Should a child learn to play guitar on an electric or an acoustic guitar?
When teaching a child to play the guitar "properly" it is important to decide wether electric or acoustic options are the best
If you take a look at our material dealing with whether steel or nylon strings are best for a child beginner on the guitar you will see that in almost all cases steel strung (acoustics or electrics) are the best option
If steel strings are the way forward (and they almost always are) then the choice becomes between an electric and an acoustic guitar and here I'm going to stick my neck out and say that a child (and arguably all guitar players) should learn the basics on an acoustic instrument
Why Should a child start on acoustic rather than an electric guitar?
Electric guitars (and the technology that goes along with them) introduced too early often serve to make a player "worse" than they could otherwise be
Aside from the extra expense of buying an amplifier (and the noise that goes with it) which would be money better spent on upgrading the quality of the instrument itself I will make my pitch for why an acoustic guitar is the best option for any beginner and that pitch is based around the fact that an acoustic responds far more to a player than an electric typically does This is particularly true when you factor in that electric guitars are often (too!) quickly combined with effects such as distortion and compression that can serve to mask the fact that the person playing the guitar is not as good as they perhaps sound on first hearing
"Artificial Talent Boosting Technology"
In my one on one guitar lessons with older students I refer to this sort of thing as "artificial talent boosting technology" designed to fool people into thinking that they are better guitar players than they actually are, I encourage electric guitar players to practice with no effects whatsoever (okay maybe a little reverb to warm things up) so that they can hear their playing as it really is rather than having their sound masked by pedals and effects that can fool them
The "compression" effect (commonly built in to amplifiers or effects pedals) evens out a sound making the quiet parts louder and the loud parts quieter. Sounds very good in theory until you consider the notion that this reduces the obligation for anyone learning to play on an amplifier or with effects units that use compression to develop "loud-quiet" dynamics in their own playing
When I teach adults who learned to play on an electric guitar it is by no means uncommon to find that they either attack the strings much too gently because they are used to the amplifier doing all of the "heavy lifting" with regard to their sound or (more uncommonly) that they hit the guitar too hard and rely on their effects pedals to smooth out the rough edges
I shouldnt complain really because either way I get paid to solve a problem that would not have existed had they learned to play the very basics with an acoustic guitar being involved at least some of the time
Childrens hands are generally not too small to play guitar chords
If you see a small child next to a full sized guitar it would seem reasonable to presume that they would learn best on a "minature" guitar
The reality is that most children don't tend to struggle too much with the fingerboard of a guitar anywhere near as much as they do with the problem of holding, supporting and getting their arms around the body of a "full sized" instrument
Parlour Guitars
Parlour guitars can be desribed as being guitars with a regularly proportioned neck but a small (and therefore "child friendly" body)
If you follow this link it will take you to a page where I make the case for parlour guitars being the best instruments for children
Everything You Need To Teach A Child Guitar
You can download all of the handouts, chord charts, lesson plans, certificates and backing tracks that you need to teach a child to play the guitar PROPERLY for just $25.00
$25.00
Over 400 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!
A Great First Kids Guitar Lesson
Follow this link to see an ideal first kid's guitar lesson' that is designed to get a child off to a flying start on guitar
The lesson looks at helping a child to master two of the eight chords that are best for a child to learn and play (on an acoustic, or indeed an electric guitar)
Follow the links below to see how you might give a series of structured children's guitar lessons that really get results....
Kids Guitar Lesson 1
Kids Guitar Lesson 2
Kids Guitar Lesson 3
Kids Guitar Lesson 4
Kids Guitar Lesson 5
Everything You Need To Teach A Child Guitar
Everything You Need To Teach A Child Guitar
You can download all of the handouts, chord charts, lesson plans, certificates and backing tracks that you need to teach a child to play the guitar PROPERLY for just $25.00
Over 400 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!
Use your phone to teach a child to play guitar
Only $25.00
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