Air Guitar: A User's Guide: What Every Axeman Needs to Know

Budding air guitarists looking to channel their inner Yngwie Malmsteen or Eddie Van Halen will likely find rock writer MacDonald's (Pink Floyd: Through the Eyes of the Band, Its Fans, Friends, and Foes) guide to shredding without an instrument to be a tremendous source of inspiration and encouragement, as he walks would-be axemen (and axewomen) through the many dos and don'ts of this "ageless" and "universal" pastime. Advice is practical: make sure nobody's home and the door's locked when practicing, check to see if you've got enough clearance before attempting a slide a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business. And comical: if you're going to "smash" your guitar at the end of the performance, make sure you've chosen a song that doesn't fade out, and steer clear of "Furrowed Brow Frowning" and jewelry (unless you're Slash or Keith Richards). Though his song choices are questionable at times%E2%80%94Ozzy Osbourne's "Steal Away the Night" instead of "Crazy Train," and of all the songs in The Ramones' great catalogue, he picks "Durango '95"%E2%80%94MacDonald's mostly straight-faced study of a frequently comedic (though always impassioned) impulse is the next best thing to watching a friend tear it up to "Back in Black." Illus. (Mar.)