Any Guitar teachers out there?

[Jike]

My seven yearold son is very keen to learn to play the guitar. Some people have told me that he is too young. What do you think?

[sft42]

Rubbish.....was Tiger Woods to young to start learning golf at 3 years old?

As a guitar tutor I think that the most important thing at this age is to encourage him and not to turn any enthusiasm he may have for the instrument sour....It's all too easy to turn learning music from fun into being a chore.

Buy a guitar tutor book and let him learn for a couple of months at his own pace, learning to plod along with a few songs and chords and if he still is willing to learn more after this time then find a tutor for him....Loads of kids get put off by being forced to learn at to early a stage and even more grow out of wanting to learn music and move onto their next fad in a month or so.....Take it slowly and let him decide the pace of his learning.

[Jike]

Thanks sft42. Could i take further advantage of your knowledge? What type of guitar would you recommend i.e. size? and how much should i expect to pay for a half decent one?

[sft42]

Loads of factors to take into account.....are you prepared to buy another guitar in a year or two if he takes a big jump in growth and the one you buy now is too small?

As a rough guide the childs hand should be able to grasp round the neck at the end of the fingerboard nearest the tuning pegs....having said that some tutors say learning on a full scale guitar should be encouraged...not me though...too much of a stretch.

Next choice would be acoustic or electric....plus of an electric would be that it's easy to play (lower string tension), it can be plugged in to an amp and headphones can be used (not as embarrassing when mistakes occur and stops mum and dad being annoyed) and it may well be more akin to the music he is hoping to emulate (what music does he like?)......Down sides are that electrics are more likely to be dearer as you also need an amp and leads at the very least to get up and running and personally i would recommend learning on an acoustic as it's easuer to switch to an electric than vice versa.

As for budget.......many music shops do a variety of starter packages (Guitar, strap, picks....plus maybe a chord book or similar)....anything around �80-�100 mark sounds about right, but you could always have a scour on eBay and pick up a bargain if you knew what you were looking for.

[neilcharles]

Agree with everything's sft42's said but I'll stick my oar in too. I started playing at about that age & gave up because the songs I was taught were horrible (started again as a teenager). Pick a guitar based on the kind of music he likes - for heavy stuff it'll need to be electric to keep him interested - and don't just go for the tunes in the tuition book. As soon as he can play the basic chords go to www.guitaretab.com and get the music for a few favourite songs. Even if it's Westlife or similar he'll soon grow out of it!. There's nothing like having a crack at stuff you like anyway. Last thing, if you go for a steel string acoustic he'll need to persevere 'cause it will be fairly painful until he's hardened up the ends of his fingers. Nylon acoustics are quieter and more folky but easier to play.