Kid Guitars
Archive for May, 2011
My daughter has always loved Faith Hill. She has been listening to her music for years and wishes she could look like Faith Hill. More than anything in the world, my daughter wants a beginner acoustic guitar. As a single Dad I want to get my kids everything but expenses are tight since I was laid off from my job last year. My daughter has a birthday in a couple weeks and I have begun an online search for discount kids guitars in hopes of finding a guitar of good quality but yet affordable.
I love being a father and I feel like I have a special bond with my daughter. When I was her age I too played drums and guitar. I played in a band throughout high school and college and remember those days quite fondly! I look forward to seeing where my daughter will go with her guitar playing. She also has a good voice and has been singing for years like Faith, her idol. As I look into the future it looks quite bright!
In the 1930s and 1940’s, during the early days of the electric guitar, audio feedback was thought to be a detrimental sound that needed to be eliminated in order to purify music. The very first solid-body electric guitars were invented for the express purpose of reducing feedback levels. However in the 1960’s musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend began to cultivate an array of sounds that could be produced by holding a guitar at varying distances from a guitar amplifier. Many kids from this genre fondly remember trying to imitate this trademark sound with their discount childrens guitars, to no avail.
Over time, this technique of perfecting a feedback loop to harmonious or dissonant effect was taken to further levels. The British rock band My Bloody Valentine released “Loveless” in 1991 More recently, Rage Against the Machine adopted a trademark “crunchy guitar” sound with the help of amp feedback.
My ‘know it all’ son says that he deserves an electric guitar. After a very persuasive argument he has actually convinced me that a guitar would make his life better. I am glad he is enthusiastic and I just hope that those ‘cool’ kid guitars fit our price range. My son assures me that they and everything will just be fine. If my husband is game then I guess I am game.
After looking online and talking to friends I think that childrens guitars may in fact be more affordable than I thought. His birthday is in fact on June 15th so I guess that is a good time to give him this precious gift. I must admit, (though I would never tell him this). I begged my folks for a guitar when I was his age, however my very practical parents made me wait until I was in high school. When it’s all said and done times haven’t changed all that much!!
Our son seems to show a bit of a wild streak already at the age of seven. He seems to want to run barefoot, climb trees and wear tie dyed shirts like his older brothers. Yet at the same time he also seems to be concerned about world peace, racial issues and poverty, (all of this at the age of seven!) However he tells me that he wants to grow up to be a “rocker” and says that what he most wants for his birthday is an electric guitar!
I will soon begin looking at childrens electric guitars online and at music stores in our community. I guess this could be a lot of fun and my son will be thrilled! I can’t wait to see what he will become when she grows up. As long as she’s happy that’s all I care about! I guess time will tell!
Our very adorable three year old son is SO excited about his fourth birthday that is coming up and has been talking about it for months. He wants to play the drums in the worst way and my husband and I believe that it would be a great idea to get him a kids drumset. My cousin got her son a childrens drumset two years ago and it went over so well and makes me excited to get one for our son. I will start bookmarking sites that include childrens drumsets which pique the interest of both my husband and myself.
I am excited to watch my kids grow and nothing makes me happier than to see them happy! We will be having a party for my son’s fourth birthday and I know my son will be so thrilled to show off his new drum set! They’re only young once and I’m sure we’ll take many pictures as well as video to add to our family collection. Times like these are priceless!
Finding the ‘right’ gift for your child’s ‘big’ day!!
I am always amazed at what is available for kids today compared to when I was growing up. The only thing that concerns me is that with all of the electronics available today kids are inadvertently encouraged to spend more time indoors. As a parent this can make it more difficult to encourage your child to go outside and get some exercise!
My kid has a big birthday coming up, (hey when you’re turning five it’s quite EXCITING and a BIG DEAL!) He tells us that this year for his birthday he really wants a kids drum set. I think that this would be a wonderful gift as it can also teach him the importance of rhythm and timing. My husband and I will have a ball looking at all the childrens drums available for kids. I think that we will opt for a three piece childrens drum set as that seems like the most appropriate fit for him right now. I think my husband and I are almost as excited as our son for June 5th to arrive!
