[chadh]

At about the age of two, my son started playing air guitar.  At four we bought him a ukulele, and he "plays" it every day.  At the mere mention or sight of a guitar he starts jumping up and down.  So we'd like to encourage this enthusiasm, and would love to have him take lessons.  But at the same time, we don't want to turn him off the whole thing by presenting him with a physical task that's too difficult for him.  He's small for his age, and I wouldn't want him too frustrated with being unable to hold down strings or simply to handle a guitar.

Friends of ours started their son in the Suzuki guitar program at age of four, and his younger sister started at age three.  They use very little guitars that young kids can handle, and these friends of ours love the program.  I don't know much about Suzuki.  What little I do know has always lead me to be a little cynical about the process:  it always seemed to be more about training a child to play an instrument rather than encouraging the child to love the music and want to play.  I could be way off base on that though.

Anyway, we're considering Suzuki.  But even if the program does do the right things, I have another reservation.  The program is exclusively a classical guitar program.  Now, I have nothing aagainst classical guitar.  I like classical guitar.  I put on John Williams playing some Bach lute concertos the other day and asked my son if he liked it.  He said, "I like it a little bit, but not that much."   When I asked him this morning what kind of guitar music he really liked, he said "Stevie Ray Vaughn!"   (And given all he music that I play, my son has certainly heard enough different kinds of guitar music to be able to pick between individuals' styles.  I put on a new John Scofield album the other day, and he immediately knew who was playing.  He can pick out Stevie Ray Vaughn.  He knows Mark Knopfler when he hears him, and I would bet he could identify Tommy Emmanuel inside a minute).  My attitude has always been to encourage people (in this case my son) to love music first, and if this love of music encourages him to play it then so much the better.  As a result, I tend to think he's more likely to remain excited and practice if he's listening to and playing music that appeals to him. 

There are two things I really like about the Suzuki program.  First, the teaching methods have been developed explicitly for young children.  There's no real danger of coming in contact with a teacher who really doesn't know how to adapt to the special needs of a young child.  Second, I really like the parental involvement in the Suzuki program.  Not only would that mean I could learn a little, but I know that my son would feel more comfortable if I were around, and it's more likely that we can encourage him to practice if it's something we do together.

So, this has turned into a long rambling post...I'm sorry.  But I'd love to hear any feedback from people about anything I've said.  Is five too early to start playing?  Have you heard good or bad things about Suzuki?  If we do Suzuki, is it more likely that my son loses interest, or that he quickly grows to love classical guitar?  Is Stevie Ray Vaughn really better than John Williams?

Thanks.

Chad

[mcullinan]

Dood..
I wish I could play guitar.. if he starts now by the age of 7 he will have the chicks lined up at the door Anyways.. A lot of metalheads were classically trained, such as Metallica, and they ROCK!! heh uh..

I think it is the perfect opportunity and you sound like a great parent.

Mike

[PhilNYC]

I don't know much about Suzuki method for guitar, but I've heard great things about it for violin.  That said, I was also told that guitar is particularly tough for kids under 8 years because even with a smaller guitar, younger kids have a tough time with their finger/hand strength for fretting chords and can get easily frustrated.

Definitely try to get him to listen to more acoustic guitar, with some combination of classical and blues.  You can even have him watch the movie Crossroads (with Ralph Macchio), about a kid who plays classical guitar but wants to learn the blues...he gets into a "head-cutting" dual with the Devil's guitar player (Steve Vai), and his classical training saves him...

[ctviggen]

Anyway, we're considering Suzuki.  But even if the program does do the right things, I have another reservation.  The program is exclusively a classical guitar program.  Now, I have nothing aagainst classical guitar.  I like classical guitar.  I put on John Williams playing some Bach lute concertos the other day and asked my son if he liked it.  He said, "I like it a little bit, but not that much."   When I asked him this morning what kind of guitar music he really liked, he said "Stevie Ray Vaughn!" 

Smart kid!  In my opinion, SRV is one of the best guitar players ever.  The guy bled emotion, especially in concert.

[chosenhandle]

My son started when he was 7. If I were to give any advice, it would be to find a teacher who can relate to a younger child and know how to present the lessons. If he can pick up the fundamentals at an early age, you won't believe how fast he will pick up the more complex concepts later.

Whatever method you choose, your son has to look forward to the lessons and practicing; a good teacher will make that happen.

[Daygloworange]

chadh,

To have found a passion for playing guitar at such a young age is really awesome. IMO I would say to go and get him one of those 3/4 length electric guitar, and amp kits. They have them for students. It's like a little starter kit. The music stores have them, and they're inexpensive.

I would rather see him further develop a stronger passion and get more deeply enamoured with it from the emotional side, rather than encourage him to look at a music program right away. Chances are that as his passion for the instrument grows, he will want to progress and get as good as he can. Training will get you to higher levels of virtuosity, and music comprehension, both of which will deepen his desire to progress.

The reason I suggest this method is, training can be a turn off. Even in a carefully developed program, it can become a chore, and tedious. I'm not familiar with the Suzuki program, so I have no opinion on it specifically. I was lucky, I lived very close to a classical violinist who taught me privately for many years. Then I went and studied music in college. Vastly different environments. I did not enjoy the college method. It definitely had strong points that I couldn't have experienced privately, such as ensemble playing, and so forth, but it was nowhere near as fun as with a private teacher.

