What is air guitar? Is it a rock and roll themed airline? A musical instrument powered by the wind? No. Air guitar is something much simpler and purer. Air guitar is the ultimate expression of rock appreciation. It’s when someone listening to rock music pretends to be playing along with the music, even though they possess no instrument. A confusing concept, to be sure that will be explained it in greater detail later.

Now, you may be asking yourself, how does air guitar work? How is it done? What is its history? Air guitar started with the fans, probably in the mid-70s when metal first came onto the scene. The exact details of who first started air guitar and when are sadly lost to history, perhaps forever.

Air guitar is useful for listening to rock music. It benefits the metal fan; one who does not know how to air guitar is not a true fan. Best of all, it requires no special skills or training to learn how to air guitar. Why, you can learn it in minutes (although it takes a lifetime to truly master).

Maybe you think it looks cool. Maybe you want to enter an air guitar competition. Maybe you just like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Whatever the case, here are three simple steps to have you rocking out like a guitar hero in no time.

Heavy metal is best, but anything that features the electric guitar prominently can work. If rock music is not to your taste, country music can work, as most air guitar techniques apply equally to the steel guitar and the banjo. Alternatively, you can also play air variants of a wide variety of instruments, but it is recommended you get some experience air guitaring first before you try other instruments.

If you can’t think of a particular song to play, you can turn on your radio and air guitar to whatever they’re playing. However, for a beginner, you can benefit from using music you own, either as a CD or an MP3, because it will allow you to pause and rewind when you get it wrong (and you will, at least at first).

Some good songs to play air guitar to can be found on the 25 Greatest Air Guitar Songs playlist on Rhapsody.comhttp://www.rhapsody.com/playlistcentral/playlistdetail?playlistId=ply.9116274

Note that some of these songs required advanced air guitar techniques (such as Purple Haze and Song 2) while others can be played almost as soon as you learn (such as Seven Nation Army). Also note that the list only has 18 songs even though they said 25. I…don’t have an explanation for that.

Raise your left hand to about shoulder level and turn it so the palm is facing up. Then pretend you are clutching a thin object about 4 inches wide in that hand. You can now move your hand to whatever level you feel comfortable with. Most rock guitarists play standing up so it’s recommended that you also air guitar standing up, with your left hand at hip level. You’ll need to move your fingers of your left hand so don’t clutch too tight. Remember, what’s holding the air guitar on you is the air straps (if you are more experienced you can also pretend to put the guitar on before you get started). Next place your right hand about three feet away from your left hand on the opposite side of your hip. Remember when you move one hand up or down to move the other one in the opposite direction to compensate. Now press the thumb and index finger of your right hand together to emulate holding a pick. You are now in the proper air guitar position.

If you are left handed, you can easily reverse the hands in these instructions. They do make left-handed guitars and it’s easy enough to pretend you have one.

The key first step here is to play the music before you start air guitaring. It’s easier to air guitar along with the music than to air guitar alone.

In order to actually play the guitar, move your right hand up and down in a strumming motion. Try to do this at the same time as the music. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it right at first; practice makes perfect! Also, don’t forget to move the fingers of your left hand. Try to do this whenever the chords of the guitar changes. It doesn’t matter how you move your fingers since you aren’t actually playing the chords. You’ll note it becomes more difficult during a guitar solo. If this seems complicated, don’t worry; strumming and changing chords will become second nature the more you do it.

Don’t forget, the point here is to express your love of the music playing. Therefore, don’t stand still while you’re doing it. Dance, bang your head, do something to liven up your performance. An air guitarist standing still, even with the most perfect technique, is just a guy pretending to play the guitar. An air guitarist in motion is an artist.