[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey folks,
My son is nine years old and has expressed an interest in learning to play guitar.
Before I ship him off to an actual instructor, I'd like to test his willingness and resolve first if you know what I mean.
I'm very willing to help him "learn how to learn".
I, however, do not know how to play but will guide and encourage him as best I can.

Before I hop on Google to stumble on how I should procede, I know there are quite a few guitar players here and thought I'd ask the pros first. As with learning anything like this I'm sure there are many ways of learning. I like to find the most efficient, helpful method (with children in mind) and avoid the pitfalls of him learning bad habits from the beginning.
So, I'm coming to you.

The guitar he has is a six string acoustic he bought with his allowance from Walmart. No flames please. 
If it turns out he has a genuine interest, sticks with it and grows with the hobby I'd be willing to get him a real guitar.

Thanks,
Bob

[jvc]

Hey Bob...............
I'd check the local music stores, to see if they have instructors for the style of music, your boy wants to play (probably rock & roll, right?) Stores usually have several instructors. Lessons will usually run a half hour a night, one or maybe two nights a week. He needs to understand that it's not going to be easy, to learn any instrument. If it was easy, everyone would be playing.

If the guitar he bought, has strings that sit high off the neck, it's gonna kill his fingers, and will probably cause him to lose interest. Even very good guitars, with excellent action on the neck, is going to hurt his fingers, until he builds up some callouses, on the tips of them (a painful process). You will find out pretty quick how devoted he's going to be. If he doesn't know this process is going to happen, you need to tell him, so it's not a total surprise. He's gonna have to practice, especially when his fingers hurt. That's how he'll build up the callouses. When I was first learning, my fingers would bleed sometimes. I never took actual lessons. I learned from band members, in bands I worked with, as a roadie.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[Bob in St. Louis]

37 views in four days.   
Dammit, I thought there were more guitar players around here.


I know what I did wrong.....I used the wrong title for the thread.
I should have used a title having something to do with a dating service, bitching about my job, or golf.
That would have gotten more traffic.

jvc - Thank you very much for your reply and good advice.
Good talking to you again. 

Bob

[macrojack]

Bob-

I don't play but both of my sons do. I agree with jvc about the "action". He would be better off with a better guitar. Used instruments are like used hi-fi. You can buy and resell with little loss as long as condition is maintained.

I started my older boy with lessons at age 6. He lasted a few months but I pulled the plug when he wouldn't practice. When he was 12 he started up again on his own and has become very dedicated, if not very good. Nonetheless, when he's feeling disconnected or confused he goes to his guitar for an hour or so and gets himself back.

Another point is the size of the instrument. If your boy is 9, an adult guitar may be pretty unwieldy. The guitar we bought for about $100 new in 1997 is a Romanian made classical that is about half size. Even though they both have multi-thousand dollar acoustic guitars today, they both love that old miniature and they both play it often.

Don't worry about the investment. Lessons are like $15 or $20 per half hour and he doesn't get them if he doesn't practice. If he has the drive, he'll make it pay, but even if it sputters now, you will be planting an important seed.

If you can stand to listen to it, electric guitars are cheaper even with a small practice amp included.

[Scott F.]

Bob,

Even though I don't play I'll toss a comment into the thread since few have responded. My oldest who has a Masters in vocal and minor in piano wanted to learn to play guitar. After talking to a couple of GAS guys (Mike D and Blackmore who both teach music in High School), they pointed me towards the Mel Bay books. They can be bought new or picked up on eBay. He wrote scads of books on learning how to play at all different levels (as I'm told). You may want to run by Borders or Barnes and Noble to see it they are concise enough to learn without the help of a music teacher. There are also many many 'teach yourself' resources on the 'net including how to tune a guitar complete with test tones.

Hope that helped a little even though I'm not a player and don't have a real clue.

[Eric]

If you can find a suzuki intructor in your area, I would highly recommend it. The child and parent actually learn together

[Wayner]

Sorry Bob,

I would have poked my head in sooner if I knew it was you. Mel Bay has been making starter books for decades. You can get his books at any music store. He has one that is the basic guitar chords and puts them into 1-4-5 groups, like the key of C etc. to teach the starter how to finger the chord, how to strum the strings and which strings to deaden. If he's interested, and gets some of the basic chords, he will soon be puttin' together his own tunes. That's when you get him going to a teacher. I've been playing since I've been about 12. Should have started when I was 5. Also, he needs a fricken guitar that has good fret action (strings not a mile away). This will make it easier to do the chords.

Wayner  aa

[nathanm]

jvc makes a good point about the action.  High strings can make it needlessly hard.  You don't want a fancy guitar but you also don't want it so cheap that it's fighting against you.  If he really is interested it's a good thing to get lessons.  I'm self-taught and play occasionally so my skill has improved slowly since I started (age 12 or so); but then there's my little cousin whom I got interested in guitar who then went on to get lessons. Now he can kick out all this fingerstyle stuff that blows me out of the water.  It's probably better to start at a young age too.  Still, I think most of it is natural skill.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Ok, NOW we're talkin'! 

