Do most Japanese Gen Z music lovers skip the guitar solo in songs? Survey finds out

Online survey investigates one specific way that the youth of today consume, or rather don’t consume, music.

Gen Z is the common name for the generation following the Millennials who were born in the mid to late 1990s and into the early 2010s. While older generations always seem to be irked, amused, or simply baffled by the antics of the younger crowd, there are some things in life that you can count on to never change, like appreciation for a good electric guitar solo…right?

▼ The guitarists being listened to may differ among different generations but the love is the same. As a J-Pop-loving Millennial, I always think fondly of Ayumi Hamasaki’s main concert guitarist Yocchan and his incredible mid-song guitar solos.

From May 8-9, Japanese music and media management company Share Create implemented an online survey to Gen Z men and women under the age of 25 to find out their guitar-listening habits. 120 people responded with their preferences. The first question asked was very straightforward: “Do you listen to guitar solos during a song’s musical interlude?” The results show that 89.2 percent responded “Yes” and only 10.8 percent responded “No.”

The survey also asked for clarification on the main genres of music that each group normally listens to. Perhaps surprisingly, among those who do enjoy the mid-song guitar solos, Vocaloid and idol music are the top choices, while rock bands and singer-songwriters are the favorites for those who skip the solos! It seems like those selections should be reversed…but maybe it’s because rock aficionados are extremely picky when it comes to which guitarists they’ll listen to.

The next question tried to discern whether the timing of a guitar solo in a song affected its listenership: “Do you listen to a song when its intro is a guitar solo?” In response, 60.8 percent said “Yes,” 37.5 percent said “No,” and 1.7 percent said “I skip just the intro.” In this case, it seems like the majority of the Gen Z generation prefer to just get to the vocals right away.

The last survey question asked ”What’s your impression of a guitar solo?” to which there were a number of different responses:
● 57.3 percent: “It’s cool”
● 13.6 percent: “It gets me pumped”
● 7.8 percent: “The individual talent gap is wide”
● 4.9 percent: “The feelings are conveyed”
● 12.6 percent: “Other”

In particular, those who answered “It gets me pumped” also added that a good guitar solo reminds them of the excitement of being at a live concert.

Finally, the results of the online survey concluded by sharing that only a small portion of today’s most popular songs even include guitar solos at all. For instance, in Japan’s 2021 The Billboard Hot Charts Top 20, only five songs included a guitar solo–one western song and four Japanese songs.

Perhaps it’s time to rekindle a passion for guitar soloists in today’s youth. It’s a good thing that we have the spirit of Yngwie Malmsteen on our side to help with that task.

Source: PR Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: SoraNews24, Pakutaso (1, 2)
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