Could you be 2018’s Young Guitarist of the Year?

We’re searching for the best young guitar talent in the world today - could it be you?

We’re working alongside our sister titles Guitarist, Total Guitar and Guitar Techniques to find our 2018 Young Guitarist of the Year, to be announced at our brand-new UK Guitar Show on 29 and 30 September 2018.

You’ll need to be 16 or under on the day the winners are announced on 29 September 2018, but entering is easy: upload a video of your playing to YouTube and fill out the entry form below.

While you’re there, please tell us where you're from and a bit about yourself. What drew you to the guitar, which styles you favour and what gear you use, for instance.

The top entries will be shortlisted by Bullet For My Valentine guitar hero Matt Tuck, YouTube sensation and Chapman Guitars mastermind Rob Chapman and classic rock maestro Chris Buck - who was voted Best New Guitarist of 2017 by the readers of MusicRadar - and if we love what you’re doing, we may well feature your video on the site, as well as our social platforms, as part of the build-up to the event.

The very best young guitarists will be invited to play at our final in September, live from London at the UK Guitar Show, where our winners will be crowned, so you'll need to be able to get to London Olympia on the weekend of 29 Sept.

We’re looking for talent in all its forms, whether that’s technical ability, a distinctive playing style or an ear for composition. Get thinking, and show us your creativity and ability.

The competition is now officially open so get practising, shooting and uploading today! Good luck!

Enter the competition here!

6 tips for success

1. We need to see you play! No promo-style band videos please.
2. Keep it tight. Get to the point fast. Our experts are begging to be impressed so 15 minutes of noodling won’t make the grade.
3. Keep it musical. We’re all for fretboard madness and next-level sonics but not at the price of trusty musicality and genuine mastery of multiple techniques.
4. Make it impressive. Go for it. We want to see the full breadth of your skills in as tight a playing package as possible.
5. Just your best video please! Our experts are busy. Don’t make us wade through multiple entries where one would do.
6. Want to enter all three categories? ‘Guitarist’ ‘Young Guitarist’ and ‘Acoustic’ Guitarist of the Year? Yeah! Go for it.

Rules

1. All entries must be via videos uploaded to YouTube and submitted through the entry form above.
2. Young Guitarist of the Year entrants must be 16 or under on 29 September 2018.
3. Entries must be received by 23.59 (BST) on 2 July 2018.
4. Don’t call us - we’ll call you if we like what you’re doing.
5. You need to be okay with us sharing your video to our wider online audience, appearing in the magazine and playing live on stage at the UK Guitar Show in London on 29 September.
6. As ever, the judge’s decision – picking our finalists and our eventual winner – is final.