Musicians in these genres, like the blues artists of the 1930s, often want to be seen as provocative pioneers in an outlier art form. This can be attributed to the darkness and edginess associated with rock and metal. Solos can be face-melting, and fast playing shreds the neck.A great riff is killer, while a bad performance bombed.If you execute a song perfectly, you murdered it.
If you’re a great guitarist, you’re a beast or a monster. Hippies of the 1960s would often walk around with guitars slung over their shoulders, strengthening the connection between guitars and the weapons of antiquity.Īs rock music gained in popularity, so did the somewhat harsh and violent terminology for guitar performance. Modern Usage and More Battle Slangīy the time the 1960s rolled around, axe had become pretty commonplace slang for guitars. An axe is a useful tool, so anything that someone used as the main implement in their profession could be called their axe. Starting in the 1950s, even things like typewriters could be referred to as axes. Saxophone, shortened to sax, became axe, which over time became common to any instrument. “Axe” may have originally been used as slang for saxophones. Words like “groovy,” “gig,” “chops,” “wailing,” “killing,” and “noodling” all came from the jive slang popular amongst the early jazz artists of New York, New Orleans, and Chicago. Jive languagehad a huge influence on musical terminology, and we owe a lot of our hobby’s slang to the jazz musicians of the 1940s and 50s. When carried in their bags, these guns looked similar to the electric guitars of the era.īlues musicians looking to give themselves a bit of edge, started using the slang of the mobsters in their own vernacular. “Axe” at this time was used by mobsters to refer to their machine guns. John, explains that a lot of early blues terms were lifted from the illegal lottery business of the 1930s. In the foreword to Debra Devi’s book “The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu,” New Orleans musician and music slang expert, Dr. Here we have the first beginnings of connecting musical instruments to axes. Of course, woodsheds were also where firewood was chopped and stored. Woodshedding, or just shedding, became a popular term among blues and jazz musicians, with one of the earliest recorded instances in a 1936 interview with Louis Armstrong.įind blues-friendly acoustic guitars here and electric guitars for blues here. So it came to be that musicians seeking to practice in peace and quiet would head out to the woodshed to work on their art. If you’re a parent of a beginner musician or are in your own early days of learning an instrument, you know that the first few months of practice can be punishment on the ears of anyone forced to listen. The use of woodshed as a verb dates back to 1907 and was used as a synonym for punishment, A parent would bring their child to the woodshed for a spanking so as not to disturb the peace of other family members. These are loose connections, though anything that strengthens the ties between slang and its meaning can help give rise in popularity to the term.īut now, let’s look at some historical evidence. Rockstars became known for smashing guitars in a similar style to swinging axes. Axes are tools for cutting wood or fighting guitars are tools for making music. Both guitars and axes have a long wooden pole and broad opposite end - guitar necks to bodies vs. There are first a few things to point out that could have contributed to this slang term for guitars. It was the transition of saxophone > sax > axe > all other instruments, including the guitar.īut no one can be 100% sure about the exact origin of the term “axe” because there are so many interesting nitty-gritty details in this case. But there is a high chance that the term was developed by jazz musicians in the 1950’s. Why Is A Guitar Called An Axe? Like most slang words, we don’t know exactly when and how axe first became a popular nickname for guitars. But why? All warriors need rest, so take a break from learning killer riffs for a bit to find out why a guitar is called an axe. Electric guitars have been called axes for decades now. Of course, I’m talking about your guitar. You can face these foes fearlessly because you’re equipped with your weapon of choice - the almighty axe. You’re going into battle fighting against your fears, your insecurities, and your self-doubts. When you step on stage, you’re not only preparing to entertain with your mastery of the musical arts. Are there other instruments referred to as axes?. What other slang terms there are for guitar?. Obvious Connections: How Guitars are Similar to Axes. 
When did we start calling guitars axes?.
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