Another great thing to do is if you know a pro player, or someone who is a really good amateur. Try and get someone to sit down and show him a few of his favorite things. That is like gold, and really encourages and inspires.
Just for the record, I do endorse formal training, and music theory. Although there are a lot of great players who never studied formally, and play well, there is often a frustration barrier for them, and they experience a lot of ruts that they have trouble breaking out of.

Is Stevie Ray Vaughn really better than John Williams?

Is a Porsche better than a Viper? Apples and oranges. Both are great in their respective genres. I rank John Williams as one of the great classical players. I much prefer him to Segovia, for example. Stevie Ray Vaughan was a great blues player IMO.

A lot of metalheads were classically trained, such as Metallica, and they ROCK!! heh uh..

 I know Kirk Hammet studied a bit with Joe Satriani, but that was not what would be considered classical training. Steve Vai also studied with Joe Satriani as a youngster, then went on to Berklee College of Music. There is a really good example of formal training vs non formal. There is no comparison between Kirk Hammet and Steve Vai. As far as the other guys in Metallica, no.


Cheers

[AB]

Learning an instrument at such an early age is more about learning music fundamentals than learning to play the instrument. The instrument is just a tool to get the ideas and details across to the child.

I imagine the Suzuki method teaches these fundamentals as well. If I am wrong and it doesn't, I would look elsewhere.

[tmij]

Let him have his fun first. This says it all right here--

I put on John Williams playing some Bach lute concertos the other day and asked my son if he liked it.  He said, "I like it a little bit, but not that much."   When I asked him this morning what kind of guitar music he really liked, he said "Stevie Ray Vaughn!"

You might think of the guitar right now as a childhood "playmate" and the method of learning as the playground. That's not to say Suzuki can't be a playground, it could be eventually but from what you're saying, I think not for now. (Although I do hope he eventually grows into a fine classical player, we need more of them! )

Finally, here's a kid about his age-- Quinn Sullivan, playing on Ellen, entertaining the crowd. One might think that's really all there is to this kid, but this is really where he's at--

Quinn Sullivan Band - While my Guitar Gently Weeps

[craig223]

We started our sons on guitar lessons two years ago at age 4 & 5.  Do not be afraid of their age.  They learn things quicker and easier than we do.  The boys did a duet for the Christmas Eve service at our church.  The oldest one can play most of his weekly lesson songs within 5 minutes.  The younger learns a new song in a couple of 15 minute sessions.  They can play along with CDs that they like. 

Starting so young hardwires the brain to be a musician in ways that those who start later cannot achieve.  We also take them to hear live music.  I am going to buy them a E-MU recording interface and start recording them to help promote the things that they can do with their music.

You can buy 1/2 and 3/4 size guitars from www.musiciansfriend.com.

I politely disagree with AB about learning fundamentals.  My boys started with music and now we are working on backfilling the fundamentals as they progress.  When I started piano as a kid, fundamentals came first.  That made things boring.  Let them experience the joy of playing a song for a school group to get them motivated to learn more.

[acresm22]

I don't know much about the Suzuki guitar program, but our 9-year-old daughter has been in the Suzuki violin program for 4 years. It's great, and does not simply focus on fundamentals while trampling their musical enthusiams. The opposite, if you ask me...they go right into learning recognizable songs and tunes by ear, and reading music doesn't come until Book II.

If the Suzuki guitar method is similar, I would recommend it...your child will get a grasp on fundamentals but the stress initially will be on learning by ear, and he'll be playing songs very quickly. I think a classical guitar approach would be great....play him some of those Steve Morse nylon string pieces ; - )  He can always take what he's learning at Suzuki on the classical guitar and apply it to his cute little electric/amp rig, only with overdrive!! He'll love it.

[chadh]

Thanks for all the replies so far.  It's great to get a bunch of different perspectives.  And it's especially great to hear from people who've had kids learn to play guitar at young ages.  The last thing I want is to have my son go along to lessons and have frustration override all of his enthusiasm becuase he's too young, or because he has a bad teacher, or the method is inappropriate.  But, espeically after reading your input, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that we should find some way of getting him to play guitar now.  It's just a question of which approach.

Chad

[bigkidz]

I started playing the guitar when I was 8 - second grade.  There is no right method for playing an instrument.  Danny Gatton was and is the best guitar player I ever saw or heard.  I love SRV for what he could do, but Gatton was something even more special.  He never took a lesson.  He was born with the talent and his parnets had a huge influence on his musical interests as they played instruments themselves.  As a kid I wanted to learn to play music that I liked to hear so classical was not in my picture at that time.  There will be time in your kids life if they really want to play to learn a style that they enjoy.

First, you must get an instrument that can be played like the shorter scale guitars.  Some of the off brands are really bad so ask around and find out what other kids like.  Fender makes a decent mini Stratocaster electric, etc.  Find a local music teacher that can focus on having your child learn some basics that turn into songs.  Remember early rock n roll was basic three easy chords.  Don't be afraid to have your child try a few different lessons with different teachers to see who they like better.  A teacher is a coach and in my life I have had coaches in sports, music, work and each one is different, some I liked and some I do not like to this date.

The most important thing to get your child to stay with it is to make it fun and not work.  You can rent guitars at local music shops to see how much they like playing before buying one.

There are tons of music video lessons and guitar tab on the internet.  You can start there if you want.  You can even learn yourself along with your child.

Hope this helps.