Kid Guitars
Archive for January, 2010
My son has been a ‘wiz” at pretty much everything he has tried. He is a great student with minimal work, and he LOVES math and science! He decided to rollerblade and began doing twists and turns almost instantly. We were thrilled, “scared” but also thrilled! Our inquisitive son had expressed an interest in the drums and so this past Christmas we bought him a childrens drum set that he just seems to love beyond measure. I really enjoyed checking out all the childrens drum sets that were available online.
Since he acquired his “extremely cool” kids drum set, he appears to have developed a good rhythm and sound. He turns on his favorite songs and “rocks out” to the music! I loved the drums at his age too and as a teenager spent a couple of years playing in a band, so I totally get why he loves it so much! Happiness is knowing that you have helped contribute to the obvious joy expressed in your children’s eyes!
Winter and particularly the month of January can be depressing. It is important during this time to come up with creative things to make you happy despite the bleak weather outside. My wife and I are already thinking ahead to our daughter’s birthday in March. She will turn eight and she has told us that she wants to learn to play acoustic guitar just like her Daddy. I am happy about this and I hope she will enjoy the guitar as much as I do.
I have gladly started my search for acoustic guitars for kids and so far have been delighted in what I am seeing. There seem to be more quality kids acoustic guitars available now then when I was her age. I can hardly wait until March when I can begin having “jam” sessions with my precious daughter. My best wishes to everyone who is trying to beat the winter blahs!
If you ask virtually any young child what instrument that would like to learn, the answer is almost always the same: guitar. When I asked my son what musical implement he would like to take up, he was no different than the majority of his peers. While I was excited to promote his love of music, I was less than enthused about the prospects of hearing an electric guitar amp from his room incessantly.
In order to gradually introduce him into the guitar world, I decided to look into some acoustic guitars for children. At first he was reluctant to play a model that wasn’t akin to the ones that he saw his favorite bands playing. After a while, however, he learned to appreciate the nuances of the acoustic instrument and has developed into an adept young musician. For his birthday this year, I think that I’ll let him upgrade to an electric model.
What To Consider When Learning to Play Guitar Online
Learning guitar online is becoming a more and more popular way of studying this beautiful instrument because it’s more comfortable, cheaper, and often just as effective as attending guitar classes. Without a teacher it can be pretty hard sometimes to notice mistakes that you make while practicing. Here are some common mistakes often made when learning to play guitar online:
Not practicing enough
It is tempting to practice less often when you don’t have a teacher standing over you. Your really need to create your own schedule and strictly follow it without skipping your training sessions. Don’t practice for too many hours either in the beginning because if you don’t have enough stamina, you might end up with tendonitis or wrist inflammation.
Trying to play too fast
This is a common mistake that many “young” guitarists make. It’s much more important to play slowly, but perfectly, then hurrying through a song with a lot of mistakes. Practicing on the same bits, you’ll eventually manage to increase your guitar playing speed.
Not practicing what’s hard to play
Most amateur guitar players enjoy a few songs or parts that they play well and they don’t learn to play new songs making it difficult to progress. It’s important to play things beyond your capabilities and make a habit out of it. It is important not to give up. If you’re learning guitar online, you will find plenty of new stuff, just a little over your skills, and important enough to stick with, good luck!
The term “cool” is highly subjective, and nowhere is this more apparent than in popular music. While some groups think that bands like Puddle of Mudd and Nickelback represent the pinnacle of coolness, others simply view them as sellouts. Conversely, some people see bands like Radiohead and of Montreal as being too irrelevant to be cool, while others see them as cutting edge avant-garde musicians.
As can be imagined, the definition of a cool guitar player varies as much as the distinct tastes in music that people hold. Some enjoy the breakneck playing that is the trademark of heavy metal, others the minimalistic nature of acoustic music. Although defining “cool” is often a task of futility, the beauty is that every person is free to define it for themselves.
All my life I have wanted to be a mother and I couldn’t be happier with the kids that I have, (minus a few little quirks, like keeping their bedrooms from becoming subject to a state inspection!) Our seven year old son told us about two months ago that he was destined toward rock star royalty. I said “Oh really? Will you remember us when you’re rich and famous?” We started to get a jump start on our aspiring “Rock God’s” career. With much ado, we decided to look at electric guitars for kids. So this past Christmas we gave our eager son a “really cool” kids guitar, what a success! We have assured him that there are some rock stars who do manage to graduate from high school.
We have managed to have our son participate in after school activities including boy scouts. We actually have asked our nephew who has been playing electric guitar for several years to give our son some lessons. Our kids are only young once so I want to appreciate the here and now. I can hardly wait to see what the future holds!
Christmas is now long over but oh the memories remain. Most gifts we buy for our kids are loved when received but it isn’t too much time before the excitement is over and they’re onto something. Not the case with our young son! We bought him a childrens drum set and if we let him, he would “bang on the drums all day”. However despite the obvious noise, he seems to be developing some rhythm. We are actually setting him up with some drum lessons next week. He is quite happy about this.
Right now he is enjoying his beginner drums and we may get him a full drum set if he continues to enjoy the drums and shows some promise. My daughter still likes her Ipod but not with quite the passion her brother has for his drum set. I guess as a parent I am so glad to see him have a passion and want to work on something!
Without a doubt, the snare drum is just as integral to your kit as your bass drum. Personally, I prefer stripped down kits: a bass drum, a snare, a floor tom, a high hat and two cymbals – simple, easy to break down and carry. But any skinmaster will tell you, tuning a snare on your childrens drumset can be a real pain. Here’s an easy tutorial:
~ Turn the snares off. The snare drum cannot be tuned correctly with interference from the snare sounds.
~ Tune the top head first. Turn each lug clockwise to increase the tension of the head and make the drum’s pitch higher.
~ Tune one lug, and then tune the lug on its opposite side (180 degrees away). The drum tunes better when you don’t tune these lugs in a circular sequence.
~ Continue this pattern so that you never tune two lugs in a row that are less than a few inches from each other.
~ Repeat this sequence with the bottom head. Be careful not to tune it too high, because these heads tend to break easily.
~ Test the pitch of each lug when finished by lightly playing about 1 inch away from the lug with a drumstick.
~ Make sure all the lugs have equal pitch. At this point, your drum should be tuned.
Music is a form of communication. In fact, the language of music can transcend generations. That is why kids should be exposed to music at an early age.
It would be great to encourage kids to love music. This can be done by bringing them to music lessons where they can learn to play various musical instruments and discover which instrument they like. Some kids would probably pick the piano, others the violin, while others would want to learn how to play the drums. Instead of the professional or adult drum sets, beginner drum sets can be used for younger kids.
Is your child wanting to learn how to play the electric guitar and having problems finding a tutor locally? Then it is worth considering taking up one of the many online childrens electric guitar lessons that are available. However, it is important that you take your time over selecting the right course for them. You must look for a teacher who understands that children learn to play an instrument at different rates and so accommodate that child’s particular needs. There are many childrens guitars that are optimal for the beginner student.
Remember to play an instrument well one needs to understand how it is built and how it works. Therefore it is important to find a teacher who will talk about the different parts of the guitar and how they relate to playing the guitar effectively. Your child should know how each part is designed to help contribute to the sound that is created when played. Of course what you really want is an online childrens electric guitar course that helps the child appreciate what they are learning to play. The more a child enjoys learning a new skill the more chance there is of them actually continuing with their lessons and so improving on what they have learnt. What is great about online courses is that your child can learn at a time that is convenient for you and them. Online courses also help you save money because transportation to the lesson is not an issue.