Kid Guitars
Archive for the ‘Electric’ Category
Rod Stewart performed the bulk of his first American concert from behind the safety of a stack of speakers. The Band wrote a song called “Stage Fright” even as some of their members were experiencing it first hand. In short, children aren’t the only ones who deal with . Just like any other phobia, it can be overcome through practice and positive thinking.
The best remedy for stage fright is to know the material backwards and forward. That way, when the lights are dimmed and all eyes are trained on you and your childrens electric guitars, you can leave the work to your muscle memory. Problems might creep in if you are forced to think too much about what you’re doing. Try to live right in the moment without thinking about your surroundings.
Over the past few days, we’ve delved into a number of guitar-playing tips and techniques that will help bring out the budding virtuoso in your child. These tactics have been developed over a span of centuries, and most of them are practiced with regularity by masters across the world. But the critical element that can never be taught through rote memorization or training involves creativity.
As a conscientious parent of a young musician, remember to let your child act his or her age on occasion. That might mean practicing rock songs rather than classical or jazz. It might mean noodling, jamming and exploring sonic landscapes that have yet to be described in any music book. This free time will allow the child to gain a clear head and a renewed enthusiasm for the childrens electric guitars.
In the last year or so, I’ve tried to expose my son to the music that was so influential during my formative years. I try to be open-minded, but it just seems that the majority of today’s music has lost its organic roots, trading them in in favor or slick, computerized production techniques. My favorite album – and one that has grown on my son as well – is “At Fillmore East,” a record recorded live by the Allman Brothers Band in the early 1970s.
Duane Allman’s masterful slide guitar playing technique inspired me to pick up a childrens guitar in my youth. He utilized an empty medicine bottle to create a mellow, soothing sound that just cannot be attained with a metal slide. Though I was never able to perfect Allman’s technique myself, I did become rather proficient at playing the traditional way. I’ll be passing those skills on to my son.
Jimi Hendrix and the Ambidextrous Guitar
Ambidextrous kids are often encouraged to play both right- and left-handed in baseball and other sports. Switch hitters are a dime a dozen in the major leagues, but their two-handed talent is part of what helps them get to that level in the first place. Tennis star Rafael Nadal is a natural righty who learned to play left-handed for strategic reasons, and you can judge how well that decision paid off.
In the musical realm, guitar virtuoso famously played his right-handed guitar in southpaw fashion. Part of this was flash and exuberance, but there was also a message that children could learn a lot from. It’s important to be versatile as a musician; you never know what type of improvisational situation might be thrown your way. If a child feels like playing the kids electric guitar in a unique way, don’t be so quick to correct it.
Once kids get the hang of playing basic guitar chords, it’s time to turn on the amp and focus on tone. Several equally important factors affect guitar tone, including the brand of ax, the type of pickups, the pick and the string gauge. Classic country musicians liked to use Fender guitars because of their light, airy twang. Hard rockers and those active during the Grunge era preferred a darker, more menacing tone as embodied by Gibson.
Of course it’s possible to find discount childrens electric guitars online that replicate the tone of their more expensive counterparts. String gauge refers to the thickness and heaviness of the strings. Again, the lighter the strings are, the “happier” and “twangier” the tone. These days, most guitar pickups are designed to eliminate the buzzing sound inherent to older models.
When kids pick up an electric guitar for the first time, they often harbor unrealistic expectations. When my brother gave me his hand-me-down Fender back in the late ’80s, I wanted to be just like my heroes Eddie Van Halen and Angus Young. Little did I know that they were two of the most technically proficient ax-wielders of all time and that I would be better off just learning the basics.
Over time I learned how to execute a few of Young and Van Halen’s go-to guitar tricks, including the vibrato, the pull-off, the slide, and the hammer-on. All of these techniques and more are put on display in Van Halen’s guitar rock showcase “Eruption.” By the time I graduated high school, I had worn out my copy of Van Halen I and gone through at least three kids electric guitars.
While it’s true that strumming and picking individual notes are the most popular ingredients in any great guitar song, there are plenty of additional techniques that serve to spice up the end result. Rock and roll is at least 90 percent pageantry, and there’s no reason why a kid shouldn’t start showing off on guitar at an early age. Finger tapping is a technique that not only livens up the guitar’s sonic possibilities but adds interesting visual appeal as well.
Finger tapping can be performed on childrens electric guitars by using the fingertips from the picking hand to tap on and pull off of strings on the fretboard. As one might suspect, this technique requires accuracy, precision and authority. If the guitarist doesn’t strike the string dead-center with enough force, only a lame, muffled sound will result. Try cranking up the distortion to make the effect even more noticeable.
When a child picks up her first electric guitar, the instrument has a very foreign feel. None of the skills that will later come naturally are inherent or instinctual, so it’s best to sign up for classical lessons as soon as possible. That will eliminate the potential for picking up bad habits. Still, it doesn’t hurt to experiment right out of the gate. One of the most distinctive and popular features of a kids electric guitar is the whammy bar.
Properly known as the tremolo arm, this contraption is attached to the bridge of the guitar and it directly controls the tension of the strings. When the strings are given extra slack, the sound produced is lower in pitch; as they are tightened the sound picks up significantly in pitch. While it’s fun to experiment with the effects one can derive with a whammy bar, it’s important to note that frequent use of the lever will cause the strings to go out of tune. Reinforce with your child that there are repercussions associated with overuse of the tremolo arm.
Rock and rap have long been the dominant forms of popular music here in America; every once in a while you’ll hear a novelty song or a particularly catchy piece of world music pick up some steam on the charts, but those instances are few and far between. By listening strictly to Top 40 radio or chart-topping mp3s, a young guitarist is deprived of the influences that went into creating rock music as we know it.
The most obvious forerunner to rock was blues music. When kids pick up childrens electric guitars, they should be encouraged to learn a few blues licks. Blues is structurally simple but emotionally complex – one’s vocals and method of playing guitar make a huge difference. Still, it’s possible for a total amateur to create serviceable blues songs in a relatively short period of time. When the kid becomes frustrated with more elaborate songs, try switching back to basics with an old blues standard.
Growing up, I was lucky to find myself in the center of a musical family. We weren’t exactly the Jackson 5 – or even the Partridge Family, for that matter – but my parents were adamant that each child should learn a musical instrument. The choice was ours as to which instrument we would specialize in, and it was an easy one for me. I wanted to be just like my idols Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. To me, the electric guitar was like some mystical object handed down from the heavens that only a select few virtuosos could truly play correctly
My musical tastes evolved as I got older, of course, but when my son displayed an interest in playing, I quickly bought him a kids electric guitar. These days we share a special bonding experience, playing classic rock standards together. In order to instill some discipline, I have my son play the rhythm parts while I handle the solos. Guitar music transports us to another place and time; for that, I will always owe the electric guitar my allegiance.