Childs first guitar.

[Algonquin]

Has anyone had any luck finding a decent beginner guitar for a child?

My little guy is almost 6 yrs old, and has expressed an interest whenever I play. This alone doesn't mean he'll have the discipline or patience to learn if I get him a guitar, but I think it’s just as safe a bet as buying him anything else... new toys/games get neglected quickly for many kids.

We went to a local guitar shop the other night to have a quick look around. I quickly looked at acoustics, and thought there would likely be a lot of these in the local Craigslist ads, which there are a lot.

Before we left, we noticed a little Squier Mini in red. I have to say it did look cool, and for someone six yrs old, it looked like a regular strat on an adult. Even with the $99 price tag, it just didn’t seem like something I was willing to buy even at that price.

I decided to buy some extra light gauge acoustic strings to put on my parlor sized A&L Ami. The guitar was purchase used a couple of years ago. If I put a capo at the 2nd /3/4/5 fret, it should make it easier for him to reach the first position on the neck.

Has anyone had any success finding something to work for a young child?

David

[FrankenFretter***]

I bought a Daisy Rock heart-shaped guitar for my fiancee's 9-year old daughter. She always likes to pluck away at my guitars, and she's expressed interest in learning. The Daisy Rock guitars are good quality instruments. I also got her a Luna acoustic that I wasn't too impressed with.

[wingsdad]

My local mom & pop GAS Station, with oniste lesson staff and rooms, has stocked & sold these inexpensive MIC acoustics for years to beginning students:

Sunlite 1/2 & 3/4 scale Classicals

The Classicals are really quite good - - well-made, actually intonate all the way up the neck and stay in tune -- and can be had new for $70-$80. They make a really nice gig bag -- thick padding, big pockets, handy straps -- for them, too, and sell for $20-$25.

My twin granddaughters, who've plunked on my guitars since infancy and bugged me to teach them, will now get their wish for their 8th birthday in 2 weeks, as I just scored a pair of the 3/4's with bags for under $200...they're tall and lanky with big hands, long fingers for their age, so they'd quickly outgrow the 1/2's...the 3/4's...hell, they could have them forever if they want to stay with it. Rather than torture them with steel strings and create a negative paramater, dealing with discomfort, I prefer they start with low-tension nylon strings as these come that way (D'addarios) .

They also make steel strings in these scales:

Sunlite 1/2 & 3/4 scale Steel String acoustics
If you download the 16-page Guitar catalog, you'll find the specs for all models on page 15:

Sunlite Catalog pdf download

[stingx]

Taylor Baby

[tjcurtin1]

EDIT: Sorry, I just went to the site to convince myself to buy one and see that they are out of stock - you might want to call and see if they will have more - or go to the other sites metioned to see if they still have them.

This is a very nicely made and easy to play OOO style.

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/roooostacgub.html

MF was selling them off recently for 74.95, but this outfit has further reduced them to 54.95 - with free shipping! It is a great little guitar - you can read many reviews on MF and M123, and a real steal even at the higher price as anything else in this price point (and ofter, much above) is usually just a toy. I have had two students at school get them, and both were great out of the box. They really sound nice, too - I was tempted to get one for myself for couch playing...

[deeaa*]

I would definitely get a kid an electric first, not an acoustic...buggers are so much harder to play and don't offer nearly the same level of satisfaction you can get when you learn to play a simple song like Smoke on The Water with just one finger and sound AWSUM!

Had I started with an acoustic I would never have gotten past the first lessons.

[Duffy]

That mini strat Squier is a real good little guitar for ninety nine dollars.

You might have an amp or you can buy lots of them for small money. Fender has an awesome Mustang I for ninety nine that is something he could continue to use for another six years and still keep it for a practice amp.

There are innumerable incredible guitar and amp deals out there right now, new and used. I'd probably get the new red Squire mini if it sets up right and plays and works right. The transition to a full sized strat would be very easy farther down the road.

Plus, like Deeaa said the kid would be real proud of that new electric guitar that sounds so awesome. I'm sure that would have a very good chance of making a serious impression on the child, unforgettable.

When Vince Gill was like thirteen his parents got him a Fender Super Reverb amp and a Gibson 335 and it made a serious and lasting impression on him and took him a long way into his guitar playing life - in fact I wouldn't be surprised if he still owns them.

