History Main / AirGuitar

* On ''GreenWing'', a guy tells Karen she looks like a queen... specifically, [[Queen Brian May]]. He illustrates this with an air guitar riff. She responds by smashing his air guitar.

* Both Modern and Classic [[SonicTheHedgehog Sonics]] will do this at some point in ''SonicGenerations''.

* Spoofed in ''WarioLand: Shake It!'' There's a treasure called the Air Guitar which is just an empty outline of a guitar.

* Played straight in the first ''{{Fable}}'' but subverted in the sequel, where you use a lyre instead.

->You hear the snake on the radio
->You say the singer really makes you go
->Can't you see what you're doing to me
->You're driving me axe crazy!
->-- "Axe Crazy" by Jaguar

->''Okay, the pretend guitar solo ends now!''
->--The [[CharacterTitle title character]] of ''KimPossible''

->--The TitleCharacter of ''KimPossible''

* In the introduction to ''KidRadd'', it's mentioned he's real cool, but by mid-'80s standards, and Radd does air guitar just to make that clear.

* Klavier does a very convincing one in ''Apollo Justice: AceAttorney'', up to and including actually sounding like a real guitar.
* In the old KnightRider, Michael does air guitar whilst posing as a "bona fide" rock star. Do real rock stars do this?
* Opus from ''BloomCounty'' was discovered by his friends doing this, thinking he was alone.
-->'''Steve:''' Shall I let the Air Groupies in now?
* Motor Ed from ''KimPossible'' enjoys air guitar and "Woaaaah!" noises. [[VerbalTic Seriously]].
** So does [[HarmlessVillain Dr. Drakken]]. Seriously.
* BBC Radio DJ Mark Radcliffe often admits to air drumming. Guests often "play" other instruments. I think I remember someone claiming they did air lighting rig.

* An episode of the canadian kids show ''TheLatestBuzz'' has Wilder and his father entering an air guitar championship.
* There is an Air Guitar emote in ''{{RuneScape}}'', earned when you unlock 500 songs in the game.
* An episode of Doug has Skeeter playing air guitar because his parents couldn't afford a real one. He and Doug take turns playing it and passing it to each other.
* ''{{Funky Winkerbean}}'s'' Crazy Harry won an international air guitar competition.
* Some of the ''GuitarHero'' games have an "air guitar" cheat, that makes the characters play air guitar.
** There is a product on the market with the ''Guitar Hero'' license that will play a guitar riff if you move your hands in front of it to facilitate air-guitaring. It's a popular Internet joke. That said, while you can't learn guitar from ''GuitarHero'', it ''does'' help one's air guitar skills.
** For pre-orders of ''Guitar Hero World Tour'', Gamestop is offering free air guitars.
* There have been, and still are, several championships, whether national or global, for this.
** Which was mocked by the comedy band ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1n5H1ITqQ8 Tripod]]''. The singers/guitar players are upset that despite the fact that they actually went and learnt guitar, they get less awards and accolades than air guitarists. When they performed the song on ''The Sideshow'', TheUmbilicalBrothers came on and had a guitar-off with them, with the Brothers playing an air-guitar and making awesome and realistic guitar noises with their mouths, overshadowing Tripod, who were playing actual guitars. Go figure.
* A 6th season NCIS episode has Tony participating in an air guitar contest online, while Ziva gives him grief about doing something so childish. It ends with her making sure she's alone, air-rocking out, and laughing.
* Another Video Game Example: One of Nero's more extreme taunts in [[DevilMayCry Devil May Cry 4]] is to strum an air guitar in front of his enemies. And if you stop and listen, [[RuleOfCool It's actually making real music.]]
* The Pyro in ''TeamFortress2'' plays air-guitar with all of his current melee loadout items when you taunt with the melee item out.
* The Magic monster from the first ''MonsterRancher'' game has an attack called Diversion, which is a psychic air guitar attack.
* The Forsaken in ''WorldOfWarcraft'' play an air guitar when they use the /dance emote.

* ''ShreddedMoose'': [[http://www.shreddedmoose.com/comic/comic_arc.php?comicID=1 Here.]]
* Spoofed in ''WarioLand: Shake It!'' There's a treasure called the Air Guitar which is just an empty outline of a guitar.
-->Rock out anywhere and anytime with this nonexistent axe. WHOOOOO!
* Most of the ''FamilyGuy'' official art will have Chris Griffin play the air guitar, although he doesn't do it at all in the show.

* In the second ending of [[{{ptitletanigjtzzgkp}} xxxHoLic]] Maru, Moro and Mokona play air guitar, bass and battery.

