Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs, solos, etc. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching. Air guitar is generally used in the imaginary simulation of loud electric guitar music.
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Origins
Examples of air guitar activities occurred in the late 1970s. Robin Yeatman, a patron of the Heavy Metal club, "The Soundhouse", in London, made cardboard guitars and played them on stage. Soon many others started making their own "guitars". This soon became a trend. He preferred to call it "hardboard" because "cardboard" seemed cheap and lowly.[citation needed]
The roots of air guitar go back much earlier. The father of air guitar might be Joe Cocker, who actively demonstrated an air guitar technique on stage. During the guitar solo lead-in to his live performance of "With a Little Help from My Friends" at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969, he can be observed simulating the music with his hands, sans guitar.
Preceding that date by twelve years, Bill Reed, of The Diamonds, during a live TV performance, is seen playing the “air guitar” while doing his recitation on the song, “Words of Love.” This performance, circa 1957, has been added to YouTube from a kinescope recording.
Contests
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Wikinews has related news: Japanese man retains title at Air Guitar World Championship in Finland |
Organized air guitar competitions are regularly held in many countries. The first on-off air guitar competitions have been organized in the early 1980s in Sweden and in the United States. Since 1996 the annual Air Guitar World Championships contest has been a part of the Oulu Music Video Festival in Oulu, Finland which currently governs Air Guitar World Championships Network[1] of official national championship competitions. The idea of the contest was originally coined as a joke, meant only to be a side attraction for the music video festival[2]
In 2009 the Network consisted of twenty countries: Finland, USA, New Zealand, Canada, The Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Norway, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Japan, Australia, Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia, Romania, Brazil and Belgium.
Rules have much in common with figure skating, especially using 6.0 score system. The most common set of rules are as following:
- Each participant has to play air guitar on stage in two rounds, each lasting for 1 minute.
- Round 1: participant plays a selection of their own choosing. Typically the song has been edited (or a medley has been created) to fit the 60-second format.
- Round 2: participant plays a section of the song chosen by an organizer or competitor; usually the song is not announced beforehand and kept secret until the round begins, so a participant has to improvise.
- Participant plays alone; backing bands, either with real or air instruments are not allowed; roadies and groupies are allowed to make up some image, but they have to leave the stage before performance.
- Participant has to play air guitar (i.e. air drums, piano and other instruments are not allowed). Air guitar can be acoustic, electric or both.
- Generally, there is no dress code and participant is encouraged to use any clothing and props that would add character and make the performance more interesting. However, any real musical equipment or crew (instruments, amplifiers, effect pedals, backing band members, etc) are strictly forbidden. Some events make an exception for a real guitar pick, some don't.
- Jury consists of independent judges, usually B-list musicians, music critics, comedians, or other members of the media.
- Judges use the same 6.0 score system as in figure skating: there are several varying criteria, each judge must give the contestant a score from 4.0 to 6.0 on each of the following:
- Technical merit—how much the performance looks like the real playing, including accurate reproduction of all fretwork, chords, solos and technical moves.
- Stage presence—a charisma of rock star, the ability to rock, lack of stage fright and power to drive thousands of listeners; involves doing guitar moves and other emotional demonstrations.
- Airness—the most subjective criterion, as "presentation" in figure skating—how much the performance was an object of art by itself, not only a simulation of playing guitar.
World
Annual world championships (full name: "The Annual Air Guitar World Championship Contest") were first held in 1996 as part of the Oulu Music Video Festival in Oulu, Finland. Participants from all over the world competed in skills of playing air guitar. The judging panel included Finnish guitarist Juha Torvinen, and prizes included a custom made 'Flying Finn' guitar and VOX BM Special amplifier donated by Queen guitarist Brian May. The ideology behind the event was that "wars would end and all the bad things would go away if everyone just played air guitar."
