Who's Learning The Guitar And Why?

Fender, the string instrument and amplifier manufacturer, surveyed a representative sample of over 20,000 guitar players in the U.S. and U.K. and found that half of new guitar players were women in both markets.

Fender CEO Andy Mooney cited the “Taylor Swift factor,” the phenomenon where women and girls were inspired to take up the guitar due to the singers heavy use of her guitar on stage. As Swift has moved away from her country roots towards a more synthetic, pop heavy sound, she has ditched the guitar. Despite this switch, the phenomenon has persisted over time in both markets according to Mooney.

In addition to this finding, the study also found that 72 percent of respondents started playing the guitar to gain a life skill or improve themselves. A little over six out of ten budding guitarists chose to try out the instrument so that they can play songs by themselves or for their loved ones, as opposed to picking up the guitar to pursue a rock-star dream.