Best Easy Guitar Chords for Children
This page looks at eight chords and some easy to download resources that guitar teachers the world over use along with their phones in order to get their students off to a flying start on the instrument
By using the phone to play or stream a backing track (see the link above) and then giving a child the correct printed chord sheet for that backing track a teacher can be both more effective and less stressed than has traditionally been the case
The chords in the picture above have been used by teachers around the globe for decades in order to get their students off to the best start when teaching kids to play the guitar
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Easy kids Guitar Chords
Why do guitar teachers tend to use these particular chords first?
Without going too far into the guitar music theory of it all learning to move between the eight chords in the illustration allows any beginner (not just children) to play the most songs in the best keys for a novice to operate in
Three "Reduced" Guitar Chord Shapes For Children
The best guitar chords for a child beginner to learn are C A G E D Am Dm and Em
The $25.00 download (that contains absolutely everything that you can see and hear on this site- not just the children's resources) contains 35 backing tracks and the handouts/chord charts that go along with them and are the best way to help a child to get results that sound like "real" music right from the first lesson
Of the eight beginners chords three of them (G C and Em) have "reduced" one finger versions particularly suited to younger players who may have smaller hands or who may be still developing the motor skills required to function on a guitar.
They are not different shapes to the "full" chords
Below you can see the chord of G presented in both full and single finger versions It is important to point out that the "child friendly" version of the chord is not a new shape and the finger used to play the reduced version (the third finger) will be in exactly the same place when the full chord shape is presented following what is normally just a few lessons
Kids don't have to learn a new chord shape to play the "full" versions of the chords They just have to add a finger (or two) to the shape that they already know
Why do experienced guitar teachers use these particular chords?
There are quite literally thousands of guitar chords that a teacher could use so it seems funny that almost all guitar teachers (well, the good ones anyway) should end up using the same ones
A closer examination of the situation reveals that the chords in question are the perfect combination of being both "easy to play and useful to know"
The Chords are Easy to Play
All eight of the shapes are "easy to play" in that they do not make "unreasonable" demands on inexperienced fingers and "useful to know" in that once mastered they allow learners to play satisfying chord progressions in the two most beginner friendly keys (G and A but we'll come to that in a moment)
Why are the chords the easiest to play?
I could go into some stuff here about the fact that for adult sized fingers the chords (C A G E D Am Dm and Em) present no real problems in terms of stretching etc but perhaps the best way to explain why they are suitable for beginners is to point out that they are the best chords to start with because none of them are the chord of F!
Don't ask a child to hold down two strings with one finger!
The F shape (and loads of other chords to be fair) requires that a student does something he or she is nowhere near ready to attempt during the early stages of playing guitar. To play F a learner is required to press down two strings (the B and the E string) with a single finger.
There is no better way to ensure that someone gives up a musical instrument than presenting them with a near impossible technical task during the early stages of playing
When I first started to learn to play guitar (before all of this internet malarkey) there were a whole load of books (remember them?) floating about that stated with authority that C F and G were the first three chords that a beginner should learn
This utter nonsense was trotted out simply because music theory is best understood in the key of C and the three chords in question are "important" in the key of C. I yield to no man in my love for music theory and how it helps us to both understand what we are playing and inspires us to choose what to play next but it has no place in influencing the choice of chords with which to confront an absolute novice guitar player (whatever their age)
In the early stages of playing guitar students (children and adults alike) have enough on their plates trying to cope with developing a basic workable technical approach to the instrument without having to learn the "rules" of music theory that will be of no short term benefit to them. Guitarists should develop a knowledge of guitar music theory but not at this stage.
This site is about much more than the best children's guitar chords
You can download absolutely everything you see and hear on this website (thats over 450 PDFs and 35+ Backing Tracks) for only $25.00
$25.00
As well as the resources aimed at beginners and children there are also a whole load of materials that can be used when teaching intermediate and more advanced guitar players
There are a whole load of resources designed for teaching music theory to guitar players and even stuff aimed at helping a teacher to understand how songwriting works on guitar
Add the material on teaching ukulele alongside the bass guitar teaching resources in addition to stuff geared towards teaching jazz guitar basics and you can see why I feel justified in claiming that the teachwombat download offers rediculously good value for money
Instead of splitting the resources up here into a series of teaching packs and selling them separately for $25.00 per pack (as I have been advised to do many times by folks who know much more about this online marketing thing than I do) I would still rather just bundle all of the guitar teaching aids together in a single download and have folks feel like they got a bargain rather than having to choose between complicated options and run the risk of choosing the wrong package
Only the most advanced and versatile guitar teachers will use all of the materials but I think it is fair to claim that anyone who teaches guitar will find that the download makes their teaching better and the process easier
$25.00
If you have arrived at this page via a search engine query it may be a good idea to take a look at the first in a series of five guitar lessons for kids which introduce the eight "best" guitar chords that they can learn during the early stages of study. Each of the lessons has a free certificate of achievement and a downloadable "at a glance" lesson plan for anyone teaching kids to play the guitar to print irrespective of whether you choose to buy our resources or not. The lessons are designed to help take a child from a place where they have not even picked up a guitar to a situation in which they are familiar with changing between the eight basic beginners chords In time to music.
"Useful To Know"
The eight chords here work so well because they allow us to play loads of songs
The eight chords work so well with regard to helping to develop a capability on the guitar because the ability to move between them in time to music allows a student to play thousands (and possibly even millions) of songs.
The chords work well for songs that are in the key of G as five of the six chords that feature heavily in the key of G (G Am C D and Em) are on the list.
Within the eight chords you will also find three (A D and E) that will allow your students to get to grips with a 12 bar blues in the Key of A (perhaps the most "guitar friendly" key of all?)
The Deluxe Package:
Download all of the resources on this website for just $25.00
The Download Contains....
Beginners Guitar Teaching Materials
Childrens Guitar Teaching Resources
Printable Guitar Teaching Aids
Backing Tracks and Chord Charts
Blank Guitar Necks, Tab and Chord Sheets
Guitar Music Theory Resources
100 Letter Sized Giant Printable Chord Grids
Teaching Song Writing Skills to Guitarists
An introduction to Jazz Guitar Teaching Materials
The Kid's Guitar Teaching Package
Over forty sheets to download and use in your guitar teaching today. This material is designed to run alongside the "Backing Tracks and Handouts Package . All of the resources that you will need in order to teach kids to play guitar. Chord Charts, One finger (reduced) chord diagrams etc. An opportunity to start any young would be guitar player off the right way!
Our Backing Tracks and Handouts Package
35 Backing Tracks and more than 60 Handouts. An invaluable teaching aids designed to help you to teach both rhythm and lead guitar to younger and older students alike Great for helping to develop a good dense of timing
The Guitar Teacher's Toolkit
100 printable sheets dealing with Open Chords-Bar Chords-Scales- Modes- Blank Fretboard and Chord Grids Teaching Diary and Business Card Designs
Plus 100 Giant (letter sized) Chord Grids
laminate them in order to help you to teach group guitar lessons, distribute them to your students or just stick on your teaching studio wall? The "Coolest Wallpaper on the planet?"
And a freebie from us to you!
The Bass Guitar Teacher's Toolkit
Over 60 Handouts for anyone who already teaches (or who wishes to teach) bass guitar covering Scales, Chords, Fingering Exercises etc
Over 450 Sheets and 35 Backing tracks to Download and use TODAY!
Everything you need to start or improve a guitar teaching business! It's all there!
Only $25.00
HOW TO DOWNLOAD
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