Why is guitar SO popular?

[TaoMaas]

Like a lot of others, my first instinct was to say, "The Beatles"...but I think it really started earlier than that. The guitar was already starting to become dominant back in the folk music days, wasn't it? But there's no doubt The Beatles kicked the craze into overdrive. As has been pointed out, I think it's the portability and versatility of the guitar that makes it so popular. It can be as simple or as complex as one cares to make it. It can play an intimate fingerstyle tune or it can accompany a fairly large group singing around a campfire. I sometimes wonder if this is just a phase that will die out. I suppose banjos could take the place of guitars if they weren't so annoying.

[Doubleneck]

Originally Posted by guitarlancer

Perhaps for the guys, it's the attraction of the ladies.

Simple as that

[acws]

It's convenient to just pick up and play ..

and compared to some instruments, the guitar sound complete in itself ..

[Badfrog]

Perhaps I never noticed before, but there are so many times I'll turn on a movie or a show and will see a guitar. Many times you'll see it in the background on display. Basically every kid"s show has a guitar somewhere (I have two girls ages 8 and 11).

[acws]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUSykALZZKM

it doubles as a weapon too (thankfully seldom I guess)

[IPlay2]

Guitar isn't hard to learn unlike drums.

[BEADGCF]

Originally Posted by GuitarLight

I love the acoustic guitar because the sounds it makes, are the sounds I am inside my soul. It reproduces my thoughts, my feelings, my needs, in a way no words are able to fully reproduce. Without my guitar, there are only words. WITH my guitar, the life inside me is brought forth.

I like your answer.

When I am playing nothing else matters.

[darefugee]

portable and polyphonic, and exceptionally versatile.

[randerson]

Many instruments require an accompaniment. Piano and guitar can be played solo.

[devellis]

Well, as noted, the big surge in guitar popularity preceded the Beatles. As for attracting women, puppies work far better and many women, I've been told, associate guitars with kind of dorky guys who are far less cool than they seem to imagine (their assessment, not mine).

But there's some truth to all of the myths. The Beatles did amp up (pun intended) the popularity of guitars. Some women did gravitate to guitarists. But fundamentally, it's a portable, versatile instrument that is easy to play at a minimal level. It's a useful prop, even for a fair number of professional entertainers who really couldn't play worth a darn but still flaunted a guitar in their performances. But, if you bought it as a prop or gimmick, there was the opportunity to find that it could actually make music and sound good. It's learning curve is pretty much infinite, so you can stay with guitar for a very long time, continuing to grow as a player. And although it's somewhat of a chicken-or-egg situation, they were probably more readily available than any other instrument. Record stores, department stores, furniture stores, even the occasional hardware store would often sell a few guitars and guitar music. Even now, I see them in places like Costco. Try finding a concertina or bassoon in Costco. So their popularity was, in part, self perpetuating as retailers made them more available and public personages in the media made them more visible.

But originally, I think that versatility, portability, and affordability were the three "abilities" that gave the guitar its edge.

[Warrenaines]

I think the biggest factors are:

- Low barrier to entry (both in terms of cost and ability to play basic songs), but unlimited ceiling (both in terms of what can be played and cost)
- So many icons are associated with the guitar
- Chicks

[Basalt Beach]

Originally Posted by HHP

It is the cheapest musical instrument with any kind of broad utility.

It seems for many us, it is in our DNA to be creative and expressive, and per HHP, the guitar is one of the most accessible ways for us to be both creative and expressive.

[Irish Pennant]

For those of us that started to play it as a way to deal with our mid life crisis, it was cheeper than hair plugs or a corvette.

[Opa John]

They're portable, light weight, sound nice and you can get a decent one for as little as $200!! Sure can't say that about pianos!

[aknow]

Used to be called "The Poverty Box"
Because it helps to conquer, communicate, and empathize with the Blues.