The Toro, Briggs & Stratton, and John Deere—but such distinctions aren't necessarily scientific or even necessary to know. The main thing is to wind your arm back like you're starting up a lawnmower.
If you strike a chord with all your might on the way back down, Wong calls that The Toro. If you strike it on the way up, that's the Briggs & Stratton. If you strike a chord on the up and down strokes, then you're playing a John Deere.
Want to learn more tips and tricks from Cory Wong? Check out our video on his more normal yet still funky right hand picking technique.