List of World Championships
Source: http://www.airguitarworldchampionships.com/2009/EN/history.html
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 |  Sylvain "Gunther Love" Quimene (FRA) |
 Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier / Andrew "William Ocean" Litz (USA) |
|
| 2008 | Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier (USA) |
 Andel "John Sniffler" Soree (NED) |
 Cole "Johnny Utah" Manson (CAN) |
| 2007 |  Ochi "Dainoji" Yosuke (JPN) |
Guillaume "Moche Pitt" de Tonquédec (FRA) |
 Max "Herr Jaquelin" Heller (AUT) |
| 2006 | Ochi "Dainoji" Yosuke (JPN) |
 Clay "Bangers" Connolly (AUS) |
 Christian "Heart Buckboard" Sweep (GER) |
| 2005 | Michael "Destroyer" Heffels (NED) |
 Giesela "Gizzy Guitar" Visser (NZL) |
Gyuri "Pelvis Fenderbender" Vergouw (NED) |
| 2004 | Tarquin "The Tarkness" Keys (NZL) |
Miri "Sonyk-Rok" Park (USA) |
David "C-Diddy" Jung (USA) |
| 2003 | David "C-Diddy" Jung (USA) |
Jordi "Funky Jordi" Nieuwenburg (NED) |
Mark "Roxy McStagger" Hadfield (AUS) |
| 2002 |  Zac "Mr. Magnet" Monro (GBR) |
Toby Peneha (NZL) |
Andrew Buckles (CAN) |
| 2001 | Zac "Mr. Magnet" Monro (GBR) |
 Markus Vainionpää (FIN) |
Rupert Abrahams (GBR) |
| 2000 | Markus Vainionpää (FIN) |
Sari Rivinen (FIN) |
Anthony Lee (AUS) |
| 1999 | Johanna Ala-Siurua (FIN) |
Petteri Tikkanen (FIN) |
Arnaud Stephan (FRA) |
| 1998 | Juha Hippi (FIN) |
Teja Kotilainen (FIN) |
Danny Turano (AUS) |
| 1997 | Ville Paakkari (FIN) |
Jenni Pääskysaari (FIN) |
Mika Mäntykenttä (FIN) |
| 1996 | Oikku Ylinen (FIN) |
Rehtori-Heko (FIN) |
Petri Heikkinen (FIN) |
Austria
Championships generally follow international rules with minor exceptions and additions:
- Participation is free.
- Regionals take up to 12 participants. If there are more, additional qualification events take place.
- Federal finals are held in July between the winners of regionals.
- Winner of federal finals is qualified for World Championship in September.
- Participants are allowed to team up to 2, only in regionals. Federal finals are still solo only.
- Order of appearance in a second round is determined by the scores in the first round (highest score air guitarist plays first).
- Jury consists of 5 people. Each of 2 rounds is scored by a single mark from 4.0 to 6.0. Lowest and highest mark get discarded, so only 3 marks are added, thus yielding possible results from 24.0 to 36.0.
United States
Returning 2006 United States champion Craig Billmeier, who uses the stage name Hot Lixx Hulahan, claimed a second national title in the 2008 US Air Guitar National Finals, held in San Francisco, California, on August 8, 2008. Hulahan won the title despite fracturing his thumb during the first round of competition.[1]
United Kingdom
Founded in 2006 by two-time world champion and international air mogul Zac 'Mr. Magnet' Monro, the UK championships has seen a rapid growth of nationwide interest in the event.
For the first two years, the competition was won by Gabi 'The Hoxton Creeper' Matzeu, who achieved 4th place in the 2006 World Championships, then 16th in 2007.
Gabi has since hung up his air guitar and is now a stable member of the UK judging team.
In 2008, the championship was won by Danny 'Midnight Moses' Robertson, who created a remarkable technical performance to the theme tune of the Pink Panther. In Finland that year, Danny came a very respectable 8th place.
In 2009, perennial runner up Thom 'w!ld th!ng 37' Wilding finally pulled a new level of airness out of the bag under the guidance of 'Killing In The Name' by Rage Against The Machine to win the 4th UK title. 2 weeks later in Finland he achieved 7th place.
Innovations
There are multiple technological innovations that try to allow air guitar to be played as real instrument, producing sounds that depend on air guitarist's actions.
In 2005, students from the Helsinki University of Technology developed a system that translates hand movements into electric guitar sounds, resulting in a functional air guitar.[2] The system, consisting of a pair of brightly-coloured gloves and an infrared camera, is one of the most popular exhibits at the Helsinki Science Center. The camera recognizes the distance between the two gloves as well as strumming movements made by the wearer to synthesize an electric guitar tune, working using only six notes. No musical knowledge is necessary.
In November 2006, researchers at the Australian government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation announced they had developed a t-shirt that senses human movement to "showcase its expertise in designing and manufacturing electronic and intelligent textiles with which people effortlessly control computers", publicising it as an air guitar shirt.[3][4]
In 2007, a Japanese company Takara Tomy Corp introduced Air Guitar Pro (Guitar Rockstar), a functional guitar simulator. Fitting in one hand, the device uses heat and motion sensors to detect the other hand motions and produce the guitar sounds.[5] This guitar simulator was made popular in the UK motoring show Top Gear by presenter Jeremy Clarkson. He was seen playing the Tomy Guitar Rockstar in one of Top Gear's famous challenges.
