How Many People Play the Guitar, Work Ethic, A Community for you

Here are a few notable musical events that took place on November 22nd:

1. 1963: The Beatles released their second studio album in the United Kingdom, titled "With The Beatles." This album included songs like "All My Loving" and "Please Mister Postman."

2. 1975: The rock band Queen released their fourth studio album, "A Night at the Opera," which featured the epic song "Bohemian Rhapsody."

3. 1984: The song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was recorded by Band Aid, a charity supergroup formed to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. The single became a massive success.

How Many People in the World Play Guitar?

Guitars are one of the most popular musical instruments in the world, but no one knows how many people in the world play guitar. This is only an estimate, but there could be as many as 712 million active guitarists worldwide.

Many people who want to play an instrument start by learning the guitar, and some guitarists are so skilled they earn a living playing guitar at a very high level. These musicians are part of a worldwide music industry worth $54 billion in 2018, and it is estimated to be e worth over $65 billion by the end of 2023.

But exactly how many people in the world play guitar? Let's find out how it is in different countries:

 The United States

According to Fender, the leading US guitar maker, 10% of the world's population knows how to play the guitar. Of the huge number in the US who will try to learn the instrument, around 72 million will continue to play.

Interestingly, guitar sales in the US spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, going over 3 million units in 2021. Here are the exact figures.

Fender discovered that most of the world's guitarists live in the US in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, and they play music from all genres with differing skill levels.

The United Kingdom

Like Americans, many British people became guitar players during the pandemic.

In a country that has been a world leader in music since The Beatles, there's no shortage of role models. And many people took their inspiration from the likes of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapman.

Data shows that there are around 43,600 working musicians in the United Kingdom.

In another survey taken in 2016, 21% of UK guitarists questioned said they were self-taught. The percentage suggests there could be many more people in the UK who can play. Like in the US, people of all ages and various ethnic backgrounds started learning the guitar in 2020.

Fender wanted to know if it was still true that more males took up the guitar than females. They collected data and discovered that around 50% of the new 2020-21 learners were female. The increase in guitar sales suggested all kinds of people wanted to learn how to play.

Australia

The global electric guitars market is growing exponentially, worth 4.49 billion in 2022. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of up to 6.8% by 2030, with Australia being a major contributor.

Here is what the market report 2021 says about guitar sales in Australia:

Almost 50% of Australia's professional musicians play guitar, and 16% of the country's population in all. Sales of electric guitars were slack between 2012 and 2017, but they have come back strong since 2019.

Australia leads the world with its guitar music scene. The guitar is an integral part of Australia's musical identity, with millions taking up guitars as a hobby, and to cater to this demand, guitar lessons are available almost everywhere.

There is no shortage of newcomers wanting to learn how to play Australian pop, rock, blues, and jazz. Enjoying guitar-based concerts and festivals outdoors has also become a favorite Australian pastime.

Spain

Spain's early guitarists played small classical guitars brought in by the conquering Moors. Today, Spain is well known for its guitar-playing tradition, with its classical and flamenco styles becoming world famous.

There have been guitarists in Spain since the 16th century, and the country now has several world-class music schools. One especially famous is the Guitar School of Barcelona, which focuses on teaching the guitar.

In Spain, acoustic sales have experienced a steady 15% growth for many years. Although it is only an estimate, Spain has around 10 million guitar players. They've all helped Spanish flamenco music achieve international recognition as a formidable genre.

These days, more Spanish are choosing electric guitars over acoustic, which is interesting considering Spain's long-standing acoustic tradition. It's a sales market that is expected to grow. Electric guitars already make up 35% of all the instruments imported into the country.

Mexico

Like Spain, Mexico has a long tradition of guitar music, with guitar being the preferred musical instrument for millions in Mexico. In fact, the guitar market in Mexico is likely to grow at 8% CAGR until 2028.

In Mexico, the music takes on regional styles like mariachi, norteña, and ranchera. The country produces millions of guitars in Michoacán, a city dubbed the 'Guitar Capital of Mexico'.

However, no real data is available about how many Mexicans play guitar. But, as mentioned already, Fender found that around 10% of the global population knows how to play guitar. And considering the popularity of guitars and the overall population in Mexico, it is easy to say that the number of guitarists here is in the millions.

It is worth noting how Mexico's guitarists have enormously contributed to world music. Although American, Carlos Santana, one of the world's guitar greats, was born and raised in Mexico. He pioneered an exciting jazz-rock fusion. Chamín Correa, another world great, wooed the world by playing romantic songs on a requinto.

Takeaway

The fact of the matter is that the guitar is an extremely popular instrument with over 700 million players around the world. And the numbers are constantly going up post-COVID, further highlighting the guitar's enduring popularity.

While it is popular in the UK, Spain, and Mexico, the US still leads the market, with more than 72 million guitar players. The universal appeal combined with versatility and accessibility is why the number of guitar players will only go up from here.

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