Pete Townshend

• Windmill strumming: lock elbow and rotate the full arm from the shoulder — dramatic arc
• Power chords with open top strings ring beneath — creates a fuller sound than muted power chords
• Guitar at full volume into a loud Marshall — power tube saturation is the gain source
• Open-chord voicings: G5 with open D and G strings ringing, D/F# with open strings
• Aggressive right-hand strumming using the full weight of the arm, not just the wrist
• Feedback: hold the guitar close to the amp cone and let standing waves develop
• Pete rarely plays lead — his value is in the rhythm; chord choices carry the melody
• Auto-Swell: strum a chord and fade up the guitar volume after picking for a smooth swell
• Study "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "My Generation" for the fundamental Who guitar vocabulary

Pete Townshend invented the power chord vocabulary and the windmill strumming technique that became the visual and sonic template for hard rock. His Gibson SG or Hamer through Marshall stacks — played at arena-destroying volume — produced one of the most physically powerful rhythm guitar tones ever captured.