In March 2008, Jada Toys of California introduced the Air Guitar Rocker toy which featured patented technology in a belt buckle. When the user strums a magnetic pick in front of the belt buckle, guitar music plays through a portable amp attached to the users pant or belt. The Air Guitar Rocker is marketed with the popular Guitar Hero license and was created by toy inventor David Fuhrer and his team.[6]
Björn Türoque
Björn Türoque (pronounced "byorn to rock," and spelled with heavy metal umlauts; real name: Dan Crane) became a well-known air guitarist as a frequent finalist of World Championships. In 2003–2005 he competed in 10 air guitar competitions around the world and came in second place five times. In 2006, he published a book To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist[7]. He hosts a set of events named "Aireoke" (a portmanteau of "air guitar" and "karaoke"). These events are held in relatively small local clubs and allow everyone to try becoming a rockstar for one minute, playing air guitar in public.
On September 14, 2006, Björn appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Türoque also plays real bass guitar in the "faux-French" band Nous Non Plus under the name Jean-Luc Retard.
See also
- Air Guitar Nation, a documentary film about the 2003 US and World Air Guitar competitions
- Crowd surfing
- Guitar Hero (series)
- Guitar solo
- Headbanging
- List of dances
- Moshing
- Stage diving
- Air Guitar in Oulu, a documentary film following a young air guitarist's mission to attend the World Championship in Oulu
References
- ^ http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_12541395
- ^ Knight, Will (28 November 2005). "Air guitarists’ rock dreams come true". New Scientist. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8383. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
- ^ Helmer, Richard (13 November 2006). "It's not rocket science... it's rockin' science". CSIRO. http://www.csiro.au/csiro/content/standard/ps29y,,.html. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
- ^ "Every wanna-be rocker's fantasy comes true". 13 November 2006. http://www.csiro.au/csiro/content/standard/ps2gl.html. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
- ^ "Japanese Company Produces Playable Air Guitar". July 22, 2008. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287115,00.html.
- ^ "Frets Afire: The Three Leading Air-Guitar Toys". Feb 18, 2008. http://www.brandweek.com/bw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003711866.
- ^ Turoque, Björn (2006). To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist. Riverhead Trade. ISBN 978-1594482106. http://www.toairishumanbook.com/.
External links
Official Air Guitar World Championships Network Countries
- World — The Air Guitar World Championships
- Australia — Australian Air Guitar Championships
- Belgium — Air Guitar Belgium Championships
- Brazil — Air Guitar Brazil
- Canada — Air Guitar Canada
- France — Air Guitar France
- Germany — The German Air Guitar Federation
- Greece — Air Guitar Greece
- Japan — Air Guitar Japan
- The Netherlands — The Dutch Air Guitar Championships
- New Zealand — New Zealand Air Guitar Championships
- Norway — Air Guitar Norway
- Romania — Air Guitar Romania
- Russia — Air Guitar Russia
- Switzerland — Air Guitar Switzerland
- Taiwan — Air Guitar Taiwan
- Thailand — Air Guitar Thailand
- UK — Air guitar UK – UK Championship
- US — The US Air Guitar Championships
Other Air Guitar Contests
- UK—The Official & oldest UK Air Guitar Championships in the world
- Italy—The Italian Air Guitar Championship
Articles
- Behind the Scenes at the US Air Guitar Championships – Photos and interviews with the 2007 Washington DC finalists
- No more silent shredding—A November 2006 Associated Press piece about Air Guitar sound technology.
- "Dude, where's my guitar?"—August 2001 Guardian (UK) feature about the UK championship.
- Student studying for a degree in Air Guitar
- Air Guitar Nation Rocks On – Video clips and interview with the world air guitar champion
- Music for the imaginary ax man – Msnbc article following the life of an air guitarist.
- http://www.brandweek.com/bw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003711866
Other
- The Virtual Air Guitar Company
- Björn Türoque
- Hot Lixx Hulahan - 2006 US National Air Guitar Champion
- The Rockness Monster - 2005 US National Air Guitar Champion
- Amanda Griffiths Air Guitar PhD Blog
- Official C-Diddy Fan Site
- Joe Cocker Woodstock Air Guitar Performance
- Air Guitar Nation Feature Film
- Air Guitar Strings
- NPR Piece about US Air Guitar Championships
- William Ocean - 2007 US Air Guitar Champion
- Category Sixx, a US Air Band
- Air Busk Competition
- Air Guitar in Oulu Film Official Site
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