Guitar Lessons for Children

Photo Credit: Frédéric de Villamil

Guitar lessons for children

There are many benefits to getting your child to play the guitar. These include, increased brain activity and helping children deal with their shyness. So it’s understandable why many parents want to get guitar lessons for their children.

It can be a great opportunity for your child to pick up a skill that will bring them enjoyment throughout their lives. It may uncover a passion for music that will help define them in later life. Learning to play the guitar well will take time and commitment, but getting started is the key for children.

These are a few things you need to consider.

• They Want to Play Music
• Choosing an Instrument
• Give Them Licence to Have Fun
• Simple Songs
• Practise

They Want to Play Music

Forcing a child to play the guitar or any other instrument can be an uphill battle. If your child actually wants to play the guitar or any other instrument they are more likely to stick at it. They will also put in more practise. Children can quit musical instruments out of spite and not pick it up again for years when they are forced to play it.

Choosing an Instrument

Make sure you choose an instrument which they can play. Consider buying a three-quarter sized guitar. Guitars have strings which are either nylon or steel. Get your child to experiment on both. See what they enjoy playing. Make sure you don’t spend too much money, as they may need to upgrade later. Don’t spend too little, as cheap guitars are difficult to tune.

Give Them Licence to Have Fun

Let your child just play on their guitar. Let them experiment with strumming and tapping rhythms. Encourage them to explore the guitar, to see whether they want to play right or left handed.  You want it to be enjoyable at the beginning.

Simple Songs

Teach them the easiest songs that you know, to keep the child interested after a teaching a few basic concepts. It is important to get the child to play simple songs that they will recognise. The songs need to be easy enough that your child feels like they are improving quickly.

Practise

It is common for children, once they have learnt a song, to play it over and over. This in itself is good practise and should be encouraged by the parents. Practise can also become a dreaded word if the child is ordered to practise, and other terms should be used by the parents such as play your guitar, as the word play is normally associated with fun. The child will then associate playing guitar as fun rather than a chore.

Guitar lessons for children are a great way to introduce your child to music. If done correctly, it can open up another world that they will be able to explore and participate in. It is important not to force any particular music instrument on your child including the guitar. All you can do is introduce your child to the guitar, let them play it and see what they think. You may have a drummer, or a violinist, or a pianist on your hands and the guitar may not be the instrument for them.

The experience of learning to play the guitar should above all be fun. That is the best way to teach your child to play the guitar.