Kid Guitars
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Posts Tagged ‘childrens guitar’
The Benefits of Playing Guitar for You and Your Child!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
posted by SKWiley 12:43 PM
If your child expresses an interest in wanting to learn to the play guitar and asks for lessons chances are they will follow through and will want on their own. Age is not always the absolute deciding factor to determine a person’s interest in wanting to learn. Most children under the age of six don’t yet have the aptitude necessary to learn to play childrens guitar. Young children have the choice of kids acoustic guitars or kids electric guitars. You can spend some time with your child and call it music appreciation. Dance and play with them to music. They will develop coordination and appreciation for music, and one added benefit, they get to spend time with you. .
You might want to consider guitar lessons for your child. If you want your child to just have some fun and do something interesting, you might feel that it is worth the investment. If you are looking at seriously getting a head start on your child’s musical development getting them to learn proper technique from the start may be essential
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Over the last several months, I’ve been trying to expose my son to music that was so influential during my growing up years. While I try to be open-minded, it just seems that the majority of today’s music has lost its organic roots, and instead favoring a more slick, computerized technique. One of my favorite bands of all times, (and one that my son now likes also – is the Allman Brothers) I am thrilled that he can appreciate a band from the 1970’s!
Duane Allman’s masterful slide guitar playing technique inspired me to pick up a childrens guitar in my youth. I am taking my son to look at some childrens electric guitars tomorrow so he can pick one out to start jamming on and begin ‘rocking out’ to the Allman Brothers. Duane Allman utilized an empty medicine bottle to create a mellow, soothing sound that simply cannot be attained with a metal slide. Though I could never really perfect Allman’s technique myself, I did become rather proficient at playing the traditional way. I’ll will hopefully pass those skills on to my son.
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.
Unfortunately there are too many people who hold the belief that that children can begin to learn to play the guitar with a normal sized guitar. A lot of parents believe that children will eventually ‘grow into’ a full sized guitar. Parents can choose from acoustic guitars for children and even electric guitars for children, regardless a guitar can be found to fit a child’s size and frame. In order to truly maximize their productivity and minimize the learning curve, a childrens guitar should be tailored to the unique specifications of each child. It is important to remember that he or she will be sitting still for the duration of the guitar lessons and frustration will more than likely set in if the guitar feels too large and difficult to manage.
As a general rule of thumb, any child age 11 or younger should start with a three-quarters sized guitar. The scale length is also a significant factor; this refers to the measurement of the neck of the guitar from one end to the other. When the frets are closer together, it’s much easier for young kids to form chords which are necessary building blocks when learning to play guitar.
I was not aware that it was possible to buy a childrens guitar but my girlfriend Tanya said that she just bought one for her youngest son and it was really not that expensive at all. This is very good to know! I too have a young daughter who I truly believe would enjoy learning to play guitar. On a whim I began looking yesterday at guitars for kids online while at work, (don’t tell my boss!) and I am thrilled at how many cool guitars are available for kids her age. I’m so excited that I might even get one for myself!
My daughter has always seemed to LOVE music from day one but she is a bit on the shy side so I think this might be a hobby to bring her ‘out’ a little more. As a mother I want to encourage her but not push her ‘too’ hard. We will try out the guitar and if she doesn’t like it we will move on to something else and who knows, maybe I’ll start playing the guitar as a new hobby for me!
My daughter and I have always been close. Even though she is only seven years old, I think she is rather intuitive for her age. She has grown up listening to me play guitar and it has always been a special bonding time for us, she loves to see me play. I have actually watched her pick up a tennis racquet and pretend to pluck and strum the strings only to stub her thumb (which resulted in some tears and some cries of “awwww!” but the incident still didn’t deter her). So I said to my wife that we needed to honor her passion and get her a beginner acoustic guitar for her eighth birthday.
I am having a lot of fun looking and searching for childrens guitars. My wife has been looking as well and we will soon compare notes and come up with a childrens guitar that is of good quality, affordable and irresistible to our young budding musician! I might even be more excited as my daughter!
Surviving The Changing Identities Of Childhood and Adolescence!