I always had junky hand me down free or cheap acoustic guitars until I bought my first electric and amp not that many years ago, and most all of my learning has happened on the electrics I have. Much more satisfying and gratifying to play and hear that "KERANGG!!" as Paul McCartney once said when he recently refused to take his child on the road tour with him as a condition of the "child custody" part of his recent divorce. But he said he wouldn't give up playing on the road because of that, "KERANGG!!", how could you ignore that, he said.

You won't get that out of an acoustic. An acoustic can always come into play later. Plus acoustics are harder to play than electrics, as far as requiring more energy, etc. On the electric you just touch the string and it sings.
Good luck with it.

[wingsdad]

As opposed to a steel string acoustic with it's fatter larger body, a decent, smaller bodied, well set-up short-scale nylon string ('classical') with soft-tension strings actually isn't that much more difficult to play than a decent short-scale electric like a Squier Mini-Strat.

For a raw beginning child, nylons are easier on the tender skin of a 6-8 year old, and far less likely to actually slice softer little fingertips like a steel-strung acoustic or electric's plain strings. Downside is stringing a classical is difficult, even for an adult, with learning to knot the strings at the bridge, so that's not a job for a tyke. there are ball-end nylons that will work until that skill is acquired. IMHO, having taught a number of children how to play over the years, the assumption that an acoustic is harder to play than an electric being a negative factor in learning to play is exaggerated and short-sighted.

Above all, let's not forget that playing a guitar requires development of forearm, wrist, finger and hand muscle strength in order to in turn improve the dexterity and coordination needed to shape chords, change chords adroitly, and play scales smoothly.

With that long-term goal in mind, the acoustic provides more of a calisthenic platform for a child to learn on than an electric. The neck/nut's a bit wider with the strings a bit wider apart, but these are distinct plusses for a beginner; easier to keep the fingers clear of each other when trying to form chords, easier to distinctly pick strings. And again, the stretching required by that neck width helps build long & strong hand muscles.

Also, an electric requires another variable to deal with in the learning-to-play equtation: operating an amp and guitar systematically to get desired sound. This distracts from the primary goal: learning to play the guitar. Good tone? We debate this incessantly here...and many conclude that the secret's in the fingers.

If you stress to the child from the start to not have false, unrealistic expectations of instant success, assuring them that while the road on this journey has some rough patches at the outset that they will be rewarded for patience and perserverance as the road gets smoother ahead. How far ahead is different for each child. There's no magic 'A-Hah!' button to push. Make sure they buy in to the premise that it takes a commitment to practice every day, or close to it, and at that, to not 'overdo' it...20-30 minutes in a sitting, max. Playing too long as the hands & fingers grow in strength is fatiguing, leading to sloppiness and frustration. That's true at any age.

With an acoustic, the child can pick it up any time, anywhere and be playing the instant they do. Nothing to plug in, no cables to break or misplace, no circuits to fry because we're a child and didn't get our degree from MIT yet, no batteries to replace if it's a battery-powered amp. And no tinnitis at a young age from playing with headphones on too loud because somebody's hollering at you to turn that damn thing down...

Finally, as anyone here who plays both knows, if you warm up on an acoustic, when you go for the electric, it feels that much 'quicker' to respond. Like a baseball player swings a weighted bat on deck, before going up to the plate to face a 99 mph heater, so the bat feels lighter, because the arms and forearms are loosened up.

[deeaa*]

All good points, no doubt...still, my 5-yr old sometimes strums an electric I put together for him for toying with, and it seems very easy for him to play 'melodies' and such. Have never even hooked it to an amp; will wait till he really wants to learn something. I don't think it's hard for fingers at all.

But even the 3/4 size nylon-string I have is just huge for him, or his fingers...I guess it depends on the individual, mostly the age and such. I know I wasn't interested in learning to play or making music when I started playing guitar; it was all about just making noise and feeling like them guys in bands must do :-) I woulda never played an acoustic if I'd had one.

I seriously thought of just putting one or two strings on his guitar when I hook it to an amp and encourage him to make his own music with just one finger first.

I myself never had a guitar till I was around 14 or so, and even then I had to build me one...but when I was five or so I'd spend hours playing the piano...never learnt anything but I made my own music I guess.

[Algonquin]

Thank you for all the incredibly detailed responses!

I'm not sure which route to take as of yet, but I appreciate all the honest feedback.