* ''[[BackyardSports Backyard Skateboarding]]'' has the Big Air Guitar Solo.
* The book ''Thinning the Herd'' tells us how this can go horribly awry - a 16-year-old fell out the window while jumping on the bed and playing air guitar. He was three stories up.
* [[SoBadItsGood Horribly]] invoked in the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxxOyGK1pMk music video]] for {{Journey}}'s "Separate Ways" ... in some shots, the members of the band are shown playing air guitar, air keyboard, and air drums. Yes, ''real musicians'' are pretending to play the instruments they ''actually know how to play''. (This could knock [[RickRoll Rick Astley]] out of the top slot for "Worst Music Video Of All Time". Of course, [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]].)
** Slightly less badly, "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dOwHzCHfgA starts off with]] an air...cello?
** Awesomely invoked in Meshuggah's video for "New Millenium Cyanide Christ." The video features the band headbanging in their tour bus, with the guitarists air guitaring (featuring the lead guitarist's accurate air soloing), the drummer hitting air drums with his real drumsticks, and the lead singer lip-syncing into a ballpoint pen. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A_tSyJBsRQ Your mind will be blown.]]
* The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jx8zeY-a1A music video]] for "Chunky Chunky Air Guitar" by The Whitlams is a mockmuentary about the 9th Annual [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Air Guitar]] World Championships.
* A few routines in DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party 2-3 have the dancers air-guitar to some songs. They're insanely adorable when they do this!

* Mentioned in Emily Osment's 'All The Way Up' as one of the things she likes to do, including biting nails, waking her friends up at 3AM and playing RockAndRoll loud enough to make the windows shake.
* Parodied in an OzyAndMillie strip, [[http://www.ozyandmillie.org/d/19990111.html here]]. Note: Ozy is, technically, cheating.
* ''TheWeekenders'': Tino performs one when he fantasizes of playing "Extreme Jacks" when looking for a competitive sport he has to play. His friends advise him not to perform air guitar anymore.
* The Republic Tigers have a song called Air Guitar which incites the listener to do exactly this, for which they even provide the requisite guitar solos.
* The Musical Instrument Museum in Arizona has an exhibit full of guitars. The last display case contains an empty guitar stand, and the plaque beside it reads, "Air Guitar. Materials: Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and Dreams."
* In one episode of FlightOfTheConchords Bret sells his guitar and is forced to play air guitar. Murray, the band's manager, [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext begins to write bad reviews of the band]] since he "can hardly hear it. No, you'd have to be deaf to hear that".
* The music video for Area 7's "Nobody Likes A Bogan" features the tennis racquet/cricket bat substitute variant.
* In one of Supernatural's DVD extra's JensenAckles does an epically funny mime to 'eye of the tiger' including using his leg as an impromptu replacement for a guitar.
* Played straight in the first {{Fable}} but subverted in the sequel, where you use a lyre instead.
* WoodyAllen's ''{{Bananas}}'' has a scene with an air chamber band. Woody eventually asks them to keep it quieter. (Originally, there were supposed to be instruments, but they never arrived and Woody decided to [[ThrowItIn roll with it]].)

* In a deleted scene in ''TheOriginalKingsOfComedy'', Bernie Mac entertains the audience after he has broken his mic and is waiting for a new one by picking up the mic stand and pretending to play the bass guitar with it.

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** Which was mocked by the comedy band ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1n5H1ITqQ8 Tripod]]''. The singers/guitar players are upset that despite the fact that they actually went and learnt guitar, they get less awards and accolades than air guitarists.

* ''{{TheWeekenders}}'': Tino performs one when he fantasizes of playing "Extreme Jacks" when looking for a competitive sport he has to play. His friends advises him not to perform air guitar anymore.

* Played straight in the first [[Fable Fable]] but subverted in the sequel, where you use a lyre instead.

* Played straight in the first {Fable} but subverted in the sequel, where you use a lyre instead.

* Played straight in the first [[Fable]] but subverted in the sequel, where you use a lyre instead.

* Played straight in the first Fable but subverted in the sequel, where you use a lyre instead.

* ''{{Scrubs}}''. The Janitor forms an air guitar band with Ted and some delivery guy. Turk joins, slights Kelso and to get back at him Kelso bans air guitaring in the hospital.

* The Pyro in ''TeamFortress2'' plays air-guitar with his axe if you do a taunt with the axe equipped.

** So does [[HarmlessVillain Dr.Drakken.]] Seriously.