Air guitar is a form of movement in which the performer pretends to play an imaginary rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs and solos. 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 or acoustic guitar music.
Before the existence of air guitar, the popularity of the phonograph in the 1930s led to the phenomenon of "shadow conducting", in which listeners would pretend to conduct an orchestra. [1]
Air guitar had a seminal moment at the Woodstock music festival in 1969, when singer Joe Cocker mimicked the playing of the keyboard and guitar during his performance of "With a Little Help From My Friends". Cocker's elaborate signature moves helped introduce the concept of air guitar to the public. [2]
Neal Kay, founder of the Soundhouse heavy metal club in Kingsbury, London, recalls one night in 1976 a club regular named Rob "Loonhouse" Yeatman arrived at the club carrying a piece of hardboard cut into the shape of a Flying V guitar, with no frets or strings. "Suddenly Rob appears in front of everyone and he starts playing it along with the solo and he's absolutely perfect." [3]
One of the first air guitar contests was held at Florida State University in 1978. [4] The term "air guitar" subsequently gained popularity in the 1980s as more contests were held in Sweden and the United States. Since 1996, the annual Air Guitar World Championships have been organized in Oulu, Finland. The first competitions were arranged as part of Oulu Music Video Festival. Since 2011 it has been produced by Airnest Productions Ltd, which also administers the official Air Guitar World Championships Network of licensed national championships. [5] The idea of the contest was originated a joke that was intended to be a side attraction for the music video festival but has since become a major draw in its own right. [6]
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Air guitar contests have much in common with the figure skating scoring system, especially using 6.0 score system. The most common set of rules are as following:
Annual Air Guitar World Championships were first held in 1996 as part of the Oulu Music Video Festival in Oulu, Finland, and now held there each August. According to the competition ideology, "wars will end, climate change will stop and all bad things will vanish when all the people in the world play the air guitar". [7]
Participants from all over the world compete in skills of playing air guitar. The judges represent professionals of performing arts and culture, the guitarist Juha Torvinen among others. The winner gets a custom-made guitar, 'Flying Finn', by Matti and Saara Nevalainen. [8] One year, Brian May, the lead guitarist of Queen, donated a VOX BM Special amplifier for the winner.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Air Guitar World Championships were not held in 2020 and 2021. In lieu of a 2021 championship, the Air Guitar World Championships organized a virtual Champion of Champions Championships on August 27, 2021, won by Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard. [9]
List of World Championships [6]
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |  Aapo “The Angus” Rautio (FIN) |  Yuta “Sudo-chan” Sudo (JPN) |  Apolline "Lady Atilla" Andreys (FRA) |
| 2024 |  Zachary “Ichabod Fame” Knowles (CAN) | Nanami “Seven Seas” Nagura (JPN) / Kirill “Guitarantula” Blumenkrants (FRA) |  Patrick "Ehrwolf" Culek (GER) |
| 2023 | Nanami “Seven Seas” Nagura (JPN) | Aapo “The Angus” Rautio (FIN) | Kirill “Guitarantula” Blumenkrants (FRA) |