Cheers,
David

[tjcurtin1]

+1 to Wingsdad's observations. I don't really think it needs to be about 'kerang' for young kids (teenagers are another matter).

I have started middle school kids with guitar - 8th graders (13-14 yrs.) first and this year with 6th graders (11-12 years) at their request. The difference is huge in terms of real desire to play, to commit to practice and learning, as well as in just the physical mechanics of playing. So I wouldn't hope for or expect too much of kids even younger, with the exception of a natural talent, as it does present so many physical challenges and demand the kind of time and attention that Wingsdad suggests.

[tjcurtin1]

I also seem to remmber in another thread, the suggestion of a uke for little kids as an easier entry to the world of stringed instruments. I remember seeing Dane Zanes joined on stage by his then 9-year old daughter on uke.

[Algonquin]

I also seem to remmber in another thread, the suggestion of a uke for little kids as an easier entry to the world of stringed instruments.

Interesting you should mention that... I was just considering the same thing.

Thanks again for all the posts folks! You're not just helping me, you're helping all those who may come across this thread by way of internet search.

[stingx]

The Baby Taylor, although an acoustic, has a very electric guitar-like neck and is, in fact, a GREAT choice for a child to learn the instrument with. It wouldn't be as easy as playing a JEM action wise but it wouldn't be that hard and they'll get a great playing and sounding instrument that will last a very long time. Not to mention great for finger dexterity and ear training. It is way better to learn on an acoustic instrument. Just my humble opinion of course.

[Algonquin]

An interesting option...

[wingsdad]

Wow..now that's a cool little tool ... I went to Yamaha's site and found it...Yamaha GL1 Guitarlele
couldn't find a price on it anywhere, but since this Yamaha CGS102 1/2 Scale classical goes for $120...probably not far off...
..and copied & pasted this bit:

...Introducing the Yamaha GL1 Guitarlele, now officially available for the first time in the USA! Half guitar, half ukulele…100% fun. A unique mini 6-string nylon guitar that is sized like a baritone ukulele (17” scale) and plays like a standard tune guitar. The guitarlele’s tuning is pitched up to “A” (or up a 4th) at A/D/G/C/E/A.

That last bit I bolded about it being tuned up a 4th to 'A' then reminded me: Ada! Just like a Tacoma Papoose the little thing that kinda made a name for Tacoma (the company) and wasn't cheap...the last Tacoma Price List I have on file (Winter 2006) has the P1's MSRP at $799...they were gobbled up by Fender a couple of years ago and put on the side of the road to die, but since FMIC still has it on the Tacoma Website I guess they're around.

If you go the Guitarlele route, you'll just have to capo up at the 5th fret to be in tune with the little one...

[Algonquin]

Wings, a local dealer 'Long and McQuade' sells them for $95 cdn.

The one closest to me is out of stock, but I'll talk to them and see if them can order one, or grab one from another store.

Exactly my thoughts on using a capo on the 5th... but no biggy there, as I love using a copo.

I've got to admit that this little thing looks plenty interesting enough that I wouldn't mind having one.

And a gig bag is included as well.

[wingsdad]

Interesting you should mention that... I was just considering the same thing. ...

A uke is definitely an option, and since I've had a couple and still do own one and doink (or plunk) with it, I considered that to get my granddaughters...tiny, simple to play and flail away at, and they've messed around with my uke just fine.... one finger on one string gets ya a coupla chords... but I decided that it's 'different' tuning would only confuse the issue of learning to play the guitar....I still considered a Baritone Uke, though...since it's virtually a 4-string 'Guitarlele'...tuned like the high 4 strings of a guitar, D-G-B-E. Oscar Schmidt by Washburn makes great ukes, and they have an acoustic electric one among their 'higher end' models...as in a couple of hundred bucks or more vs. under $100...Oscar Schmidt OU55CE

[wingsdad]

Wings, a local dealer 'Long and McQuade' sells them for $95 cdn.

The one closest to me is out of stock, but I'll talk to them and see if them can order one, or grab one from another store.

Exactly my thoughts on using a capo on the 5th... but no biggy there, as I love using a copo.

I've got to admit that this little thing looks plenty interesting enough that I wouldn't mind having one.

And a gig bag is included as well.

I think you've found yourself a winner, my friend If you buy 2, then you sell your capo to help pay for the 2nd one