Son wants to play guitar

[mami.rodriguez]

My 6 year old has been ON MY CASE for the last two years straight wanting to learn how to play the guitar...Has anyone had any experience with this? Do you think he is old enough? I have a guy that will teach him, but wants me to get him a good quality guitar first because all he has is the $20 one from wal-mart that is kid sized, ya know? Would appreciate any and all advice y'all have!!!

:dunno:

[ratito921]

try a pawn shop or even ebay. my hubby wanted to learn guitar and he's been teaching himself. I got him a guitar off of ebay. check craigslist or local ads. The only reason is is because if he doesn't like it you're not out of a lot of money.

[madrika]

I think he is old enough! If you have someone that will teach him. It is better for him to WANT to learn something than someone forcing him. The younger he learns the better he will be.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8072031
There is a product at walmart that is $90. It is a decent guitar to learn on. You can buy an amp there and get away with spending probably around $115 which is NOT bad at all! Call the local walmart and see what they have.
Or like ratito said try ebay/pawn shop.
My friend was wanting a guitar and bought one of these from walmart....she likes it for while she is learning.

[madrika]

http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do?ic=24_0&ref=125875.322605&catNavId=106982
here are the search results for guitars.........might be able to find one there

we have a guitarworld here and the starter kits run $300. I just called to see what their cheapest is. Soooooooo...........

[LilB]

Yeah, wal-mart is good for guitars. Or u could just buy him that game craze on PS2 and/or XBox, Guitar Hero, :bounce: hehehehe

[~MP~]

that is a good age to start.
my son would love to take guitar lessons too but he is taking piano for now and enjoying it..he is 7 and its going well.

[Emily]

My daughter is 8 and she got one for xmas this year. After hearing her play for almost 2 months now i've decided to splurge and get those lessons. She already plays the piano, and I thought the guitar would be an easy transition but boy was I worng, lol.

[Stefceror]

It's worth asking your son what sort of guitar he wants to learn (or who he wants to sound like.) There's a big difference between the different styles. All guitar uses the same theory, but he may not be able to get the sounds he wants if he has the wrong equipment.

If he's into rock, and American pop music, he'll want to learn to play electric guitar. This one (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5639830) at Walmart is about what I'd expect to pay for a beginner.

If he's more into folk or classical music, he'll need an acoustic guitar. Something like this (http://www.target.com/Student-Acoustic-34-Guitar/dp/B0001407U8/sr=1-11/qid=1203025713/ref=sr_1_11/602-6900993-3478232?ie=UTF8&index=target&field-browse=1038620&rh=k%3Aguitar&page=1) will probably work for him.

Make sure you take him along when you get it, and if possible have him hold it. He needs to be able to stretch his fingers across three frets and push the strings all the way down, so you might still need to get him a child or student sized guitar. Also, I would recommend steel (rather than nylon) strings, and strings that are not too far from the neck of the guitar. Playing guitar (especially acoustic) can take a lot of hand strength, and more still if the hands in question are undersized. Many of the beginner guitars on the market are poorly constructed and make learning to play harder than it needs to be. Also make sure he can reach around the body to strum the strings without straining.

I got one of those $30 beginner guitars at age 8 when I wanted to learn to rock. It was poorly constructed and nylon stringed. I never wanted to practice because it hurt to press the strings for more than a few seconds. Also, the frets were too far apart for my little hands to reach. My lessons didn't last very long because of the constant frustration. I tried again at 16 with a guitar that fit my hands, and it was so much easier.

Now I'm wishing I hadn't left my guitar in Canada.

[Emily]

I think they can use an acoustic guitar for rock as well. I told my daughter she had to learn the acoustic before I would get her an electric one. Beleive me she has no problem making rock music with the acuistic guitar;)....I went to a pawn shop, and she got a nice black one with red designs on it. It looks like it would be an electric but it's not. It also a little large for her but it was spendy so I wanted to make sure she'd grow into it.

[jon.R.A]

it should be ok if he cant extend his finger that far. he will learn, at the being he will have a lil pain on his finger tips but thats fine i well go away. like emaily said ether guitar should be fine.
a couple of my guitars

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/pukingdeserthobo/guitar.jpg