Monday, September 27, 2010
posted by Guitar Family Man 11:03 AM
What can a parent do? One day our daughter wants to be an actress, another day a ballerina, another day a race car driver, (over my dead body)!!! I know that all kids have their whims and trying different activities is part of growing up and learning who they are as individuals but as parents, it’s hard to know sometimes when to push and when to let go. As of late however, our darling daughter has expressed interest in becoming a musician, (mainly a guitar player in a rock band)!!!! She has grown up watching her cousin play bass guitar in a local rock band and I really believe that Jennifer wants to follow in her cousin’s footsteps! Jennifer does love her cousin and has always looked up to him! Throughout the years she enjoyed playing on his guitar while receiving instruction from him.
So as the holiday season is approaching I am giving serious consideration to purchasing a quality kids electric guitar for my daughter. I have a lot of support from my wife in this venture! I recently became aware that there is truly a market for childrens guitars and I am hoping to find one that is a good fit for us. Stay tuned as I search for the perfect childrens guitar!
We have been a family of musicians for quite a few years now and so we are not surprised to hear that our baby girl wants to follow the family tradition. She has grown up watching my husband and I sing and play in a band for many years. Our other two children, ages fifteen and eighteen have joined us onstage from time to time As Christmas approaches we know that we have to get our darling daughter a childrens guitar!, it’s a no brainer!! My wife and I can hardly wait! We have quite a few contacts in the music world who will give us good feedback and point us in the direction of some good quality kids acoustic guitars!
I can totally envision the whole family on stage! We certainly aren’t the Family Von Trapp but we love to have fun and express ourselves through music! The years ahead hold a lot of promise as we grow together in harmony!!
There is no getting around the fact that teaching a child to learn to play an instrument is something that can potentially bring him or her a lifetime of joy and enrichment. However keeping a child interested in practicing can be a challenge. You might want to consider the guitar for your child. Guitars for children come in many different shapes, styles and varieties. One type of children’s guitar to consider is classical guitar. Classical guitar is a good choice for your child because it takes advantage of the allure of the rock star. Almost every child is familiar with pop music and therefore would take quickly to learning to play pop songs giving him bragging rights to his or her friends. With classical guitar your child will learn the fundamentals of sound music theory and will focus on learning how to read sheet music. While doing this your child will also learn the basics of classical music.
It will probably be difficult for your child to lose interest in playing because while the classical guitar is a good instrument for learning theory, history, ability, and classical music, it is also an instrument that offers an incredible range of pieces to play in many genres. He or she will be able to play pop, rock, easy listening, country, jazz, blues, or any other type of music as well. Because of this wide variety of music available to the student, he or she will be much more prone to continue practicing and continue playing. As the child grows and his musical tastes change, the classical guitar can accommodate these changes. The classical guitar is also very portable and comes in half and three quarter sizes. Classical guitars are usually less expensive than other types of guitars and often run between fifty to a hundred dollars for a first guitar. Finally a classical guitar is quieter than other types of guitars and can be played in a room without the music being intrusive to other people in the home.
As a parent I can’t help but compare and contrast what is available today for kids. Sometimes it really seems worlds away from the toys and gadgets of the 1970’s and the 1980’s. For my parents, it’s almost incomprehensible. Thanks to the digital age, everything has changed! I am fascinated with all the X boxes, Ipad’s, Ipod’s just like everyone else. My concern however is that too many kids like my own spend too much time isolated from their peers and too much time indoors. Even if they are online talking to their peers or texting their peers to me it doesn’t take the place of real human interaction! Ok. I’ll get off my soapbox for now!
My dear son says that what he most wants more than anything else in the whole wide world for his eighth birthday is a kids electric guitar! I must say that I really wasn’t expecting this! As a child I would have never thought to ask for that! Thanks to the internet, ( obviously not available when I was his age) I can do a quick search for childrens electric guitars and see what’s available. One can find almost ANYTHING on the internet and most certainly a childrens guitar that is well suited for each and every child! Despite my resistance/fascination, I can go with the flow! Believe it or not I can’t wait to see what the future holds!