| 2022 | Kirill "Guitarantula" Blumenkrants (FRA) | Frederic "French Kiss" Reau (FRA) |  Charles Kariuki "Slim" Ndung’u (KEN) /  Alexander "The Jinja Assassin" Roberts (AUS) / Apolline "Lady Attila" Andreys (FRA) |
| 2021 Champion of Champions |  Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard (USA) | Matt “Airistotle” Burns (USA) | Craig “Hot Lixx Hulahan” Billmeier (USA) |
| 2019 | Rob "The Marquis" Messel (USA) | Alexander "The Jinja Assassin" Roberts (AUS) | Frederic "French Kiss" Reau (FRA) |
| 2018 | Nanami "Seven Seas" Nagura (JPN) | Matt "Airistotle" Burns (USA) | Dana "Dana-Saurus Rex" Schiemann (CAN) |
| 2017 | Matt "Airistotle" Burns (USA) | Patrick "Ehrwolf" Culek (GER) / Alexander "The Jinja Assassin" Roberts (AUS) | SHOW-SHOW (JPN) |
| 2016 | Matt "Airistotle" Burns (USA) |  Kirill "Your Daddy" Blumenkrants (RUS) | Nicole "Mom Jeans Jeanie" Sevcik (USA) |
| 2015 | Kirill "Your Daddy" Blumenkrants (RUS) | Matt "Airistotle" Burns (USA) | Michael "Operation Rock a Pussy" Lovely (USA) |
| 2014 | Nanami "Seven Seas" Nagura (JPN) | Matt "Airistotle" Burns (USA) | Eric "Mean Melin" Melin (USA) |
| 2013 | Eric "Mean Melin" Melin (USA) | Doug "The Thunder" Stroock (USA) |  Thom "W!ld Th!ng 37" Wilding (GBR) |
| 2012 | Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard (USA) | Matt "Airistotle" Burns (USA) |  Theun "Tremelo Theun" de Jong (NED) |
| 2011 | Aline "The Devil's Niece" Westphal (GER) | Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard (USA) |  Veronika "Like Ever Gin" Müllerová (CZE) |
| 2010 | Sylvain "Gunther Love" Quimene [ fr ] (FRA) | Soraya "Eva Gina Runner" Garlenq (FRA) | Cole "Johnny Utah" Manson (CAN) |
| 2009 | Sylvain "Gunther Love" Quimene [ fr ] (FRA) | Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier / Andrew "William Ocean" Litz (USA) | Christian "Girth Hog" Hungagain (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 [ fr ] (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) | Natalie "Nat Attack" Willacy (AUS) | Pelvis Fenderbender (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) |
In 2003, Cedric Devitt and Kriston Rucker founded US Air Guitar, the official governing body of air guitar in the US. [10]
The 2004 US Air Guitar Championships featured regional competitions in five cities. MiRi "Sonyk-Rok" Park, winner of the New York City regional, took the national crown by defeating Fatima "The Rockness Monster" Hoang from Los Angeles. She went to Finland, where she tied for first place, becoming the 2004 World Air Guitar Co-Champion. [11]
By 2008, US Air Guitar had expanded to include regional competitions in 24 cities. The 2006 US Air Guitar Champion, Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier, went on to defeat 2005 Champion Fatima "The Rockness Monster" Hoang and 2007 Champion Andrew "William Ocean" Litz en route to his second national title. In Finland, Hulahan won, securing the United States' third world title and becoming the 2008 World Air Guitar Champion. [12]
William Ocean won his second national title in 2009, earning him a spot in Finland at the 2009 World Air Guitar Championships. Ocean and defending World Air Guitar Champion Hulahan tied for second place, behind Sylvain "Gunther Love" Quimene of France. [13]
In 2020 and 2021, US Air Guitar moved to online competitions, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 US Air Guitar season ended with a live, in-person finals in Chicago, Illinois.
