Guitars for Kids

I am keen to help you to buy the right guitar for your child. So here are some tips:

• Do not spend a fortune on his/her first guitar.
• Do not be tempted to buy a toy because they will not play tuned notes and the overall sound will be awful! Toy guitars have a distinct disadvantage they don't stay in tune. Once the new strings have stretched and settled, real guitars do.
• Remember that it is very easy to sell a small guitar once your child has grown out of it. I just put a notice in the school bulletin and sell them that way.

• If you are starting a very young child of around 5 years old, then you will need a small guitar known as a half sized guitar. 7 upwards need 3/4 sized. But this obviously depends on the size of your child.

• You will need a nylon string guitar because steel strings will cut into your child's delicate skin! Remember that the strings will need to be tuned SEVERAL TIMES when they are new as they need to stretch.
• It has Make sure your guitar has a solid spruce top because it will resonate better and produce a real classical guitar sound. A solid top is very unusual in a child's guitar and so its tone is amazing, but do shop around because they do exist.
• A good guitar will make your child's guitar teacher very happy indeed!

When my son was 5 years old he played his guitar in assembly in front of the whole school. I was sitting at the back with my heart POUNDING in my chest. If it goes wrong, then this will be the first and last time he ever does this, and what will everyone say!

The guitar teacher told everyone that he was going to play a very difficult piece for his age. That made me feel so much worse! But it went well and my brave boy took a bow and sat down. He turned and beamed at me and stuck up his little thumb - he was hooked!

It was a very difficult piece that lasted less than 1 minute. What the audience didn't know was that that was the only piece he could play all the way through from memory, and that his other pieces were far too hard! But this experience built up his confidence and self esteem and he is now at 14 years old a wonderful guitarist.

Any instrument is very hard at first and children need careful handling at the beginning stage because they can easily be put off for ever, you have to be sensitive to their needs and be very, very patient.

I am a school teacher but in my spare time I teach kids to play the guitar. Here are some tips on how to help your kid at home.

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD

(especially if you're not a musician yourself) :

• No matter what level your child is playing at you have to be nearby and PRAISE, PRAISE and PRAISE every effort. That's the most important thing I did! You have to be with your child every step of the way. You have to be committed and interested or else their enthusiasm to learn will die, because learning the guitar isn't easy.

• Guitar lessons for kids are a very good idea. I enrolled him for a weekly 15 minute lesson when he was 5 and that gave us something to work towards.

• I sit with him every day and at first it was for a few minutes, but now that he is 14 it can be for 2 hours! He plays several instruments, so he keeps me busy and entertained!

Learning a musical instrument, no matter which one, is very important for children developmentally. Music stimulates the parts of the brain that are related to reading, maths, and emotional development.

Listening to music is important too. Lots of research has been done about this.

Playing a musical instrument enriches children's lives, they become involved with orchestras, bands and groups, and this impacts on their self esteem. Every child wants to be good at something special.

Here's an article I wrote called Cool Gifts for Guitar Players If you know a guitarist then is lens for you.

Thanks very much indeed for your visit. Do you have a child who is keen to learn the guitar? Please leave a comment.