Why would a boy or girl want to play guitar? Here’s some cool ideas and concepts you might even want to share with your child. There are so many activities that our kids can do every day that’s it’s kind of overwhelming. Time is limited for every one and it pays to make great choices for our kids. I have a ten year old and we’ve  had to make choices with time and money and our availability to get to the events. So the purpose of this article is to try to convince wonderful, caring parents what is the real bang for buck activity for their kids. I believe getting them playing music, yes, music lessons playing guitar is an activity that can transform not only kids lives but adults as well. 

Why play Guitar?

Guitar has always had a great, mystique about it. Think of Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen or if you like country you have Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. We wear the guitar on us like a necklace, can’t wear a piano, no offense pianists! Just the look of a guitar, the shape, all the different colors. You can customize it for your personality. Each guitar has it’s own sound. There are acoustic guitars and electric guitars. You can even have your name inlayed across the neck of the guitar like some famous guitarists do. 

How to start

I recommend starting on an electric guitar because the strings are smaller, the neck is smaller than acoustic, the body snugs up against you. It’s easier on the hands and is easier to hold and control. Can always get an acoustic later if they stick with it. I recommend getting a guitar strap will also make it easier to hold. A guitar stand is great so they can keep it out in plain site to practice. If they put it in the case, they probably won’t take it out to practice.  Some medium guitar picks are a great start. So you’ll need the guitar, a case, a strap, a stand, picks, a guitar cord and a small practice amp. There are entry level packages you buy that are affordable. 

First lesson

I like to show them the strings and frets first so they know how to move all around the guitar in just a few minutes. One of the biggest offenders is to press strings too hard. So I take time to show exactly where to place the finger and how little it takes to press the string down. Now we’re ready to play a song in the first lesson. I’ll play two short songs for them so they can choose which one to work on for the week and break it into small parts that are doable. It’s fun and it’s easy and they start learning a song in the very first lesson. For kids I do 30 minute lessons so if you don’t live far from lessons can leave your house, do the lesson and be back in an hour. They only have to practice 10 to 15 minutes a day for the first 6 months. 

Benefits

There are numerous physical, mental, social and psychological benefits. And they are well documented. Here’s what I’ve actually experienced first hand teaching and watching children to play guitar. Even though a guitar teacher shows your child how to do something the child still has to figure out how to make the fingers and hands actually do it. I even teach guitar technique exercises to get the fingers and hands to do even more complex movements. It builds dexterity and coordination and endurance. If they learn to finger pick then it really works the right hand too. Mentally it is one of the best activities for a child because they are receiving instructions and have to be able to follow instructions. They are also learning to be obedient to the teacher. Once they can get into Improv then they really improve their creative thinking by critically thinking through the choices. And this really develops their musical ear at this point. 

The interaction of a patient, encouraging guitar teacher can have a lifetime affect on your child. As a parent at times I can be a bit barky with my child and even their teachers in school dealing with well over a dozen kids in a class can sometimes sound irritated. But with a one on one guitar lesson the teacher should never speak condescendingly or sound irritated. As a guitar teacher the way I’ve learned to work with kids is to just say, “try it like this”.

Conclusion

Guitar lessons should be fun, not time consuming and increase your child’s mental, physical and social skills. This is preparing them for the life ahead. And maybe one day their child will pick up an instrument and play with their mom or dad. 

Metairie Music Academy’s mission is to help children learn and appreciate the beauty and art of music in our community in the heart of Metairie, La. If you’d like more information please call 504-421-8811. Or use the request info button here. Thank you!