List of United States Championships [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Cole "Slappy Nutz" Lindbergh, Kansas City, MO | Erich "Erik Ittar" Hacker, Seattle, WA | Rob "The Marquis" Messel, Portland, OR |
| 2023 | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City | ||
| 2022 | Rachel "Hott Mess" Sinclair, Denver, CA | Beth "CindAIRella" Melin, Kansas City, MO | Luke "Van Dammage" Sevcik, Atlanta, GA |
| 2021 | Andrew "Flying Finn" Finn, West Des Moines, IA | Rob "Skinemax" Weychert, Philadelphia, PA | Jason "Randy Diablo" Farnan, San Diego |
| 2020 | Justin "Smiley Rod" Magaldi, Nashville, TN | ||
| 2019 | Rob "The Marquis" Messel, Portland, OR | Kate "KitKat" Rose, Sacramento, CA | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City |
| 2018 | Brittany "Georgia Lunch" Diaz, New York City | Rob "Windhammer" Weychert, New York City | Colin "Old Glory" Bach, Chicago |
| 2017 | Nicole "Mom Jeans Jeanie" Sevcik, Atlanta | Beth "CindAIRella" Melin, Kansas City, KS / Alexander "The Jinja Assassin" Roberts, Chicago | |
| 2016 | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City | Nicole "Mom Jeans Jeanie" Sevcik, Atlanta | Rob "The Marquis" Messel, Portland |
| 2015 | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City | Lance "The Shred" Kasten, Washington, DC | Andrew "Flying Finn" Finn, Des Moines / Jeff "The Airtiste" Stiles, Boston / Whit "Witness" Hubner, Nashville |
| 2014 | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City | Doug "The Thunder" Stroock, Washington, DC | Jason "Lt. Facemelter" Farnan, San Diego |
| 2013 | Jason "Lt. Facemelter" Farnan, San Diego | Eric "Mean" Melin, Lawrence | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City |
| 2012 | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City | Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard, 2011 defending champion | Jason "Lt. Facemelter" Farnan, San Diego |
| 2011 | Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard, Chicago | Matt "Airistotle" Burns, New York City | Matt "Romeo Dance Cheetah" Cornelison, 2010 defending champion |
| 2010 | Matt "Romeo Dance Cheetah" Cornelison, Milwaukee | Ryan "Dreamcatcher" Layman, Denver | Andrew "William Ocean" Litz, 2009 defending champion |
| 2009 | Andrew "William Ocean" Litz, New York City | Chris "Sanjar the Destroyer" Paxton, Washington DC | Cami "Airosol" Phillippi, Minneapolis |
| 2008 | Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier, Washington DC | Cami "Airosol" Phillippi, Minneapolis | Alex "Awesome" Koll, San Francisco |
| 2007 | Andrew "William Ocean" Litz, New York City | Fatima "Rockness Monster" Hoang, Los Angeles | Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier, 2006 defending champion / Randall "Big Rig" Layman, Houston |
| 2006 | Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier | ||
| 2005 | Fatima "Rockness Monster" Hoang, Los Angeles | Dan "Bjorn Turoque" Crane, New York City | Andrew "William Ocean" Litz, Chicago |
| 2004 | MiRi "Sonyk-Rok" Park | Fatima "Rockness Monster" Hoang, Los Angeles | |
| 2003 | David "C-Diddy" Jung, New York City | Gordon "Krye Tuff" Hintz, Los Angeles |
The Air Guitar UK Championship was created in 2006 by twice air guitar world champion Zac 'the Magnet' Monroe (the first non-Finn to win the competition [21] ) and is affiliated with the Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland, forming part of the World Air Guitar Network.
In September 2011, Air Guitar UK launched Air Guitar Wales and Air Guitar Northern Ireland to join Air Guitar Scotland (first launched by AGUK in 2009 [22] ) as part of the Air Guitar UK Network.
