Semiconductors & Actives

Is The Guitar The Right Instrument For Your Child?

Learning the guitar can mean many things to many different children. For example a child lacking in self confidence will welcome the peer group approval springing from the general popularity of this instrument. The guitar has a major advantage over the violin or piano in that those instruments tend to be regarded as instruments of yesterday, while the guitar does not seem to carry that stigma. 

The classical guitar (or Spanish, or nylon string guitar) is a quiet instrument producing delightful sounds right from the start. The electric guitar on the other hand appeals to those who love to crank up the volume a little more. (Though it can be played for practicing without the amplifier of course) 

There is a vast repertoire of different styles of music at any level of learning and children can be introduced to many different styles of music on one and the same instrument. The guitar has the advantage to come in 3 different sizes to suit the size of the child. Most other instruments are actually designed to fit the body of a full-grown man or woman, not a six year old or even a twelve year old. Only three instruments come in child friendly sizes: the violin, the cello and the guitar. A beginner’s guitar – full size, three quarter or half size – is quite inexpensive compared to the cost of other instruments. It is also easily transportable. 

The guitar is a self-contained instrument and a child who enjoys being alone and independent and has ambitions will most likely do well on the guitar. However, the electric guitar and especially the bass guitar is a band instrument and very sociable indeed. Children who are outgoing and love being in a group will thrive playing electric guitar or bass guitar with their peers. 

Never the less, systematic teaching in guitar technique and basic music theory is important to achieve any satisfactory results. There is a lot of hype in the media and on the Internet portraying the guitar as an easy to learn instrument with instant results. Statements such as “play like a pro in one week” and the likes are bound to disappoint. Unfortunately many young people give up because they did not expect that learning the guitar requires effort and discipline. 

Guitar playing requires and will develop good coordination. Children who are good with their fingers – doing craft, model building or needlework – will make a good start. Children need to have adequate fine motor skills before starting on the guitar. They also need to be mentally ready for the hard work of practice and learning to read music at the same time. 

Though every child is different it is usually not advisable to start learning guitar before the age of eight or nine. For very young children it is better, in my experience, to have general music classes first where they learn rhythm, music notation through singing and playing on tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments. This will provide a good foundation and when they are old enough to learn the guitar – or any other instrument for that matter – they will progress much faster and achieve satisfying results sooner. 

I also recommend that young children (usually under twelve) who want to learn the electric guitar start on a nylon string guitar. Their small delicate fingers often are not ready for the harsh steel strings of an E-guitar or acoustic guitar. Any classical technique they learn on the nylon string guitar will be very useful later on if they want to change to a different style of playing. I found that some children who initially want to learn the electric guitar fall in love with the classical style. They simply had never been introduced to that style of music before. 

The Guitar is unique in that it lends itself to explore so many musical styles and is therefore an ideal instrument for a child that shows musical interest and talent.

About the Author

CJ Lucerne is a music teacher and lover of early music. She performs regularly with the Kepler Ensemble and produces play along CD’s. For more tips and free music for classical guitarists go her website: