Show elements are indispensable in live rock performances and have an impact on the recipients’ performance evaluations. We conducted two studies on the persuasive function of show elements (e.g., multi-finger tapping, over-under techniques, or playing with the tongue) in rock guitar solo performances. In Experiment 1 professional guitarists (N = 12) classified performance features, such as show elements, playing difficulty in terms of academic standards, tempo and visible engagement of the performer based on a selection of 15 audio-visual performances by popular virtuosos. In Experiment 2 these features were then used to obtain evaluations of perceived playing difficulty and impressiveness of the solos from subjects differing in musical competence (N = 59). Results revealed interactions between subjects’ musical competence and evaluations of show elements: (a) Music students gave higher ratings than did musically untrained subjects for the perceived playing difficulty and impressiveness of solos played in fast tempo; (b) surprisingly, solos with show elements were rated as more impressive – but only by the music students; (c) the visible engagement of the performer resulted in high ratings for playing difficulty – but only from the musically untrained subjects. We conclude that the technical difficulty of a performance is not self-evident to the recipient and depends on the rater’s degree of musical competence. The evaluations of a guitar performance by the majority of musically untrained recipients rely more on visible cues of engagement than on virtuosic playing (i.e., fast tempo, difficult techniques).