Anyone's kids learning to play guitar?

aliasojo

My youngest wants a guitar and her school has visiting music teachers for the next few weeks who have said they will help her to learn the basics.

I dont want to waste money on a top of the range guitar but I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for so I'll not be buying the cheapest either.

A music store has told me to get a 3/4 size and that nylon strings might be better for her to start with but someone else has said it should really be steel strings.

Anyone more knowledgeable than me advise me please?

webitha

my son is 9 years old and having private lessons costing £50 every 4 weeks,

it depends on what she wants to learn on, whether its electric or acoustic, my son is learning electric, and i would go for the steel strings everytime, as nylon breaks easier,, all the best rock guitarists use steel.

also dont bother with a 3/4 guitar as they grow out of them very very very quickly, i got son and elctric amp for £35 it got it from either play or ebuyer, (leaning towards ebuyer, memory not so good now lol), and his tutor was very imppressed with them

Alikay

DS2 was 11 when he started guitar lessons and had a full-size guitar. The music shop will help with size when they see her: it depends on their arm length, hand size etc. Your DD's teacher will say what sort of strings she needs depending on the style she'll be teaching: DS2 did classical which I believe involves more "plucking" than "strumming" and they're generally seated with the guitar resting on the thigh.

Make sure you get a nice padded case as smaller kids tend to bash the instrument about a bit en route to lessons, and I wish we'd have also got a cheap stand as the wretched thing was propped up in his bedroom and always falling over if anyone breathed near it!

jlw_3

My daughter has music lessons at school. Luckily it is only £30 per term. If neeed we can hire a guitar from the School for £15 per term. She is 10 and has a 3/4 guitar. We were very lucky and found the guitar in as new condition at a car boot for £15. It came with case and original box. Why not look in your local paper for a second-hand one. I saw one advertised last week as an unwanted gift!

Kimitatsu

DS1 plays the guitar but as an evil mother I got mine off freecycle. I reckoned that if he took to it and practiced then I would not object to buying him a decent one when he became a little more proficient.

We were given both a classical and an electric guitar, but when he got to his lesson his teacher told him just to practice and play the electric one, the advantage being that it is quieter as you can turn the amp down

Lessons still cost us £11 for half an hour which is about the standard, they are cheaper in school but they only get about 20 minutes with the teacher.

aliasojo

Thanks all. It never occurred to me to consider an electric guitar tbh, I just automatically thought about an acoustic.

As for size, she's quite petite and I dont think she'd cope with a full size one. I was going to go buy it without her but I think after reading the replies, it would be better to have her there.

Good idea about freecycle and the paper but we kinda need it yesterday so will have to go shopping soon.

Edinburghlass_2

I got one for my daughter from Argos, what you would probably call 3/4 size and then gave it away on Freecycle as expected, the interest waned

WifeofDJFLP

Hi

my daughter is 11 but above average height at 4'11' I bought her a full size Brunswick guitar for £90 from a local music shop on their advice- it has steel strings. She's having 1 half hour lesson a week, costing £10 which is far more than the £95 I've spent on double bass lessons via the school- she's been having them for 18 months but seemed to have no transferrable skills to show at her guitar lesson on Monday so I suspect I'll be cancelling them!

HTH

WifeofDJFLP
xxx

floss2

The other advantage to electric guitars & amps is that the learner can plug headphones in whilst practising, so parents / siblings don't have to hear the same riff over & over & over again!!

Why not go into your nearest guitar shop, with the child in question, and ask their advice? They will be able to judge size & also the learner may have a preference as to classical or rock....either way, the basics are the same - chords, strumming, picking, sore fingers & aching knuckles until hands are big enough to go easily around the guitar neck!

An adjustable strap is a must, for either type of guitar. Gig bags are the padded ones which can be carried with handles, or shoulder straps like a rucksack. A music stand isn't really necessary, but a guitar stand is useful - if nothing else, it reminds the learner to practise as they can see the guitar & may even be tempted to just pick it up & play "because it's there". A few picks (plectrums) in varying thicknesses are also useful (my partner always carries one in his wallet, as does my DS2!) - they come in various colours & patterns. Something to think of for Christmas pressies is the books of TAB music by almost every group / singer, again, look in your music shop. This is an easy-to-follow way of playing tunes, so there is no need to learn music, but it is always useful if they carry on playing.

stef240377

My son wanted a guitar for ages but like most kids i reckoned he wanted it on a whim and i refused to pay out decent money for one so i got him the 3/4 childrens acoustic guitar from Home Bargains last christmas. Think it cost less than £20 and got him set up with lessons through a local lad who wanted to earn a few extra quid going through college. Within a couple of weeks the strings did break so took it to a specialist shop had it restrung and tuned and it is as good as new, after about six weeks he could play smoke on the water (school of rock has a lot to answer to) but i stopped his lessons due to his behaviour as these were seen as a treat. Now he is at high school he can opt in for guitaar lessons as an after school activity so i wont have to pay out further.

silvercar

In my experience children remain committed to learning until one week after you have shelled out for a decent instrument.