The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    A few months ago I had a 6 year old girl over here because her parents didn't know how to tune the guitar. She was barely big enough to hold the thing, let alone fret some chords. I gave her a concert sized ukulele just to give it a try.

    Maybe you can start of with the ukulele, especially for the younger ones. It's easier and it might start interesest for the guitar. Good ukes are cheap too.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by djg
    there are 1/4, 2/4 and 3/4 guitars just like violins.
    I know that, but 4 strings might be easier to start with. I see a lot of young kids these days on YT with ukes.

  4. #28
    Hello Steve, thank you for your reply. I agree completely with what you say. So many kids are forced in to piano lessons as a child and so many rarely carry it on as adults. I think they end up thinking of learning music as a chore rather than an enjoyable hobby. I am merely going to present the opportunity of learning guitar , if they show no interest in learning I would not dream of pushing them to carry it on. All the best.

  5. #29
    Thank you Jax, I think that is a good way to go. I often think it would be great to start a beginner off with a guitar with only one string so they can easily see how the fretboard works and the linear way the notes lay on the guitar. All the best.

  6. #30

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    I think it's very different for different kids.

    Some, maybe a minority, will be fine with method books. They'll derive satisfaction from being able to play the lessons, no matter what they are.

    At another extreme, there are kids who will want to pick up the guitar and figure it all out themselves. Your role is to make a playable instrument available and just maybe chime in with a helpful pointer here and there. You might mention that there are lessons on youtube.

    And some kids will accept Grandpa in the role of guitar teacher and some simply will not.

  7. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Donplaysguitar
    Not to split hairs but I meant a young kid, and beginner. Now, after a few years? Sure, they may indeed be able to handle Leavitt.

    And on any potential notion of using it as a sole resource? No way, Jose.
    This is probably more a consideration for those out there that are actually using Leavitt

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    I think it's very different for different kids.

    Some, maybe a minority, will be fine with method books. They'll derive satisfaction from being able to play the lessons, no matter what they are.

    At another extreme, there are kids who will want to pick up the guitar and figure it all out themselves. Your role is to make a playable instrument available and just maybe chime in with a helpful pointer here and there. You might mention that there are lessons on youtube.

    And some kids will accept Grandpa in the role of guitar teacher and some simply will not.
    As I probably mentioned earlier there’s a lot of kids who don’t really listen to music.

    In which case, it’s probably a bit like learning/teaching a classical instrument. I doubt many children starting cello are big on Bach, but they develop an appreciation as they advance.

  9. #33
    Thank you for all the great and interesting responses to my post. One thing I have noticed that may have changed since I was a kid especially with my eleven year old Grandson, is a reluctance to accept the role of student. I am no expert but I think it may be linked with the way they seem to be more grown up so much younger these days. At eleven, he is more fashion conscious , has a mobile phone and was even talking about going on a diet despite being as thin as a rake. As a 50 year old in a child's body he does tend to spend more of his guitar practice time telling me how it is rather than shutting up and listening to someone with 50 or so years of experience playing music. So who knows how that is going to go. I have a suspicion that you professional guitar teachers among this forum often have to listen to kids saying "well a bloke on you tube says ....................". He will definitely be getting shipped off to one of you guys early on. Lol. Thanks again for everyone's input. Great forum.

  10. #34

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    Lot of good advice in this thread. My worst memories of piano lessons as a kid are those damn Hanon and Czerny exercise books. Harsh stuff to start out with, that's for sure.

  11. #35
    Well this turned out to be an interesting thread with lots of great advice. Just a quick mention of something in case it of interest to anyone else wanting to give a youngster a chance on the guitar. I decided to look around for a cheap knock about guitar that I wouldn't be too worried about. The thought of letting the whippersnapper loose with my ES335 sets my anxiety off,lol. So I thought I would see what £100 OR so would get me. Well I looked at second hand on ebay and did not see anything worth bothering with. So I went on you tube.. I saw the Glarry brand which were around £69 but most of the you tubers reported even the review guitars they were sent arriving either with damage or in an almost unplayable state. Now I know someone will say what do you expect for £70 and that's true but actual damage i feel is a bit much even at that price range. Anyhow I kept coming across people reviewing a make I had never heard of before called Donner. The strange thing was they all said the same thing, the guitars were amazing value and were as good if not better than many budget guitars at three times the price. So reluctantly and not expecting much I ordered one from Amazon, it was a Les Paul Style one at £129, but there was a £15 voucher available bringing it down to £115. Now I started my guitar journey way back in the seventies when you either bought Gibson or a Fender, or a beginner plank of wood with some steel wire nailed to it. Mine was a Kay sg styled plank of wood and my goodness my fingers still start to hurt when I remember the action on it. So I nervously awaited the arrival of this Donner guitar worried I had just reverted back to the seventies( what times the Sweeny on?). Well when I opened the padded, yes padded gig bag it came with I was pleasantly surprised to find a quite weighty and nicely finished guitar with lovely binding. It came with a strap and a lead that had screw on plugs rather than those awful cheap moulded ones you normally see. The neck was straight, the tuners are metal and feel smooth. The frets were finished to a good standard. The pots and selected switch felt smooth and good quality. This guitar had been set up, the action and intonation were spot on and it played remarkably well. I have played guitars costing three times what this did that have come from the factory having not been set up in any shape or form. This guitar is unbelievable for the money and in my mind is the only one worth considering at this price level. I have found myself playing it quite a lot it is so nice. I just thought I would mention it in case anyone else wants to buy a cheap knockabout for some youngsters. To be honest I would have no problem using this guitar myself if for some reason my main guitar was not an option. Hope this helps someone. All the best.