Drum sets are an essential part of any modern orchestra or music band. Drum sets and/or drum kits usually contain percussion components like drums, cymbals etc.. Drum sets were originally developed in the United States and were known as trap kits. Drum sets are popular amongst all age groups and most children love to hear the booming sound. There are various drum sets available nowadays that are especially designed for children.
Kids drum sets are quite different from adult sized drum sets. Kids drum sets are usually 3-piece sets for children between the ages of 5-9 years. These sets include a bass drum, a snare drum and a tom-tom along with a cymbal and its holder, snare stand, drumsticks and drum pedal. Children drum sets are typically available in a variety of colors. The stools, or thrones that can be adjusted from 13 to 17 inches according to the height of the child. There are certain traditional childrens drum sets which are designed for children. They are scaled down in different child sizes in to give them an authentic look, but still comfortable for children to play.
My daughter has been a musical enthusiast the very first minute she heard her first musical note. My wife and I noticed that she started banging on the side of her crib in a succinct rhythm as a toddler and then as she grew she would tap on the kitchen table and would make an attempt to strum a book or a magazine. When she turned five it was obvious what we had to get her for her birthday, duh duh duh dah duh dah!!!!, a kids guitar! My wife was in immediate agreement! We had fun looking at all the childrens acoustic guitars online!
Our daughter’s birthday was a smashing success. She LOVES this particular kids guitar and if it were up to her she would play morning, noon and night! Whether or not this is a passing phase it matters not to us, we love seeing true joy on our daughter’s face, believe me, it’s worth every penny spent!!
When choosing a guitar for your child, do you an electric, acoustic or even a classical guitar. If you want your child to play guitar there are many good quality cheap kids guitars available. You could begin with a kids acoustic guitar which cost less. There are two basic types of acoustic guitars: nylon-stringed and the steel-stringed. Nylon-stringed guitars are easier on the fingertips because the strings are thicker and more flexible while steel strings can be pretty painful to play especially when the strings are taut.
The choice of guitar can actually depend on the music you want your child to play. Nylon strings are used for folk and classical music. Steel strings are best for rock, country and almost all other styles of music. Nylon strings produce a soft and classic sound of the guitar while the steel strings produce crisp and sharp sounds. A common misconception about nylon guitars is that your fingers won’t get sore. It is quite inevitable that young fingers get sore with both nylon and steel stringed guitars especially at the beginning. Nylon strings are less dense than steel strings and therefore are a lot easier to push down to form the chord but steel strings can be pretty painful to push down since they are thinner and more difficult to push. Both can take a lot of getting used to but are well worth it in the long run!
It is sometimes very interesting to look at how sound is created and maintained in a guitar. In a plugged-in electric guitar, sound is created when the strings are strummed or plucked and the vibration from the movement is picked up by a magnetic device called the pick-up. Many discount electric guitars and cheap childrens guitars are available for eager beginners if cost is a worry. Interestingly, the sound can be further manipulated and modified by turning the volume and tone dials as well as knobs of the amplifier. Most electric guitars have three knobs or dials for controlling the volume, treble and bass tones which are produced by the built-in electronics of the guitar
Basically, a pickup is made of a long copper wire that is wound around one or more magnets. When electricity passes through the copper wire, the magnet/s in the middle of the coil detects the movement or vibrations of the metal strings. Electrical impulses travel through the wire inside the pickup due to these vibrations, and when attached to the amplifier, the impulses create the sound heard from the amplifier. The tremolo bar allows the player to quickly and easily alter the pitch of the strings. The tuners are found at the headstock of the guitar and are used to tighten and loosen the strings. The standard tuning for electric guitar is EBGDAE but other types of tuning such as Drop-D are used depending on the preference of the guitarist and the kind of music played.