Air Guitar UK events are held in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust. [23]
UK Air Guitar (UKAG) works regularly with charities including RAFA, The 1800 Club and Action Medical Research. [24]
In 2004 the German Air Guitar Federation was co-founded by Friedericke van Meer and took place in Berlin. https://www.welt.de/print-wams/article129918/Voellig-aus-der-Luft-gegriffen.html In 2013 German Air Guitar Championship was co-founded by Hans Haberkorn in Koblenz where also the nationals were being held. Since 2017 the german air guitar championships are presented by the Backstage Concerts GmbH in Munich within the Free & Easy Festival. https://backstage.eu/free-easy-2025/free-easy-festival.html Due to the Pandemic no german nationals were held in the years 2020 - 2022
List of German Championships [6]
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Patrick "Van Airhoven" Culek | Sandra "Toastair Woman" Berger | Martin "Shorty The Scarecrow" Rüthschilling |
| 2024 | Patrick "Ehrwolf" Culek | David "Onkel Udo" Monreal | Marc "Airbreaker" Dumont |
| 2023 | Martin "Shorty The Priest" Rüthschilling | Marc "Airbreaker" Dumont | Heiko "Itchenson" Crezelius |
| 2019 | Patrick "Ehrwolf" Culek | Martin "Shorty Be Real" Rüthschilling | Marc "Airbreaker" Dumont |
| 2018 | Patrick "Ehrwolf" Culek | Daniel "Moredrive" Oldemeier | Marie "Chuck Airy" von Borstel |
| 2017 | Patrick "Ehrwolf" Culek | David "Onkel Udo" Monreal | Marc "Airbreaker" Dumont |
| 2016 | David "Onkel Udo" Monreal | Patrick "Ehrwolf" Culek | Daniel "Moredrive" Oldemeier |
| 2015 | Sabrina "Lady Liberty" Schramm | Marc "Airbreaker" Dumont | Martin "Shorty El Tiburon" Rüthschilling |
| 2014 | Sabrina "Lady Liberty" Schramm | Daniel "Moredrive" Oldemeier | Marie "Chuck Airy" von Borstel |
| 2013 | Daniel "Moredrive" Oldemeier | Marie "Chuck Airy" von Borstel | Sabrina "Lady Liberty" Schramm |
| 2012 | Christian "Heart Buckboard"Sweep | Marie "Moldy Peach" von Borstel | Stefan Mr. 10.000 Volt" Voltz |
| 2011 | Aline "The Devil's Niece" Westphal | Stefan "Mr. 10.000 Volt" Voltz | Christian "Heart Buckboard" Sweep |
| 2010 | Christian “Heart Buckboard" Sweep | Aline "The Devil’s Niece" Westphal | Jan "Igor der Karpate" Fischer |
| 2009 | Christian "Heart Buckboard" Sweep | Melanie "Mel From Hell" Marker | Jan "Geeky Gisbert" Fischer |
| 2008 | Christian "Heart Buckboard" Sweep | Paul "Doktor Schimelsky" Schlagk | Jochen "Capri Boy" Sippel |
| 2007 | René "Schmidde" Schmidt | Paul "Doktor Schimelsky" Schlagk | Kevin "Tormentor" Kurth |
| 2006 | Christian "Heart Buckboard" Sweep | Stefan "Mr. 10.000 Volt" Voltz | Michael "The Grinder" Liehl |
| 2005 | Katharina "Leni Krawitzkowski" Tomaschek | Tobias "Terror T" Riedl | Ingo "Ingroove" Schulz |
| 2004 | Ingo "Ingroove" Schulz | ? | ? |
Multiple technological innovations allow air guitar to be played as a real instrument, producing sounds that depend on the 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. [25] 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 and the strumming movements made by the wearer to synthesize an electric guitar tune, working using only six notes.
In November 2006, researchers at the Australian government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) announced they had developed a tee-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. [26] [27]
In 2007, toy company Silverlit introduced V-Beat Air Guitar, a device that consists of a motion-sensing guitar pick, a neck part with four buttons and a guitar body. By changing the distance between body and neck, and pressing a combination of the four buttons on the neck part, up to 48 tones and chords can be played. The V-Beat Air Guitar was won 'Best Music Gadget' on the television program The Gadget Show. [28] [29]
In 2007, a Japanese toy company Takara Tomy 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 guitar sounds. [30]
In March 2008, Jada Toys of California introduced the Air Guitar Rocker toy that included 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 amplifier attached to the users pants or belt. The Air Guitar Rocker is marketed with the popular Guitar Hero license and was created by toy inventor David Führer and his team. [31]
27 Heavy Metal Britannia BBC TV 2010, 105mins 20secs.
A November 2006 Associated Press piece about Air Guitar sound technology
feature about the UK championship
Video clips and interview with the world air guitar champion
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