Guitar Face

Why I make it, why I hate it, and why it's necessary

As a musician who posts a lot of videos of myself playing guitar on the internet, I get a lot of comments about my face. Most people who comment seem to like the faces I make, or at least find them amusing, leaving a laughing/crying emoji or just the words “guitar face”. Some hate it, making it known that they’ve been “put off” the music by looking at me. I’m sure there are many people who just scroll past my videos and spare me the negative comments.

Recently, a friend asked me if I make these faces to “add to my artistry” or something (I forget the exact wording). I thought it’s high time I set the record straight:

I used to hate the faces I make when playing music. I’ve had to work quite consciously to move past caring about them. Now, I try hard not to think about it. I don’t love when people comment on it at all.

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I haven’t talked about this on here yet because it’s a “beggars can’t be choosers” situation. I’m putting my music and my face out there into the world, so on some level, it’s unfair of me to express opinions or expectations about how people should respond. I don’t want people to stop commenting on my face because it’s good for business! Any engagement helps!

That being said, I can’t control it. I could focus to maintain a stoic face while playing, but the performance would likely suffer for my brain being engaged in that task as opposed to the notes.

Many have joked and theorized about “guitar face”. The long-held notion that musicians “have to make the face”. My theory on “the face” is that it’s a tell- a sign that inhibition is lowered and the person has entered that interesting third space between thinking about the music and zoning out completely. When I’m making a weird face, I’ve usually moved past the mechanics of how to play the piece I’m playing. There’s a certain flow state that can only be achieved when thinking in broad strokes, like a classical pianist who has memorized the concerto and can now focus on shaping it as a whole, bringing in dynamics and phrasing and giving notes to the orchestra. When I and many others get to that point with the music and that state of mind, these odd faces are summoned as the real-time reactions of someone living inside the music as opposed to observing it.

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Obviously, no one likes to be told they have a weird face. This extends to me especially when I am hyperfocused on a song, working hard to get the best take, then quickly editing and posting the video. In these moments, I am proud of my work, still buzzing about the major 2 I used there or how that harmonic sounded so clearly, and I’m excited for people to hear it. Getting that first comment back and reading, “haha love that stank face” is a bucket of ice water to the head. I know what I look like as I’m editing the video, of course, but I’ve trained my brain a bit to just go with it, it’s okay. Armed with the practical knowledge that no one cares about whatever it is that keeps me up at night, as I’ve learned from teen movies, I forge ahead. And it’s true that no one really cares, but they do notice. And comment.

I think it bothers me because the intended purpose of the video is the sound, not the visual. On the other hand, though, I know that if I just posted the sound or used a different video in the background, it wouldn’t do well at all. The algorithm loves an authentic face, and I’m happy to provide it. This is the price.

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Music has given people the reaction of weird faces for as long as both people and music have existed. It’s possible that my faces are especially weird, or that my phone camera is especially close to my face, and I publish those videos on the internet especially often.

But the performances from me are better when I let go and let myself make whatever face I want, so I will continue to do that. My love for music greatly overrides my fear of being perceived making a strange face (obviously).

At least no one will ever say I didn’t put everything I have into it.

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In case you missed it…

I put out a new song, Seams, last week. It’s a doozy. Here are some tabs for it as well. This marks the second single on my debut album, Evening Star, that will be coming soon!

For those of you who liked the video clip of my newly written song Pushing (and could get over the faces I made in it), I posted a demo here for my paid subscribers. If you’re a free subscriber and really want to listen to it, I think you get one freebie through the site!

See you all soon,

Emma