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Guitar moves are moves which are done involving (most commonly) an Electric Guitar or Bass Guitar . These moves exist as pieces of stage flair used by band members to either emphasize a climax to a song or as a piece of visual entertainment to impress the audience. The moves are fairly universal and have grown and evolved from as early as the 1950/60's. BASIC MOVES Basic moves are very common and used by myriads of guitarists. They are pretty simple and effective way to heat up the crowd. Most of these moves are very natural and come from general playing practices such as Strumming chords or playing leads high on the neck, close to neck joint. Some basic moves are just expressing the emotions through "classy" gestures or facial expressions. None of them are particularly hard to perform and involve "uncomfortable" playing. Any complex actions taken in basic moves, if there are any, are performed while not playing, for example, before the start of the song or after the end. Windmill Made famous by during a concert, and after the concert Pete asked Keith if he could use the move, Keith had no recollection of doing it. The windmill involves holding your guitar in a chord position while rotating your arm quickly in a clockwise motion and hitting the strings (thereby striking the chord). It's generally used as a closer to songs. Speaking to the gods Again used primarily in the 70s/80s, popularised by Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi . This involves putting your hand to your temple with a slightly pained/enlightened expression on your face before continuing to play, it is used mostly in solos. The idea is to make it look like some higher power is instructing you on what to play next. Porn face Whilst playing particularly smooth licks pulling a face akin to an orgasm face in time with the guitar playing. Used particularly during the 70s and 80s, sometimes also combined with Wah Face . Wah face The ''wah face'' also known as the ''fellatio wah face'', is where you open your mouth in accordance with the enveloping of a Wah-wah Pedal . This is usually done with the eyes closed and is somewhat difficult to avoid doing once you start doing it. Guitarist Steve Vai is famous for doing the ''wah face''. Machinegunner To hold the guitar at waist height and rotate pointing the headstock at the crowd like firing a Machine Gun . This is sometimes combined with the Rock Splits and the KISS Tongue . Sometimes known as "spraying the crowd." of rock band KISS doing his famous tongue waggle]] KISS tongue Named after Gene Simmons' famous pose of waggling his tongue out of his mouth as a display of showmanship. The waggling tongue has been taken up by other rockers, sometimes ironically, and also used in the Mockumentary rock film Spinal Tap by Nigel Tufnell played by Christopher Guest . Guitar Hercules To raise the guitar into the air, sometimes at the end of a song or sometimes while still playing. Effort is made to look like either everyone should be in admiration of the guitar or the guitar/bass player makes it look like raising it that high is a Herculian effort. Guitar point To point or punch your fist in time with the music, this either means a section where the guitar/bass player doesn't need to play, like a breakdown and then drops in again after the breakdown, or when the player is doing "One Hand behind my back" Wait for it Raising your hand in the air (be it in a fist, point or other) during a pause to signify that the music will continue or in order to signify the end of a section and the start of something new e.g a bass breakdown then a big guitar riff coming in etc. TRICKY MOVES These moves are more uncommon and personal (i.e. commonly used by only single artist) than basic moves. They usually involve some particularly "uncomfortable" or "hard" condition in which guitarist should continue playing instrument to show off. These include performing guitar in awkward positions, using unusual parts of body, playing while performing various Acrobatic tricks, etc. Behind the head Famously done by Steve Vai and others, to raise the guitar behind one's head and continue to play the guitar riff despite the difficulty this presents. This is both a good show off move (if you pull it off) as well as an interesting piece of visual expression. Steve Vai's signature guitars the Ibanez JEM and Ibanez Universe both have "monkey grips" (ergonomic grip holes that allow him to have more control over the guitar) to facilitate this move as well as "Behind the back". Behind the back A move performed by Steve Vai . 'Behind the Back' is to hold the guitar behind one's back and continue to play despite the even greater difficulty this presents. Steve Vai's signature guitars the Ibanez JEM and Ibanez Universe both have "monkey grips" (ergonomic grip holes that allow him to have more control over the guitar) to facilitate this move as well as "Behind the head". using his tongue]] Playing with teeth / tongue A move first notable used by Jimi Hendrix but still occasionally employed by guitarists like Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen . It has also been used as a tool of humour such as Jeff Buckley 's use of it in his 1995 Chicago performance (from his dvd "Jeff Buckley - Live in Chicago"). It doesn't especially allow particular dexterity and is not especially impressive, its employment nowadays, even when used in the context of songs or performances, is usually with a tinge of irony. doing the Duckwalk]] Duck walk Famously used by guitarist Chuck Berry , it involves leaning over the guitar and kicking out ones feet which looks vaguely like the kind of awkward waddle a duck has (hence the name). Also famously used by Angus Young of AC/DC . Knee skid Basically skidding along the ground on your knees with the guitar on, again used by Pete Townsend although members of The Datsuns have been seen using it too. Usually done with a big run up for maximum effect. Belt Buckle Spin Hooking your guitar up to a device that connects it to your belt buckle, instead of a strap. The trick is to spin the guitar 360 degrees vertically, possibly synchronized with a fellow band mate. This can be seen the the ZZ Top music video for their song Legs. Guitar kick To kick in the air whilst playing along to the guitar as a sign of anger or excitement, sometimes used to