They are scored in three categories: technical skill (which is how well your performance matches up with the actual fingerings you would see on a real guitar), stage presence (“anyone can do it in the privacy of their bedroom” US Air Guitar’s guidelines read), and finally “airness” – the most decisive of all three metrics.Īirness, per the guidelines, is the “extent to which a performance transcends the imitation of a real guitar and becomes an art form in and of itself.” In a 2008 article, The Washington Post offered this definition: “kind of like the definition of 'pornography ' you know it when you see it.” "The idea of shredding air guitar in the name of world peace was so absurdly marvelous."Īir guitarists perform before judges who assign them a score between 4 and 6 for each round. At the Air Guitar World Championships, competitors hear the compulsory song for the first time right before they go onstage. In the second, the music is chosen by the judges. In the first round, you select your own music. You’re judged not just on your technical skill but also on the overall vibe of your performance over the course of two rounds. Wikipedia calls it “a form of dance and movement.” While the grueling acrobatics is one reason air guitar is a sport, it's the performance aspect that truly makes it competitive. Why is air guitar a sport? – In theory, air guitar is extremely simple: You play along to the music of your choice. “It seems like a joke at first, but the more you watch, the more you feel yourself sucked into the liberating joy and fascinating game mechanics of the world’s most abstract sport.” “Competitive air guitar started in Finland as a simple, but deceptively philosophical idea: If everyone in the world would simply play air guitar, no one would be able to also hold a weapon - and therefore, world peace would spontaneously happen,” Kriston Rucker, the co-commissioner of US Air Guitar, says. Rob "The Marquis" Messel competing at the Air Guitar World Championships in 2019. But even with Worlds canceled, the mission of air guitar feels more relevant than ever, amidst this year's onslaught of disease, natural disasters, and a reckoning with systemic racism. That performance won him a title, and he’s still the air guitar World Champion - the 2020 World Championships are on pause right now, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. "When I got off stage and I didn’t have immediate recollection I thought, that was probably pretty good." “I’m in a flow state - I’m not really registering what’s happening," Messel reflects. They're not sports, but they are weird, wonderful, and almost-athletic. This is Not Sports, a series where Inverse explores unique competitive cultures that you'll never see at the Olympics (probably). He caps off his performance with a somersault leading to a star-jump. His face is eerily deadpan as he slides across the stage on his knees. The Marquis is an 18th-century French aristocrat who, as Messel says, time-traveled to 1980, where he became enthralled with glam rock and hair metal, before turning up in the 21st century to play air guitar. Messel was dressed as “The Marquis,” his performance alter-ego. To anyone else, it probably looked like Messel had totally lost his mind. “I just get peaceful and focused,” Messel tells Inverse. When the music finally started, a switch flipped in his mind. Rob “The Marquis" Messel had 60 seconds left to prove he was good enough to become 2019’s Air Guitar World Champion.
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