Kid Guitars
Kids Guitar Information
Archive for February, 2011
Playing music has been shown to have many educational benefits for children. One of the most popular instruments today for beginning musicians is the guitar. However, purchasing all the necessary equipment, like an amp, case and cables, can be costly.
For the beginner guitar player, there are some easy ways to save money while your child learns the ropes. Try to look for discounted models online. Buying guitars secondhand can be a bit of a gamble because you can never be sure of the quality. Also, if your child is just beginning, you should purchase the kids guitar first and then go for the accessories. You will also want to protect your investment by purchasing a guitar case for the guitar. There are some good affordable guitar cases for children to fit various guitar sizes, (i.e. ½ and ¾ sized guitars)
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No matter what style of guitar one learns to play, eventually he or she will develop calluses on their fretting hand. Because the guitarist needs to apply significant pressure in order to play individual notes and chords on the fret board, calluses naturally develop. The finger tips become irritated and build calluses as a natural protector for the fingers.
Interestingly enough those calluses do more than just protect your fingers from developing painful blisters, they also aid in your ability to play the guitar. It is important to remember this as parents who are looking to buy kid guitars for their child, whether it be acoustic guitars for kids or electric guitars for kids. Over time the guitarist will forget all about their fingers and begin to think of the guitar as natural extension of their body. Some people have noted that calluses become more sensitive in colder weather.
Many parents do the best that they can to tray and instill discipline and structure for their children yet despite it all children often have limited attention spans. Kids need to continue to be challenged and engaged in learning to avoid loss of interest. With electric guitars for children practices aren’t always fun but a practice regimen is needed in order for a child to progress.
It’s always a good idea to try and mix things up every now and then to allow the child to display some creativity. Improvisation is a great way to add some variety to a song that a child already knows. Variety can be liberating as it encourages the creative energy to keep flowing. The eventual goal is to have your child learn which chords sound good in sequence and which ones fall flat.
Few people would debate the fact that a sense of rhythm is the most important skill an aspiring drummer can hope to develop. Stage theatrics that drummers perform at concerts such as twirling their drumsticks without dropping them is exciting but has nothing to do with musical ability. The true test of a drummer’s mettle comes down to one basic question – can he keep the beat?
There are several methods that youngsters can use to improve rhythm while learning to play their kids drums. Parents can find drums for children that are tailored to a kids size and physical agility. Children can learn to count out loud under their breath making it barely audible. By doing this they can instill their own sense of rhythm in the same way a metronome does. In time the child will learn to transfer this steady count that they have learned to some other less obvious way of keeping rhythm – such as tapping their toe.
If you’ve looked at kids’ guitars online, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that they are shorter than full sized guitars. There are two reasons for this; one is blatantly obvious and the other not so much. Obviously children are smaller in stature than adults, so they will need a scaled down instrument. Just lifting and holding a normal-sized guitar properly could create many problems for a child and perhaps even discourage further musical development.
The typical childrens guitar features a shorter scale length, making it much easier to play. This allows the frets to be spaced closer together to accommodate a child’s smaller fingers. In addition, the string tension can be reduced in a short-scale guitar without having a detrimental effect on its tone. A longer scale length requires tighter tension, making that the strings are tougher to press down. Parents may want to consider discount kids guitars to keep cost down for a child who is just learning to play guitar and unsure if he or she wants to continue or not.
Many kids who are just learning to play guitar have a hard time focusing on the use of both hands at once. This ability to multitask effectively can only be learned by extensive practice. It’s good to let kids know that strumming is important and they need to continue doing it. After all most of a child’s attention is focused on fingering the fretboard. So what is the job of the right hand?
In fact, the role of the right hand is slightly more complicated and definitely more important than it might seem. In addition to strumming, the right hand must operate like a metronome, keeping time with each upward and downward strum of the strings. If this motion stops for any length of time during the course of a chord change, all timing could be thrown off. As far as parents are concerned discount childrens guitars might be the way to go for the growing child who might outgrow his guitar the way he outgrows his pants!
Plucking a guitar looks simple but it is actually a very deliberate activity that requires very intentional and precise plucking. Because proper technique is so important a guitarist needs to spend a lot of time practicing and it is therefore necessary for a child to spend to learn all that is needed to properly pluck a guitar. Most musical terms come from the Italian language but the applicable plucking terms actually come from Spanish flamenco style.
First the rest stroke, or apoyando, requires that the finger first plucks a childrens guitar string before resting the string immediately above it. It is important to note that these techniques work with full sized guitars and childrens guitars as well. Another commonly used plucking technique is the straightforward free stroke, or tirando, which requires a simple pluck and nothing more. Plucking should be performed in one fluid motion, beginning with the fleshy part of the fingertip and allowing the string to bend slightly as one brushes through with the nail.
People often note that not only do tools say a lot about a man’s character but that a man is only as good as his tools. This can be true for carpenters and/or craftsmen but can also be said for musicians. However a guitar player’s toolbox doesn’t just consist of a guitar, guitar picks, amps but also the hands and fingers are finely controlled instruments in the toolbox of a good guitarist This is true for adults playing full sized guitars and for kids who decide to play childrens acoustic or childrens electric guitars. For the child guitarist it may take longer to find the best setup and believe it or not- finger nail length is a very important factor.
If the nails are too long, they can interfere with normal strumming and picking technique. Finger nails that are too long might adversely affect the fretting hand when it is trying to play. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to be precise and in control when holding down a string; . Fingernails that are too long and unkempt can create a buzzing sound so it’s best to keep them trimmed so they don’t get in the way of the strings
Most people can conjure up an image of a young aspiring vocalist singing into her mirror with a hairbrush as a ‘make believe’ microphone. These youngsters actually hone their skills by strengthening their vocal chords and improving their breathing techniques by singing along with their favorite songs. The question is: could drummers benefit from this same style of learning?
The short answer is yes, but there is a huge caveat. Beginner drummers can learn to establish rhythm and keep with the beat by following along with their favorite CDs. But however tempting as it may be don’t let a child reach beyond his skill set. If a child wishes to mimic drummers that play thrash metal or fast paced punk rock, you may want to deter him as these rhythms are too complex for beginners. Have the child build gradually to these types of rhythms. With the availability of childrens drumsets today, parents can allow their kids to begin their musical journey without breaking their wallets.
While some parents believe that their children were born with a natural sense of rhythm, it’s possible to teach kids who are rhythmically challenged to stay on the beat. There are three basic ways to get a young drummer to establish a necessary sense of rhythm to master the drums. The first method involves simply listening to music in a passive way because some people develop rhythm through audio osmosis.
The second technique requires a more active type of listening. Encourage kids to focus on various parts of the song while drowning out everything else. Start with a childrens drums track and then tell him or her to listen carefully to the bass guitar. Finally, you can set up a metronome for your child to use for practice. You can adjust the tempo to a speed in accordance with your child’s level of experience.