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Tim Bowen · March 9th, 2009, 02:08 AM

I've taught students as young as five, and I'm the only guy at one of my teaching environments that accepts students younger than eight. Since it's just us talking here, I have to say that it's a real crapshoot in trying to spark the interest of a little munchkin with short attention span, despite the very best recommendations and efforts of experienced teachers.

I've dealt with these questions on a regular basis since 1984, for what it's worth. What I tell parents and guardians is that it's a bit like buying shoes for your child - they're going to outgrow them. As to recommendations, I toss my opinions out to those that inquire, state that I AM NOT making a specific recommendation, and let them argue amongst themselves (I like to distance myself from family debates). In a sense, it's six of one and half dozen of the other. Nylon string guitars ("Classical") guitars are easier on the fingers, but have wider necks and no dot inlays (which I've found to be a bit of a bane as to visualization). Most entry level players sound absolutely horrible on electric guitars (yes, the "skinnier" strings are 'easier' to play, and hence, all those dreadful newbie fretting hand intonation issues ensue). It's true that it's very difficult to find a 1/2 size instrument of reasonable quality. If a youngster is so small that a 3/4 size guitar of decent quality is too large, my suggestion is that it's a good idea to hang out for a little while longer before starting.

My personal preference is for a steel string acoustic along the lines of a Baby Taylor. That said, I'm constantly reminded of why I only offer opinions and don't offer specific recommendations to clients and potential clients. A few weeks back, the grandmother of a very small eight year old girl asked my opinions about available instrument choices within the store, which I offered. The young lady had chosen the only pink guitar in sight, which I pointed out in no uncertain terms was of cumbersome size for her small frame. After pitching a tantrum, the young lady's grandmom bought for her the pink guitar. Now I'm attempting to teach the young lady, and both her and her grandmom are taken aback by the difficulty of the youngster in approaching the instrument from a physical standpoint. What am I going to say? - "I told you so..."?
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Good info from JayFreddy, agreed on several key points.

March 9th, 2009, 02:08 AM	#9 (permalink)
Tim Bowen Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Age: 49 Posts: 4,169	I've taught students as young as five, and I'm the only guy at one of my teaching environments that accepts students younger than eight. Since it's just us talking here, I have to say that it's a real crapshoot in trying to spark the interest of a little munchkin with short attention span, despite the very best recommendations and efforts of experienced teachers. I've dealt with these questions on a regular basis since 1984, for what it's worth. What I tell parents and guardians is that it's a bit like buying shoes for your child - they're going to outgrow them. As to recommendations, I toss my opinions out to those that inquire, state that I AM NOT making a specific recommendation, and let them argue amongst themselves (I like to distance myself from family debates). In a sense, it's six of one and half dozen of the other. Nylon string guitars ("Classical") guitars are easier on the fingers, but have wider necks and no dot inlays (which I've found to be a bit of a bane as to visualization). Most entry level players sound absolutely horrible on electric guitars (yes, the "skinnier" strings are 'easier' to play, and hence, all those dreadful newbie fretting hand intonation issues ensue). It's true that it's very difficult to find a 1/2 size instrument of reasonable quality. If a youngster is so small that a 3/4 size guitar of decent quality is too large, my suggestion is that it's a good idea to hang out for a little while longer before starting. My personal preference is for a steel string acoustic along the lines of a Baby Taylor. That said, I'm constantly reminded of why I only offer opinions and don't offer specific recommendations to clients and potential clients. A few weeks back, the grandmother of a very small eight year old girl asked my opinions about available instrument choices within the store, which I offered. The young lady had chosen the only pink guitar in sight, which I pointed out in no uncertain terms was of cumbersome size for her small frame. After pitching a tantrum, the young lady's grandmom bought for her the pink guitar. Now I'm attempting to teach the young lady, and both her and her grandmom are taken aback by the difficulty of the youngster in approaching the instrument from a physical standpoint. What am I going to say? - "I told you so..."? ______________________________ Good info from JayFreddy, agreed on several key points.