EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GUITAR WORLD RECORD
WHAT IS THE WORLD GUITAR RECORD?
Each year, on May 1st, thousands of guitarists from all over the world come to Wroclaw's Market Square to set a new Guitar World Record playing together. Join the biggest guitar orchestra in the world! Play with us on the 1st of May!
The annual guitar festival is most of all an occasion for collective play, meetings and exchange of experience, and during this event, an attempt to break the Guinness record is made.
It was Leszek Cichonski’s idea to try to break the Guitar Guinness Record when in 1997 he found himself on stage with 17 other guitarists playing “Hey Joe” during the “Blues Express” workshop. The idea for such an undertaking had been developing for several years, until it was finally accepted as worthwhile. It originated in the desire to make something very big and it was the first and most important step to finally breaking the world record!
On 10th of May 2003, “Hey Joe” was played by 588 guitarists in unison! Each year the numbers were successively rising: the year 2004 – 916 guitarists, in 2005 we crossed the magic one thousand barrier with quite a frank margin. Exactly 1201 guitarists played at that time. Later was more and more...
In 2019, the year before pandemic, is was 7 423 guitarists playing together in Wroclaw!
In 2020, the Guitar Record was held entirely online. As many as 7,998 guitarists from all over the world gathered to play "Hey Joe" from their homes, gardens and balconies. The participants submitted over 5,000 photos and videos, and the concert broadcast attracted a total of over 110 thousand viewers, from Poland to Spain, UK and the United States... – music has no borders!
In 2022, the 20th edition of one of the largest guitar music festivals took place on May 1st at Wroclaw's Market Square.
In 2023 is was 7967 guitarists playing together in Wroclaw!
Wrocław guitar meeting is also a great occasion to participate in the Concert of the Stars with real guitar legends like Deep Purple, Al Di Meola, Ten Years After, Tommy Emmanuel, Europe, The Animals, Steve Vai, Slade, Status Quo and Polish stars like Perfect, Dżem, TSA or Acid Drinkers and many more
GUITAR WORLD RECORD - Play with us!
On May 1, we meet at the Wrocław Market Square to make an attempt of a new Guitar World Record.
After 20 years of playing, the Wrocław event has become a music festival presenting various faces of the guitar, as well as an incentive for Wrocław musicians and tourists from around the world.
Today, we invite you to participate in this May 1 guitar festival and the performances of the greatest Guitar Orchestra in the World.
To set a new Guitar World Record we need 7967 guitars and you - join the event, invite your friends: https://www.facebook.com/events/795143475101191
We are preparing a lot of new guitar attractions to expand our annual meeting with the real music of the guitar festival.
On May 1, the market square and the surrounding area will turn into a guitar town with several stages presenting different faces of the guitar - from electric guitar through fingerstyle and flamenco to classical guitar and ukulele, numerous guitar workshops with the opportunity to meet and talk about the guitar, presentation of guitar amplifiers and master guitar shows, a place for meetings with stars, autographs and shared photos, and a zone for children.
There will be stops by bards and street musicians, presentations on how to construct a guitar in a short time and an exhibition of portraits of guitar legends. There will also be traditional guitar competitions – for “the guitar with anything” and the best guitar disguise. You will also be able to perform on the special stage "Your 5 minutes of fame".
You will also be able to perform on the special stage "Your 5 minutes of fame". In the "Green Guitar Zone" you will be able to generate electricity by yourself to power your guitar and play! In the "guitar fashion" zone, we will take pictures of you and show you on the large screen on the Wrocław Market Square and the whole world online.
Please note that this form is dedicated only to people participating live in the event in Wrocław.
Online registrations will be available on the day of the event HERE.
Registration will start on May 1 at 10.00 AM at the registration point on the southern frontage of the Wrocław Market Square in the vicinity of the monument to Aleksander Fredro. The registration point will be marked and information arrows will guide to it.
During registration, you must have an instrument with you (guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, mandolin or other stringed instrument) and be able to play "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix (5 chords: C G D A E). The ability to play can be checked in questionable cases.
Toy instruments or imitation instruments will not be accepted for registration.
Upon registration, you will receive a participant ID in the form of a wristband, which entitles you to enter the event area and an official commemorative Certificate of Record Holder.
You will also be able to buy T-shirts and other festival gadgets as well as discounted tickets for concerts taking place as part of the 3-Majówka festival (more information below).
To play the Guitar World Record, you just need to have a guitar and know the five basic chords: C/G/D/A/E, needed to play the song "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix. You don't have to be an adult. All types of guitars count towards the record - acoustic, classical, electric and bass. Mandolins, banjos and ukulele are also allowed.
For electric guitarists, a special sector with the possibility of connecting to electricity will be prepared - it is advisable to bring an extension cord with a splitter.
During the concerts of the 3-Majówka festival, the guitar can be left in the Guitar Storage Room in the Centennial Hall.
Concerts of invited guests and playing together start at 10 AM. We will play on several stages and every guitar lover will find something interesting for him-/herself.
As always, the "record" song is "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix, but we will also play other guitar hits. Instructions for learning the songs performed on May 1 can be found at: www.leszekcichonski.pl/rozgrzewka
Registration of participants ends definitively at approx. 3.45 PM, then there is a general rehearsal of the common performance of "Hey Joe". Don't wait until the last minute to register!
