OT: Kid's first guitar
 

My 5YO has been expressing a strong interest in guitar for a few months now. I think she would really like to try it. I'm not much of a musician myself - what should I look for in her first guitar and presumably, first music lesson?

TIA.

If you have a local music store, they usually sell guitars sized for smaller folks. I highly recommend lessons as well, as it can be a difficult instrument to master, especially for a kid. Some instructors specialize in kids, some don't want to deal with them...ask around for recommendations.

We are fortunate that we have a neighborhood music store, where lessons are their forte and where two of our kids went for years...a guitarist and a drummer. Something worked as they still play at 18 and 22 yo. The older one is 25 yo and still plays the piano as well. All started with lessons from around 2nd grade through the 12th grade and they played in school orchestras and ensembles.

Beyond playing an instrument, IMHO I firmly believe that reading music helps with math and language skills as well. Best of luck to her.

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/be...SAAEgKykfD_BwE

Have redir build one for your daughter :) :banana:

For a 5 yo, you probably want about a 1/2 sized guitar. Generally, kids would start with a nylon string classical guitar at that age. A used guitar would generally be the way to go for a child of that age. There are many reasonable Chinese-made guitars which retail for $120-$300. A new Yamaha 1/2 size at $120 would be more than adequate.

If you live near an urban area, they are often on Craigslist (or Nextdoor if it is popular in your area). If you don't play, it is helpful to have someone who can test that the guitar is in reasonable shape.
Reverb and GuitarCenter both have used guitars, and some rating of condition. Like bikes, they depreciate pretty quickly, except for the high end.

For lessons, it depends on where you live. Many local music shops have introductory lessons. My daughter has taken lessons through a private teacher who comes to our house. Lessons are the more critical component than the guitar (and will cost far more than the guitar over time).

Here's an interesting article on choosing (for an older child) that came out around when I was getting my daughter her first guitar: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/...al-instrument/

For a 5-year old, you should look at a Loog Guitar.

+1 on used from a guitar shop...my kid gave guitar a try and started with a 1/2 size used from a local music shop for $40. After a few lessons and stuff, her interest waned and she moved on to tennis.

Thanks for the advice, all. I figured on the used/music shop thing, but I have no idea what I'm looking at.

My brother is a semi-professional musician. I'll try to drag him to a guitar shop (won't have to twist arms too hard) over the holidays and pick something up.


Paceline FTW - again!

My kid just turned 8, he's been using his Yamaha 1/2 sized since he was 5. It has held up to tons of abuse and Pete Townsend windmills.

As a longtime guitar player (since the ‘70s) with 3 kids — 2 guitar players among them — I’d like to say that this seems like a very sensible post to me. Two thumbs up. Keep in mind the line about “reasonable shape” as a used CL guitar might look to be intact while in fact being virtually unplayable — there are many sound, inexpensive guitars out there, and shopping with an experienced friend or at a reputable shop can avoid headaches.

Guitar playing friends might have thoughts about individual teachers or shops to favor in your area. I’ll add that many music shops offer rentals and/or trade-ins for kids instruments, which might prove handy as you move from 1/2 size to 3/4, or one style to another (or to none at all).

Get her a uke!

I have a college friend who bought himself and his son guitars when the son turned 6. He said they took lessons together at Guitar Center starting out but that fell apart after getting through the basics. Their next try they started watching online lessons and followed some personality on YouTube. Now the son is 14 and playing in his first band and my friend is good enough for campfire entertainment.

My son is 6... we've had him in a bunch of music stuff. I've been playing guitar for about 4 years and had some piano lessons in the past (as an adult).. I've had a really good teacher for the last 2 and have advanced a lot in the last year.

The first thing we got our son was a Ukelele a long time ago, one of the cheap ones that is in every ABC store in Hawaii... he was real little, it was good enough. He broke it eventually.

He has a First Act plastic guitar (with a Disney theme) and that thing is a piece of junk, probably worse than the $20 convenience store Ukelele. It is near unbreakable and being plastic it is incredibly stable in the weather but the fretboard is just about unplayable. It has a reverse radius on the fretboard, never seen a real guitar like that, and the frets are tiny, and it has what look like acoustic phosphor bronze strings in "light gauge". It is shorter scale than an adult guitar but still all those add up to very hard to play. Those go for close to $100 in the Toy stores, I got his used for $15. It is worth $15, not $100. You will see those in quite a few of the toy stores.

From reviews I've read of the Loog guitar they are not quite at a high enough build quality to be real instruments, so they weren't recommended. Instability of neck, fretwork, etc.. I like the idea though.

Some of the cheap/used tiny Yamaha stuff is good as mentioned.

Definitely nothing that is a "full size" body 00/000/OM/Dreadnaught for a kid, and you want a short scale for less string tension. That's one of the reasons anything with nylon strings get mentioned.

The early learning curve for guitar is really freakin steep. Most people give up from what I understand. My first 2 years were really rough with not much progress... there are things with steel string guitars like having to build up calluses on your fingertips, etc.. that are really really beginner unfriendly and will turn anything but the most determined kid off.

We sent my son to a well known franchise piano group lesson thing last year.. it kind of sucked, it's an Asian program and it was way too strict/disciplined for the age group of kids it was being taught to. He goes to drum lessons right now which is 1:1 and is working out better, but you need to be realistic with kids and music.. the learning curve is long. The important thing with drums being it's more gross motor skills and teaches internalizing rhythm well. Drums require almost no reading ability which is important when you're in kindergarten!

So if my son REALLY wanted to play a string instrument, and we don't really trust him when he says stuff, cause he's mostly just looking for another toy/present, it'd probably be a Ukelele.. that would be a good enough for learning to strum basic chords, small enough for his hands, nylon strings and short scale means easy to fret and no calluses required, etc..

Electric guitars are actually a lot easier to play, easier to setup, easier for a small person to hold, etc... but what parent really wants to hear that? And you need an amplifier or something to practice with. Everyone thinks acoustic guitar when they start out unless they're 13... but a steel string acoustic guitar is about the most unforgiving place to start.

Guitar center is everywhere but they are the guitar equivalent of a really annoying LBS, probably worse, cause most bikes on the floor in an LBS work fine, most of the guitars in guitar center are screwed up, and it's a crapshoot whether their "tech" is actually qualified to do much of anything on a guitar.

Used is the way to go.. tons and tons and tons of good instruments out there. I know people with massive guitar collections who say things like, "Why on earth would I ever buy a new guitar?".

Small people = small guitars? you ain't seen nothin' yet ;)

https://youtu.be/ru-pkOCj-kI

I'd go with a small scale electric, set up properly, with a headphone amplifier.

Save your household some sanity!

My kid played a junior Squire (Strat clone) from age 5-10. He’s now onto a full-sized Strat, but kept the junior with different tuning. It sells in a kit with a tiny amp for $100 and it’s a good deal, plus it plays like a real guitar.