Get the basic chord shapes under your belt so you can navigate the fretboard quickly, with a minimum of fuss and muss--barre chords form the hallmark of Jones' simple, unadorned style.
Form barre chords by laying your entire index finger across the relevant fret. Then add your ring, middle and pinkie fingers to complete the specific chord shape that you want to create.
Practice forming and holding down barre chords until they feel comfortable. This will become apparent after studying any Sex Pistols performance clip--barre chords open movement across the fretboard, with minimal effort.
Lay down the rhythmic foundation with driving, syncopated chords--the key attribute for any Pistols song--and don't forsake repetition to build a hypnotic, droning effect. For a classic example, listen to the Pistols' song, "Problems," which Jones anchors around a simple, descending chord progression (D, C, A) that drives its momentum along.
Create tension by sliding your pick across the strings, as Jones does on the intro to the Pistols' last defining single, "Holidays in the Sun." For another trick, march across the fretboard in a series of half-step tones--such as the change from C sharp (C#) to D on the intro to "No Feelings."
Don't hang onto each chord for dear life--note the clipped, relentless urgency that characterizes Jones' style. The same approach goes for his solos, which are hung on ringing eighth-note patterns.
Let each chord ring out, allowing for the odd single-note intro or lick--such as the intro of "Pretty Vacant," which opens with two A notes spaced an octave apart. Play an A on the second string--followed by its counterpart on the fourth string--before resolving to an E chord on the third string.