At what age can my child begin taking guitar lessons?
For students under the age of twelve, I strongly recommend beginning with ukulele instead of guitar. Ukuleles are in every way easier to physically manage than guitars for children. Strings are easier to press down, and there are fewer strings that are placed farther apart, making the instrument far less confusing. Most of what is learned on the ukulele is transferable to guitar, which makes for an easy transition when the student is ready. Fortunately, this also results in a student ultimately being proficient in two instruments instead of just one. For parents concerned about expense, ukuleles are generally much less expensive than guitars.
In my experience, any child can learn to play the ukulele, but because of the additional strength, dexterity, and focus required to excel at guitar, young students may have mixed results.
As long as all of this is understood, if a young student is resolved to skip the ukulele and pursue guitar, I will accept guitar students as young as seven. Because of the advantages mentioned above, I will accept ukulele students as young as five.
What is the commitment involved?
The single most important factor when it comes to learning the guitar or ukulele is the commitment to spending time on the instrument daily. In the beginning, the time commitment does not need to be great -as little as 5 to 10 minutes as long as days missed are the exception rather than the rule. For the most part, children – even older ones – are not going to make this happen on their own, so parents should be prepared to set a minimum practice limit and be willing to enforce it. Practicing must become a habit for the student (and in most cases, for the parent as well), so I encourage students to either practice at the same time every day or associate practicing with another habit, such as practicing immediately after dinner every night. It is also helpful to have some sort of “reward” at the end of a practice session to enforce this habit; this could be a simple as adding a sticker to a progress chart indicating your child has met that day’s practicing goal to give him/her a feeling of accomplishment.
What supplies do I need to get started?
Aside from the time and commitment to practice, all that is needed is a guitar or ukulele, picks, and a desire to learn. You can find my recommended guitars and supplies on my reviews page.
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What are your thoughts or questions? Leave a comment below.
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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.
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