Punctually at 4 PM we start the OFFICIAL ATTEMPT to set a new GUITAR WORLD RECORDS A.D. 2024!
APPROX. 4.15 PM the official result of this year will be announced, we will play a joint encore and the party on the Market Square will end.
Good music lovers are invited to Star Concerts as part of the 3-MAJÓWKA festival, which has been accompanying the beating of the Guitar Record for years.
This year, the 3-Majówka festival will start on May 1 and will last until May 3.
A detailed program can be found at: www.3-majowka.pl.
You can purchase tickets here. Guitarists who will break the record will receive tickets and passes with a 30% discount.
The reduced ticket for the 3-Majówka festival will be valid only with the wristband of the participant of the Guitar World Record.
Wristbands will be issued on: 1 May 24 at 10 AM – 4 PM at the registration point for guitarists on the Wrocław Market Square near the statue of A. Fredro.
On May 1, special public transport will run between the Market Square in Wrocław, Pergola and Hala Stulecia, where the 3-Majówka festival takes place. Trams will depart from the stop at the underground passage on Świdnicka Street every 5 minutes from 4:30 PM.
Guitars and amplifiers can be left in the Guitar Storage Room in the Centennial Hall.
For guitarists from outside Wrocław, the Festival Campground is set at 9 Wróblewskiego Street, about 400 meters from Hala Stulecia and Pergola.
On May 1, an internet broadcast will be conducted on our website www.heyjoe.pl - join the online play together, also tell your friends in the country and abroad to watch the guitar festival in Wrocław live.
See you in Wrocław – the City of Guitars!
If you forget anything, don't worry - our volunteers will help with everything 🙂
Follow our online channels:
FB: @GitarowyRekord
IG: @gitarowy_guinness_record
HOW TO PLAY
This year we will try to play collectively 9 songs:
Hey Joe,
Foxy Lady,
Voodoo Child,
Smoke on the water,
Little Wing,
Wild Thing,
Red House Blues
Thanks Jimi,
Kiedy byłem małym chłopcem (When I was a little boy)
The additional song this year will be the composition by Bob Dylan Like A Rolling Stone, which was performed many times by Jimi Hendrix. It will be performed with us by Muniek Staszczyk ! Of course the mandatory song to be checked for the Guinness Record still remains Hey Joe.
If you play just a little on the electric or acoustic guitar, learn the five simple chords of Hey Joe, which we give below, come with your instrument on May 1st to the Wroclaw Town Square. Play the hits by Hendrix along with the biggest guitar orchestra in the world under the direction of Leszek Cichoński.
„Hey Joe” – record song
For the ones that do not know the chords we give the grips in the song:
4/4 ||: C G | D A | E | E |
Foxy Lady
II: F#m I A I H :II a w refrenie II: F#m I E I H :II
Video clip for the track 'Foxy Lady' from the album 'Thanks Jimi - Tribute To Jimi Hendrix' by Leszek Cichonski & Guitar Workshop featuring Stan Skibby and Anika.
Voodoo Child
We performed this song arranged by Leszek Cichoński for the first time together in 2010. There is no registered version from the Guitar Record but you can play along those chords with the recording of Voodoo Child from the club concert of Cichoński band.
intro
||: E DA | E DA | E DA | E DA II
verse
||: E DA | E DA | E DA | E DA |
| E DA | E DA | E DA | E DA |
| G | A | E DA | E DA |
chorus
| C7 | D7 | E DA | E DA :||
„Smoke on the water”
In 2009 "Smoke on the water" was played along with Steve Morse from Deep Purple.
In the song “Smoke on the water” we can use the chords of the “power chords” type , the same as in the diagrams: G http://www.cichonski.art.pl/guinness2/images/powerG.htm
G I F I C I AB
Little Wing
4/4 II: Em I G I Am I Em7 I Hm B I Am C I G F I C D I D II 2/4 D :II
(Do not be afraid of I 2/4 D :II at the end - that is a tact “two fourths” - that is how Jimi made it and this is the version we will try to keep)
Wild Thing
Wild Thing is one of the most rock songs of the songs played at the Town Square. Take a look at the version from 2010 sung by Maciek Balcar:
4/4 ||: A D | E D | A D | E D || A D | E D | A D | E D | A D | E D | A D | E G A G ||
A | (A) G A G | A | (A) G A G | A | (A) G A G | A | (A) :||
Thanks Jimmi
This is a composition by Leszek Cichoński dedicated to Jimi Hendrix.
You can find the compilation of that song in our download section.
Acoustic guitars come in right from the start that is right after the stab, and the electric guitars at the chorus meaning the stronger - louder part. We play the ending solo quint.
„Kiedy byłem małym chłopcem (When I was a little boy)”
The father of Polish Blues – Tadeusz Nalepa passed away in 2007. Since May 1st 2007 we have been playing his hit “Kiedy byłem małym chłopcem (When I was a little boy)”.
||: Am | Am | Am | Am | D7 | D7 | Am | Am | E7 | D7 | Am | Am :||
this is a traditional 12-tact blues form, which you came to know in the „Speedy Blues Course”.
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