Basic Trope: During a live performance, a band member (or multiple) destroy their instruments.
- Straight: Guitarist Gregory of The Tropers smashes his guitar shortly after the final song of the night.
- Exaggerated:
- Gregory smashes a guitar after every song.
- Fellow Guitarist Gary joins in the fun, and the two smash their guitars into the others.
- All the band members simultaneously break their instruments.
- Downplayed:
- Gregory simply tosses his guitar into the audience.
- Gregory cuts the strings of the guitar at the end of his act, similarly Dan the drummer tears through the drumhead.
- Gregory plays Air Guitar, and then mimes breaking the "guitar".
- Justified:
- It's been a long and grueling tour, the sound system kept cutting out and Gregory broke several strings on his guitar... so he takes his frustration out on the entire instrument.
- It's part of the act, to show how badass and rebellious they are, and besides, the crowds love it.
- Inverted:
- Gregory attempts to smash the guitar, but he breaks instead.
- Gregory shows off his skills as a guitar maker from before he became a star by quickly building a guitar before the show starts.
- Subverted: Gregory makes it look he'll smash guitars, but instead just swaps guitars with Gary.
- Double Subverted: Then, later on, Gary smashes the guitar Gregory gave him.
- Parodied:
- When Gregory smashes the guitar, the whole stage collapses.
- Gregory is a classical pianist. He smashes his piano at the end of the concert.
- Gregory tries to smash his guitar, but it refuses to get so much as a scratch.
- Gregory throws his guitar right into the case that's on the ground when he's done with the song.
- Gregory somehow managed to eat his guitar.
- Gregory, an Elegant Classical Musician, smashes his violin at the end of the concert.
- Gregory and Gary get into a wild guitar duel, as in the same kind of duel you'd see in sword fights. Blade Locks, Reverse Grip, Spectacular Spinning, Sword Drag, Sword Limbo, Sword Sparks, Flynning, and basically any Sword Fight trope you'd see in movies are done with Gregory and Gary, but with guitars.
- Zig Zagged: Depending on the circumstances, Gregory might smash his guitar, fake it, or just not even make look like he's going to. It varies from concert to concert.
- Averted: No instrument destruction occurs.
- Enforced: "Y'know, the audience would think we're a real rock band once we destroy an instrument. How 'bout you, Gregory?"
- Lampshaded: "That guitar has just 3 songs to live."
- Invoked: Gregory is promoting a new album about Creator Breakdown, smashing the guitar helps to set the mood at the end.
- Exploited: Once a rat makes its way onto the stage, Vocalist Victor tells Gregory it's right next to him. Gregory knows exactly what to do.
- Defied: "And we're on a tight budget, so no instrument destruction."
- Discussed: "Say, how many guitar solos does it take to drive a musician to destroy an instrument?"
- Conversed: After watching Gregory destroy 3 guitars, one after the other, Troper fans Alice and Bob discuss why they don't destroy any other instruments.
- Implied: While shopping for instruments at a store that Gregory regularly goes to, the clerk asks "That's the 15th guitar you've purchased this week, I take it?"
- Deconstructed: The cost of all the smashed guitars add up, and the burden starts taking its toll on the Tropers (and Gregory in particular).
- Reconstructed: After becoming a worldwide phenomenon, however, Gregory starts using the trope again, and then Drummer Darrell starts blowing up drumkits.
- Played for Drama: Gregory smashes his guitar, but seriously injures his hand in the process. Now he'll never play again.
- Played for Horror: Gregory goes on a rampage, using his guitar to assault his fellow bandmates and stagehands.
Back to Rockers Smash Guitars.
