Ariana Grande has one of the most powerful voices on the modern pop scene, but is she also a talented instrumentalist? Is the guitar one of the instruments she can play?
Ariana Grande claimed she can play “a bit of guitar”, but she’s yet to prove her skills. The Grammy-winning artist also tried playing the piano and French horn, but she’s much better at singing than playing instruments.
Stick around to learn more about Ariana Grande’s musical journey and find out if she’s any good at playing guitar.
Grande’s Musical Journey
Ariana Grande broke into the music industry shortly after her Nickelodeon show Victorious wrapped up, but her musical journey started long before that. She was a theater kid in her youth and starred in productions of hit musicals The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, and Annie with the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theater.
Grande’s enormous talent was obvious from an early age and not only to her friends and family. She caught Gloria Estefan’s eye after performing an amazing cover of “My Heart Will Go On” during karaoke night on a cruise ship.
“I saw her when she was eight years old on a cruise ship and she had sung this song, and I literally went up to her and told her and her mom, ‘I don’t know if you plan on doing this, but this is what you need to be doing because you are an amazing singer,’” Estefan told the New York Daily News.
Grande spent her childhood performing with orchestras and community theater groups, but she was dreaming of bigger things. At the age of 13, she started fantasizing about recording her own R&B album but had to prove herself first.
Her big break came in 2008 when she was cast in the Broadway musical 13 and later starred on the Nickelodeon show Victorious. She was finally able to unleash her full potential once this series wrapped up, and went on to become one of the biggest pop stars of her generation.
Grande’s Guitar Skills
Ariana Grande told Complex that “music just kind of happened” to her and that she never trained for anything. She learned a lot about sheet music and theory while playing French horn, and also gave the piano a shot but mostly played it by ear.
The “7 Rings” singer never claimed she’s extremely skilled with any particular instruments, including the guitar. Back in 2011, Grande tweeted she can play “a little bit of guitar” but didn’t elaborate any further.
She also tweeted about trying to learn to play guitar and taking lessons, but it’s not clear what came of them. The Grammy-winning singer shared photos posing with a guitar but never played this instrument during her live performances so there’s no tangible evidence of her skills.
Her hit song “Dangerous Woman” features a memorable guitar solo, but it wasn’t performed by Grande. Johan Carlsson, who co-wrote and co-produced it, was in charge of playing the guitar and several other instruments throughout the song.
Pop Stars & Guitars
Ariana Grande isn’t extremely skilled with the guitar, but several of her former collaborators are.
Back in 2013, Ariana Grande briefly joined Justin Bieber on his Believe Tour, and they’ve been on good terms ever since. The guitar is one of the instruments he learned to play growing up, and his mom supported him by getting him a special left-handed model for his birthday.
Grande’s collaborators Lady Gaga (“Rain on Me”) and Miley Cyrus (“Don’t Call Me Angel”) have a few things in common with Bieber. They’re both left-handed and can play the guitar, but they do it with their right hand.
Lana Del Rey, who collaborated with Grande and Cyrus on “Don’t Call Me Angel”, is also a skilled guitarist. After her uncle taught her the basics, the “Summertime Sadness” singer realized she “could probably write a million songs with those six chords.”
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