DaFiz
I find myself teaching beginner guitar to very young pupils and most of those under 10 years old have given up after a few lessons. Even after I had suggested the soft nylon string option for the little girl with the tiny fingers.
The strong kid who simply refused to practice and would rather play ball with his buddies outside.
Now another young lad who shows despondency when unable to press an Em chord hard enough to get a clean sound.
The parents of these children assured me they were all adamant about wanting to learn to play guitar, and one by one they are giving up.
I understand I'm no qualified teacher and thus I am not trying to teach them anything complicated.
I am teaching the basic beginnings that anyone has to go through... The same simple chord pressing techniques that all of you here have experienced... The sore fingertips are part of learning to play the guitar, and no-one can escape it.
The older guitarists who require intermediate to advanced guitar guidance are valuing the help I offer but the little ones are dropping out...
I'm thinking of advising parents that their children should at least be about 12 years old to start learning (the age I began)...
What say you ? ???
PeteM
I don't think 10 is too young as long as you look at the fact that you are teaching them the basics of music rather than trying to turn them into guitar virtuosos straight away. I don't worry that they are not getting a clean tone in early stages just as long as they putting their fingers in the right places. In the beginning I also teach them simple melodies using open strings only, saving their fingers and concentrating on right hand to get the feel of the strings and to follow a consistent tempo.
I also teach them tempo by making them "drum" on their guitars in 4/4 and 3/4 and making them count out the beats as they do so... and then put an accent on the different beats. This saves their little fingers as well.
Also, their attention span when learning new stuff is about 10 minutes and lessons should be a max of 1/2 hour to start. I also concentrate on fun, fun and more fun.
costafonix
When I was teaching young kids I found they needed a song they could relate to in order to get motivated to learn it. So I would generally ask them what song they like, learn it myself, play it back to them and then teach them how to play it (obviously sneaking in the chords they need to learn).
Another problem I found was that their parents would go off to Cash Converters (or even worse - Toys R us) and buy them cr@ppy, cheap guitars that were generally unplayable to start with.
I think its also important to keep their concentration by not going through the same stuff throughout the entire lesson, I would generally move onto something different when I noticed they were getting bored or stop for short breaks in between.
refuogee
Just a suggestion what about them learning on electric?
I started out (albeit at 16) but on a cheap Samick Strat copy, electric guitars are much easier to play than acoustic, lower action, smaller frets. It might be counter-productive but then also the feeling of playing an electric is pretty badass ?
studmissile
Why take it so personal or limit the age? That's the nature of separating the wannabees with the worker bee's. Regardless of ages, I bet for every 1000 people that want to play guitar only 10 will actual learn to play it and 1 with become something special.
NorioDS
refuogee wrote:
Just a suggestion what about them learning on electric?
I started out (albeit at 16) but on a cheap Samick Strat copy, electric guitars are much easier to play than acoustic, lower action, smaller frets. It might be counter-productive but then also the feeling of playing an electric is pretty badass ?
100% agree. I started on acoustic, moved to classic and finally got an electric from my loving wife. Improved in LEAPS and bounds on the electric.
It depends on the student though. If they wanna play rock, get them on an electric ASAP. If they like acoustic/classical, then electric will probably not be the answer!
Chocklit_Thunda
studmissile wrote:
Why take it so personal or limit the age? That's the nature of separating the wannabees with the worker bee's. Regardless of ages, I bet for every 1000 people that want to play guitar only 10 will actual learn to play it and 1 with become something special.
I agree ?
It takes determination and commitment to learn any instrument... Something a lot of kids lack... I admit, even I didn't practice all that hard when I first started out. I started out on a classical and moved straight to electric at the recommendation of my teacher because that was the music I wanted to do. Once I started getting into the rock stuff I found more drive to do it ? Granted I was 16 and wanted to learn from the age of 5... I have Uriah Heep's "Gypsy" to blame for that 8)
But still, you have to learn the basic chords first before you can get into learning songs... or at least that's how I see it.
As for age, I know guys who started out earlier than 10 and stuck with it because it's something they wanted to do.
Manfred-Klose
i think the best way for a kid to learn the guitar , is to just have a guitar in the house standing around, if the kid is curios enough, he will find a way to learn.
not all are meant to be guitar players, some want to play rugby rather than sit quietly and do something
I can remember when i learnt guitar, i wanted to play songs like bad moon rising and deep purple, at the time it just sounded so cool (it still does), so i went to the library and made some copies from books, its even easier now, you can just go onto youtube
i gave guitar lessons a few years back, and out of the 15 students i had, probably only about 3 or 4 of them are still playing today, and out of those, 2 of them became very good guitar players.
Dont give young kids to many rules, they get told what to do everyday at school, you let them feel like they are running the lesson, they might just enjoy it and want to excel at it on their own and not because their parents are forcing them to.
aubs1
Interesting thread. I think one of the mistakes parents make, is that they send their kids to do things that they want the kids to do, rather than what the kids would really like to do. I am one of those parents!
Some of you may remember I bought my boy Eli a Big Baby Taylor, he went for a few lessons, then decided he really wants to play football, in which he does very well, and his buddies are there when he scores goals. But no-one (no groupies ?), when practicing guitar!!!