Regarding his current guitar^*, I don't know what's supposed to be the correct height, but these strings do seem awful high off the neck. More pressure is required to get them "planted" than I think is correct.

Good info here fellas. Thanks for the heads up regarding Mel Bay. I'll do some searching.

The boy is a typical nine year old. Not much attention span before he moves on to the next "gotta have it, gotta have it" thing. But the guitar topic has popped up more often than anything else, that's why we "let him" spend his money on the cheapo he's got now. Still leery of spending too much until he's sure this is a path he wants to seriously persue. Maybe I'm just being a cheapass.

Thanks fella's!
Bob

^* I'm using the word "guitar" very loosely as it is a Walmart POS,not a real unit. 

[nathanm]

I had a nylon-string guitar early on that my cousin found in someone's trash.  It was quite junky, but it worked.  The fretboard was very wide which made things more difficult.  I'd opt for a more narrow kind, but I just never got the hang of strumming by hand, so my approach is all pick-specific.  If the neck is too big for his hands it could be disconcerting too.

Is it one of these by chance?
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1762022

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6115662

If he is not totally bothered by the existing high-action guitar I would just stick with that.  Look at the bright side: no fret buzz! Heh.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Yes, it's the second one you linked to:



I've not watched his "fret hand" while he's got a hold of it so I'm unaware if it's too fat. Good information to know. It's things like this that can ruin it for him.....Things I didn't know to look for.
Thank you Nathan

Bob

[jvc]

You can probably pick up a pretty decent guitar at a local pawn shop.
Name brands to look for are Fender, Takamine, Epiphone, Washburn and Seagull, for affordable used guitars. Same brands new, can get expensive on some models. You should be able to find one for less than $200, used. You can go to very good guitars, such as Martin, Taylor, Gibsons and higher end Seagulls, and get into some money! A Martin D-45 lists for close to $8000, but can actually be had new, closer to $5000.  Get him one of those!

Electric guitars are easier to play, because the "action" on them is so much better, than most acoustics. (I have seen a couple of Martins that played as good as an electric though) But with electrics, you need an amp, so you can hear what you're playing. Amps tend to get on parent's nerves. Then they want a fuzz box, wah wah pedal, distortion box, etc......

My hands are getting to the point that I can't play anymore, and I'm probably going to sell my Fender acoustic. I'll need to do that locally, since shipping somewhere would make the price too high, for that model.
If you're going to shop for a good one, take someone with you that knows something. If he takes lessons, the instructor might help him find a good one, for a good price. You can usually get most of your money back, if you end up selling a good one.
Good luck!

[nathanm]

That Wal-Mart special looks plenty good.  Scaled down size and all.  Plus even if he doesn't stick with it a $25 guitar is no big loss.  If he does get good he can smash that one on stage and light it on fire.

[Wayner]

Martin guitar is world renowned as a great guitar, made in pennyslvania. They have a small guitar that might be perfect for a kid and if things go south, the resale will be excellent.

It's called the Martin Backpacker and I think it would be very suited for your boy (and it wouldn't play quite as loud), which might be nice at least for the beginning.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Search/Default.aspx?src=martin+backpacker&source=4WWRWXGB

Just another idea for you Bob.

Wayner

[Bob in St. Louis]

WOW, very good information here.
I didn't know an electric would be easier to play than an acoustic. Interesting.

I let the boy play on Ebay for awhile and he found a truck load of electrics that come with the amp for about $90 with shipping (IIRC).
I'm sure they're crap though. I'd rather go with your recommendations.

I also like the idea of my son doing his "Jimmy Hendricks" with the lighter fluid.
We'll have to wait for a day when Mom is gone for that stunt.  aa

Excellent information guys, thanks.

Bob

[jvc]

Musicians Friend is another good online place to check out. They run some good deals usually, and I understand they have excellent customer service. See them here:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/
Enjoy!

[macrojack]

Bob -

Musician's Friend is a good call. I've done a lot of business with them.

Try this deal -- I don't see how you could get hurt. It even comes with a hard case.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Washburn-WD114S-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=518528

Washburn is to guitars what Polk is to speakers. Not exactly elite but certainly credible. You might turn a profit on this thing seeing as how it comes with a hard case.

I would let him know that this instrument is precious and that it belongs in one of two places at all times, either his careful hands or the safety case. That little bit of imposed reverance will enhance the entire experiment for him.

Don't forget to let him know that studying music should improve his math grades.

[Scott F.]

Bob,

I you need it, I've got a cheap Crate practice amp. It ain't pretty but it makes noise.

[Wayner]

www.americanmusicalsupply.com is another source for guitars equal to musicians friend. I have bought from both and like AMS much better.

w

[bassboy]

bump for bob

I don't know anything about guitars.  Is this a good toy for a kid or a POS?

behringer usb guitar (works with amps too I think) - $119

 http://www.parts-express.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?Partnumber=248-701&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Email_Newsletter&utm_content=Behringer+Guitar+Picture&utm_campaign=email090408&orefer=esf90408