VIDEO: How to Spin a Guitar


The internet is rife with videos of guitarists trying vainly to spin their guitars around their necks, only to have the instruments go flying off and crashing into trees, walls or fellow musicians.

It’s a boneheaded move, but one which a lot of guitarists seem determined to attempt, no matter the danger to themselves or others.

As it turns out, National Geographic wants to help. In this video, part of its appropriately named Science of Stupid series, host Richard Hammond explains the science behind the guitar spin.



“If you must spin a guitar around your body, then centripetal force is what you need,” Hammond explains. Diagrams and some basic comprehension of physics do the rest.

The video is worth the three minutes it takes to watch it, even if you don’t plan to spin a guitar—and considerably more if you do.