exaggerate or highlight changes in tempos or a distinct beat or chord in a riff or song. Air Guitar Australia Describes two variations of the Guitar Kick Guitar spin kick To jump and spin kick whilst playing guitar, not usually in time with anything although used for effect during pauses between song sections or to signify the start or end of a song doing the Rock Splits]] Rock splits The Rock Splits is to stand with the legs wide apart and continue to play. It is also sometimes combined with The Machinegunner . One hand behind my back To raise or remove one's picking hand from the playing position and continue to play the guitar riff or lick without the picking hand by simply Hammering on the fretboard, again a move designed for the purpose of 'showing off' but the free hand can be used for the guitar point or the 'wait for it' point. There are many variations on this theme; for example Justin Sane of Anti-Flag sometimes uses his free hand to point at the crowd whilst winking and smiling, to show off. doing the Sniper Rifle]] Sniper rifle Famously used by Iron Maiden Bass player and Songwriter Steve Harris but also in recent times by guitarists such as Dan Higgins of London band The Duke Spirit and Nicholaus Arson of The Hives . This involves holding the guitar neck up to you eyeline and glancing down it whilst pointing it at the audience whilst still playing (failure to play it simultaneously looks mildly ridiculous). It's use usually indicates a wild guitar playing section or a climax to a song. Little drummer boy Most famously used by Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth . It involves either dragging a Drum Stick along the fretboard like a slide, hitting strings in the area over the Pickups or holding the guitar by the strap and striking the front or back of the guitar in order to produce a Gong -like effect. Balancing act To remove the guitar and balance or hold it by the headstock. Has been used by Boz Boorer of Morrissey 's backing band and Dan Higgins of The Duke Spirit . Again just for showmanship, it's unfeasible for continueing to play guitar but it's employment is at the end of a song or performance. EXTREME MOVES These moves are either dangerous to perform for guitarist, band or whole audience (an error in performance may cause injuries) or cause irreversible destruction to equipment, stage, etc. of The Clash on the cover of London Calling smashing his Bass ]] Guitar smashing Another move popularised by Pete Townsend, guitar smashing is just as the name suggests, smashing the guitar usually at the climax of a set, the effectiveness of this move depends on timing; Most artists use it at the very end of their show and not two songs into their support slot (see: Zico Chain ). Most commonly guitars are smashed either by being swung at the floor or rammed into guitar amps, or in rare cases being swung into the drums or other set up equipment besides the amps. Floor Spinning Popularized by Angus Young of AC/DC . Involves falling to the floor, then shaking uncontrollably and flailing the legs to cause the guitarist to spin around on floor, while still playing. Usually used during a solo or at the end of a song (Particularly T.N.T. ). Crowd surfing While not, in the common sense meaning of the term, strictly a guitar move, the guitar move variety requires the guitar player to jump on top of the crowd and continue to play their guitar riffs or solos. This is all the more impressive given the instability of support the crowd would provide. Death from above To launch one's guitar into the air. It varies as to whether it is necessary to catch the guitar on its return to the ground. Pete Townsend has both caught and continued playing his guitars and allowed them to plummet to the floor and break. There are further variations such as when International Noise Conspiracy guitarist Lars Strömberg launched his guitar into the crowd at Reading Festival 2004. Whirligigs]] Whirligig This move is when you have the guitar already on the strap over your shoulder, then throwing the guitar over the shoulder. This can be done by throwing the guitar counter-clockwise over the shoulder (see: The Hives - Die, Alright music video 1:10) or alternativly whipping it clockwise over the back (as in image) this can be continued by gyrating the body and shoulders in order to keep the guitar swinging (also see image). Obviously, such move is possible only when no cable restrains guitar from flying around and it became popular only in late 1990s - 2000s , as portable radio systems became more affordable. Whirling dervish Much like the Whirly Gig , however rather than swinging it over the shoulders the guitarist removes the guitar and swings it by the strap. This move isn't massivly popular due to the more dangerous nature of the move. The relative fragility of the guitar strap combined with the increased risk of doing serious damage to the guitar or other band members makes it an unpopular move. Drop and roll Simply to drop the guitar to the ground as if you don't care. The result being the guitar usually will feedback or produce a noise and the person who has done it will look, for want of a better term, 'like a badass'. This is usually done at the end of a set and is followed by the guitarist strolling off stage. Amp hump Used most notably by the Soledad Brothers . This move involves the guitarist pushing the guitar hard up against the Amp and grinding or pushing the guitar hard into the amp at the Speaker . This usually results in noise and feedback and can last quite a long time (especially in the case of the Soledad Brothers) until the guitar player is satisfied that the audience and guitar have suffered enough and it is usually followed by a "Drop and Roll". Cable toss Used by Pete Townsend of The Who . To toss the guitar in the air then pull sharply on the guitar lead in order to pull it quickly down into the ground. Used much like Guitar Smashing (because the results are usually the same) to end a set or a song. Ted Nugent Ted Nugent has his own guitar move. It involves the guitar player, removing the guitar, resting the guitar up against an amp then using a bow to fire several arrows into the back of the guitars body. Once this is achieved you pick up the guitar and raise it into the air in order to show the protruding arrows. REFERENCES SEE ALSO
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