A friend has asked me to teach her son to play guitar - he's only 5 years old.
What do reckon is a good age to start learning to play - is 5 too young ?
If you think its OK to start at 5 - what size guitar would you buy (quarter or half size) ?
Any help / advice would be really welcome !
Danny
Five is pretty young. Also, I've never seen a 1/4 size guitar... but I found some dimensions of European ones on the web. The fingerboard length is 572mm... about 22-1/2". Doing some quick figuring, that's about 3-3/8" from the first fret to the fourth.
On a typical full-size guitar, that's pretty close to the distance between the 3rd and 6th frets. Have the kid hold his hand up to the 3rd fret of your guitar, and you'll get an idea if he's big enough to attempt it - if he can't reach from the 3rd fret to the 5th, it's not time yet. (Edit for clarity: the distance from the 3rd to the 5th on a standard flattop will be about the same as the distance from the 1st to 3rd frets on the 1/4 size; that's why I'm suggesting it as a measure)
I haven't taught any five year olds, so I really can't say if it's too young or not. I'd probably start with single string stuff, and leave the chords for later on - he'll get to experience making music without things being too difficult.
Also, be aware of the attention span. Doing too much can be a turnoff.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
no age is too young to begin if one is possessed with a fervent desire to learn....
Eh, I think five is too young. At least too young for guitar. If it were my kid and I had to start him or her on music that early it'ed probably be piano. Guitar can physically be a hard instrument to use (hand strength, alignment, ect), and might be hard for a five year old to grasp a hold of and master. That'ed probably lead to frustration and they wouldn't want to play later.
Plus, at that age it'ed probably end up being just a really expensive toy...
-Metaellihead
I started teaching my daughter when she was two. She is now three and can play a few chords. She capos up! She can also strum randomly and sing songs like Jesus Loves Me. She is not playing the correct chords but she understands that you have to put your fingers in certain places and strum the strings while you sing. I think this is a good start and will pay off later if she sticks with it. So, you can start teaching a very young child but you have to have realistic expectations. They will not practice on their own.
