kristin0713 Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I teach piano but my kids have both rejected it to my dismay. My 11yo DD has expressed a lot of interest in learning guitar. She has a pattern of not following through, though, so I'm hesitant to invest a lot of money in this. DH has a few guitars but he is not really a musician. One of them is a Martin which i think is a pretty good guitar. Here are my questions. At 11yo, would DD be able to use a full sized guitar? She is an average sized kid and growing a lot. Also, I have a friend that plays guitar but she is not classically trained. I was wondering if I got a curriculum, if she could help guide my DD through it to see if this is something she would like? Is there a guitar series that is solid that anyone can recommend? For example, I use Faber and Music Tree to teach piano and they are thorough. If we got started and she wanted to persist, I would then be happy to invest in formal lessons. However, as a piano teacher I know the the right teacher can make or break a student in the beginning. Please share your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Wesley Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I know almost nothing about music, but I'll share my experience. My 9 year old daughter has been taking guitar lessons for almost 2 years. We signed her up for private lessons at a large music store. The salesman at the store helped us to find the guitar that was a good fit for her. I think it's called a 3/4 size. He said many smaller adults chose to play this size as well. She tried on several 3/4 size guitars to find the one that was the most comfortable and gave her the best positioning. This was especially important for someone so young. Lessons are expensive, but meeting with the guitar teacher once a week has been fun and motivational. Nothing was ever said to use about using nylon strings. We've only used steel. I made sure she knew what to expect as far as building up finger strength and tuffness. We started with very short practice sessions and gradually built up to 20 and then 30 minute practice sessions. If you want to hold off on lessons and just give her a taste of it, I think Alfred's kid's Guitar Course with DVD is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 My dd started playing the guitar at 10. She had taken piano lessons for a couple years and really didn't like it. But honestly, we weren't going to get her an expensive guitar unless we knew she was really committed. We got her a cheap, warped guitar from the JCPenney catalog, which was an adult guitar but on the smaller side. The guitar was less than $50. (This was a few years ago.) It never tuned perfectly, although we couldn't tell. :) We bought her 6 group classes through our town's community ed program. After that, we got her a learn-at-home video, which she loved. I think it was this one: https://www.amazon.com/Kids-Guitar-1-Marcy-Marxer/dp/B000140I0W/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1500992603&sr=8-6&keywords=children+guitar+lessons+dvd After those two experiences, she played around on it on her own, but after a year or two when she was ready to get more serious, we found a local guitar player/singer who worked with her every two to three weeks for an hour after school. We also got her a used guitar that was a little nicer. :) She did that for a couple years, and then again worked more or less on her own. After a couple more years, she worked with a professional guitar player who really pushed her and challenged her with finger techniques. She now plays guitar and sings for a living, and has a very nice guitar. Anyway, that's mostly to say that you don't need to start out with the most expensive instrument or lessons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 If she struggles with follow through she may need a lot of scaffolding and structure and encouragement. And make sure she understands it will take time to build up muscle and procedural memory and finger strength and calluses so her fingers don't hurt. Short daily practice sessions, maybe no more than 10 minutes daily until she gets stronger. I tried to do long sessions when I first started and ended up feeling like a failure, being in a lot of pain, and hating guitar. Took a long time to get past that impression. I also needed a lot of external structure to keep me going when I was feeling down or anxious about the process. As for the size, I agree have her try out the guitars you have on hand to see if they would work. If not, check pawn shops. I found a pretty good one at a pawn shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 These replies have been very helpful, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaChicken Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Another option is a full sized guitar with a thinner body and a cutout (like a classical). My sons first acoustic guitar was one like this, found on craigslist. I think he was 9. Before that he had a half size but it never tuned well. He now plays seriously and has a nice electric. I recommend getting something that stays tuned. If the instrument doesn't tune well or stay tuned it won't be any fun to plan and get discouraging. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Both of my kids started playing guitar around ages 11-12 after years of piano lessons. They started on a hand-me-down guitar that was my DH's when he was in elementary school. Our deal was that they would take lessons for one semester using that old guitar, then if they wanted to continue, we would buy them each a decent guitar to continue. They both absolutely LOVE guitar, but their style is very different. DS has a steel string acoustic/electric guitar, and he likes to play worship music and plays occasionally in the band at church. He's working toward getting a bass guitar this fall so he can get more playing time with the band, and to learn some new techniques. DD has a nylon string classical guitar, and she plays mostly folk tunes, broadway music, Disney songs, etc., that she can sing along to, and likes fingerpicking rather than chords. She also just got a ukulele for her birthday and loves it as well. I agree with others that you should look at the guitars you have already and see if the size would work - can she reach the frets comfortably? If so, start with that before investing in a "good" guitar. You won't know for a few months whether she'll want to stick with it, and if so, what style of playing will most suit her. Definitely start with short lessons, and make sure your DD understands that her fingers will be very sore for at least a few weeks until she develops callouses. If she plays every day for 5-10 minutes, she'll be fine within a month. The soreness and callouses helped push my DD toward a classical guitar style, plus she liked the sound better than the steel string acoustics. Both of my kids instructors recommend the Hal Leonard guitar method books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 So I called our local music store and the do a four month trial rental for $39.95. Then after that we can do a rent-to-buy. That is the perfect scenario for us because I can get her started with a quality guitar that fits her well. I totally agree that I don't want her playing on something with a bad sound and I also want it to fit her well so it's not awkward and discouraging. Thanks for the Hal Leonard suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotesFromTheParsonage Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 I am an adult and I use a 3/4 size travel guitar. I cannot get my fingers around a standard guitar neck. On a full size electric, I can manage, but I dislike the electric guitar, so there is that. I learned just by having a chord chart for finger positions and using free online chord charts for songs I wanted to learn. I learn all instruments this way. Ukulele is also a great beginning kid instrument. Less strings. Smaller size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternallytired Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 (edited) Another thought, if you're considering classical guitar at all--we go to a Childbloom studio that does lessons for groups of 2-4 students. The group lesson keeps the cost down some and also adds a social element, which a) makes lessons more motivating/exciting and b) allows for ensemble practice right from the start. Even if she's not interested in learning to play clasically, you may find a studio that has group lessons (edited to clarify: for whatever type of guitar playing she's wanting to learn) and give it a try. Edited August 10, 2017 by eternallytired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.