Maybe Kmi will want to learn to play one day , then Eli may become interested again!
So, I don't think it's a failure on part of the tutor.
PlayOn
My son started at 7, now 11.
We wanted to start on nylon string, but at that time we could not find any stock... just after new school year started and there must have been plenty kids who got new guitars that year, wonder how many of them still playing.
So, we got one of those cheap combo guitar + amp goodies at local music store to try out. Within a year I realised that there is a small black pit where money dissapears into.......
Anyway, yes, my kid did not have the attention span, and lasted about 15 minutes at a time when he started.
What worked for us is youtube. get him to concentrate a bit untill he wonders off, then throw in some cool songs on youtube, then get back to the lesson. It worked for him.
Now he jams every saturday with a guitarist for 4 - 6 hours flat with maybe 2 breaks inbetween of 10 minutes.
He brags about his sore fingers, but does not stop.
Also, his lessons are completely unstructured, so no official rockschool manual etc. They just start and fiddle, figure out a nice riff and extend. Many times they start a known song, get to grips with it, and then start to adapt it and do cool things with it, even if the song gets demolished, it is fine, as long as he is having loads of fun.
[deleted]
ha ha, I thought I was the only sod stuck teaching little kids guitar ? Not that I do that anymore (thank goodness!!! ha ha)
I also wondered whether there was a perfect age to start teaching them. They're all different, but all seem equally sensitive, so scared of failure. I read a great book on Teacher Effectiveness Training, and it really helped. Giving children space, and recognition goes a long way in making them feel confident. And also not being too invested in their success helps free up all that pressure they feel to achieve.
I did quite a lot of "rhythmic training" for the really young ones. Just letting them listen to me play, dance, what ever, just be happy and enjoy music. It probably would be easier for the younger kids ie. under ten, to start off on a half size, or three quarter, if they're really having a hard time reaching all the way around.
I also would see what their abilities are and we would "write songs" together according to them. One kid decided to stop doing guitar - credit to him for doing it for two years; the head of the music school convinced him to do it, he actually wanted to play drums- anyway, we went through his old pieces, and he was very surprised at the stuff we wrote together. Impressed is more the word, he was just so sure that because he was starting out that what he was playing was bad, but with a little bit of separation from it he could see it for what it was. ?
On a side note, do any of your students complain about how little time they have...haha ha ha hah aha ahhahahahaha. I wonder where they heard that!
V8
Viccy wrote:
I did quite a lot of "rhythmic training" for the really young ones. Just letting them listen to me play, dance, what ever, just be happy and enjoy music. It probably would be easier for the younger kids ie. under ten, to start off on a half size, or three quarter, if they're really having a hard time reaching all the way around.
Both very good idea's - especially sizing a guitar to the person & keep it fun!
@DaFiz - If the person wants to play, they'll find a way. I've assisted a number of friends over the years with basics (guitar/drums/bass), so few follow through and keep at it. Imho, there's no need for despair, even a brief exposure to an instrument is a good thing for anyone and may well help them find what in music/dance they feel passionate about.
exsanguinator
Well it depends if youre doing it for the money or for the pleasure...
Firstly what i look at is their cd/tape/mp3 collection....
secondly I look at their parents vinyl/tape/cd/mp3 collection
if the student is under 18,I discuss with the parent/s their genre of music,their collection,their music listening habits..
i then move on to their childs collection and music listening habits
At this point I can easily see if i'll be stealing their money or wasting my time and/or sometimes both...
I actually tell them if I will be doing any of the above last point...and see what their reaction is...
Some people get abusive some get my point...
if they dont meet my criteria...I patiently point them towards the numerous Gumtree adverts,who will actually gladly take their money and waste their time
I've allready got plenty of money..so I dont need to waste my time...
The moral of the story?
If the child doesnt listen to music regularly and wants to play the music he/she listens to...dont waste your time
You cant teach this last statement above...
And Music is the key word,throughout all my statements above...Britney,Shakira... bla bla bla..is not music
In my situations,it can be even more difficult,as Religion can be a problem..LOL
DaFiz
Thanx Y'all... Some useful information here... I've been teaching guitar for years as a passion for no financial gain. I bought my elder daughter a nylon string guitar for her fifth birthday and as an adult she put it to good use in her Sunday school teaching, My younger daughter gos a Casio keyboard for her fifth and went on to gain honours at eisteddfods... The music was in the blood... inherited from Oupa.
I still believe the children who's grandparents had it, will follow.
I'm not at all concerned when small children don't get a clean tone, nor when the attention span fizzles out after ten minutes, I give them little exercises instead,
but I do feel kind of responsible and rather disappointed when they quit... I want them to succeed.
I am being paid for my lessons but that is definitely not the overriding factor...
The development is my primary concern.
DaFiz
I'll continue teaching those who wish to learn... The seniors show far more progress than the little ones.
A married man that needs an "escape" from the daily rigour of domestic life seems to display the kind of enthusiasm that a guitar gives him, along with an appreciation for the advice I have to offer... ?
