Playing Guitar Behind Your Back

I didn't think it was possible to play the guitar behind your back until I saw Jimi Hendrix on a video. This is a very specific showmans skill and flexibility. Sense of humour and musicianship are combined to create an entertaining rock'n'roll visual effect. Old blues players used this technique way before Hendrix. In fact you could say it was choreographic plagarism, yet Jimi was considered the innovator of this acrobatic guitar stage movement. Purists say it's not real music if somebody plays the guitar behind their back. But this is not supposed to be musical criteria, it comes under choreography and showmanship. Guitar chords are difficult to perform behind your back, but single notes and double stops are easier

Random strumming techniques on the guitar strings by fast fingers always create some sort of effect when you try to play guitar behind your back, but you must mute the strings with the left hand fingers or you get ugly feedback at high volumes. You might be able to play a beautiful melody, but usually only a few sounds filter through as useable. It's not easy to swivel and catch an electric guitar behind back and then accurately pick the strings by co-ordinating both hands. Sometimes it's simply an impossible thing to play guitar behind back. It's like being in a circus, not a serious music ensemble. That is where this body science is born from, street entertainment!

It's amazing to think how to play guitar behind back while millions don't even know how to play guitar normally, by using their hands in the standard frontal position. My friend made a bet with me to see if I could find a local guitarist who knows how to play guitar behind back but I didn't go for it. Showmanship is very lacking on the british live scene nowadays. I wonder, when was the last time you saw a local guitarist in a pub who could play guitar behind back?