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| How to Play Air Guitar | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 22 2006, 06:38 AM (60 Views) | |
| George K | Apr 22 2006, 06:38 AM Post #1 |
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Finally
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(anyone here play air piano? ) Air Guitar Air Guitar Techniques: A Beginner's Guide You will need: - A large mirror, so you can watch yourself in all your rock glory. There's plenty at the gym, if you don't mind people staring. (And why would you? You're a rock god! A warrior poet!) - Suitable music, preferably some that actually has guitars in it, though this is not technically necessary. - Something vaguely guitar-shaped, such as a tennis racket, hockey stick, assault rifle, or camera tripod. Again, this is not strictly necessary. Styles & Techniques: The Brit - Stand with your two feet together and lean back slightly. Strum using only your wrist, and sway slightly from left to right while still leaning back. Bend your knees occasionally for variety, but don't make it too frequent! Make sure your motions are stiff and disjointed, as if you are a 500-year-old suit of armor that now happens to have a guitar in front of thousands of screaming girls in Liverpool. To emphasize your alcoholism, occasionally throw a bottle of water (or beer, depending on your imaginary venue) at someone in the crowd. The Cafe - This technique will require that you find a stool to sit on, but the most important part is that you look melancholy. People drinking coffee need gloomy music to offset the caffeine, and that weight is on your shoulders, my friend! Actually, it may help to visualize an actual weight on your shoulders, forcing you to slouch on your stool. Stare into the distance, or at some distant point on the far wall, and vary your facial expressions between wistful longing and outright pain. Think "sad eyes." The Angst - This is basically identical to The Cafe, but without the stool to sit on. Hunching your shoulders over and mumbling incoherently into an imaginary microphone may enhance the effect. Whereas The Cafe is more appropriate for thinking about lost love, The Angst may be more appropriate for musing on the utter bleakness that is existence. The Barely-Restrained - The name basically conveys all you need to know. Keep your muscles tense, and every now and then, twitch as if you are a lion hiding in the long grass, getting ready to pounce on an unsuspecting gazelle. But don't pounce yet! Your strums can vary from casual to frenzied shredding to just plain bizarre, it's up to you. Ed Kowalczyk of Live has modified this stance to include wide eyes and shaking, as if possessed by a demon with tourette's, but this is not recommended for the casual air guitarist. The Power Stance - Spread your feet apart, with your left foot pointed at roughly a 45-degree angle towards the audience. Point your right foot off in a different direction, and keep both knees slightly bent at all times, as this gives the impression that the wielding of your guitar causes great strain. With most of your weight on the left leg, sort of rock or "bounce" forward in with the downbeats of the music. Keep your right arm energetically strumming! Feel free to be completely flexible and fluid in your motions, and if the song is particularly violent, you can even throw in some improvised headbanging. During guitar solos, put more weight on your right leg, leaning back a bit, and raising your left hand (and imaginary guitar) up a little bit, to demonstrate the concentration you are putting into the solo. The Windmill - Immortalized by Bill & Ted, this is a variation of the Power Stance. Every time you strum, make your entire arm go in a full circle, out away from your body, up in the air, and down across the strings. The dramatic effect is best acheived if you are wearing shredded denim, or, theoretically, if you are Axl Rose. The Slam - Occasionally, a song will get gradually quieter (decrescendo, for you band geeks), just before all the instruments come roaring back. (See Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run," Stone Temple Pilots "Big Empty" or Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" for good examples.) To emphasize the moment, take your left hand, holding the imaginary neck of your guitar, up close to your right shoulder. Just as the guitars hit, pull it back down violently to the left, while drawing your right hand upward across the imaginary strings. The Emo - This stance has plenty of room for your own customization, but a good t-shirt is crucial, preferably ones with references to 80s television, obscure diners in New Mexico, or the plight of Laotian orphans. Also, wearing tight black jeans may help demonstrate solidarity with your fellow outcasts. Otherwise, in terms of actual technique, borrow heavily from The Brit and The Angst, with an occasional Barely-Restrained thrown in, and you can't go far wrong. The Anthem - This is a compound technique, and one that should not be attempted without proper preparation. Start out with The Cafe during the slow introduction to the song, as the emotion builds, move into The Barely-Restrained. At the crucial moment, drop The Slam and move into The Power Stance with confidence and the unbridled rage of a rock god. If appropriate, finish with The Angst and let the roar from your legions of fans wash over you. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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10:53 AM Jul 11