General Music Chat

I'm looking for some guitar instruction for my 11 year old son and I'm having trouble finding anything local to me. I'm wondering if anyone has tips on where to find some quality instruction. Should I talk to local music stores? Is there an online directory that's good? Can anyone on the message board refer me to someone? I live in the Layton, Utah area if anyone happens to be from around here. Should I be posting in a different forum? Please let me know if you have any advice. Thanks all!

yes local music store and 1 on 1 is best (much more safe).
you will probably pay $20/half hour lesson (average).
interview your teacher before hand... make sure they won't stunt your childs interests by teaching how to read music right away and learning boring songs like "aura lee". find someone who will listen to the kids fav song and transcribe it to tab. if the kid gets good and decides to join the jazz band at school he will learn to read music. good luck.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate the advice on interviewing my son's teacher.

I teach locally (that's locally to ME, not to you...LOL). I charge $20/half hour lesson.

I started teaching at a local music store. Now I go sorta door to door.

I teach using tab, mostly, but also some notation when it's necessary.

I am in complete agreement with mikev. I think it's the best way to go for a youngster.

Also, make sure that the guitar you buy is one that won't hurt his hands. One way to do this is to get light gauge electric strings for an acoustic. It's quiet, but it won't hurt as bad.

I recommend that he start out on an acoustic, but go with whatever the potential teacher wants to do.

Then all you have to do is to make him practice every day without making it seem like a chore. Good luck with that!

Thank you for all the comments as well.

We have an old beater-upper electric that I got from a friend for free. I have light gauge strings on that. Why would you recommend an acoustic with electric strings over an electric with the same strings? The lightness of the guitar? Is the neck wider (making for easier fingering)? Just curious.

Do you have any suggestions on how to get him to practice? He really seems interested right now, but he's having trouble staying interested in anything recently, and I'm not sure how to really get him motivated. I guess there's not a lot I can do if he just decides he doesn't want to do it. I know I should encourage without forcing him to do it, but are there any techniques you musicians have to get youngsters to WANT to practice?

just a guess: but acoustic = cheaper investment in case he quits.

btw: I did have several teachers that "came to my house" when I was young... and I hope I'm not putting people who do that out of biz...
it's just that it's a different time nowadays... and I wouldn't want a stranger at my house or to send a child into someone else's for those reasons. Perhaps I just don't trust anyone... but that doesn't mean they aren't all out to get me!

I'd say since you have an elec... stick w it. (kids tend to like the coolness factor of these which may inspire him/her to practice). def get an amp tho... so uninspiring to not be able to plug in!

The main reason I try to start all my students with acoustiics is for the development of hand strength. Admittedly, using light gauge strings cuts back on that somewhat. However, if it hurts too much you can't expect anyone to stick with it, can you?

Amplified guitars tend to show all the little mistakes much more clearly. It is easier to get someone to stay in good form with an electric, if you can keep them from hanging the thing too low on the strap. If you use your electric, you'll probably need to shorten the strap to keep him in proper form, but that isn't a problem.

If an electric is what you have, then by all means use it if you can! No sense in spending lotsa bux just to see if he's interested enough to stick with it. The only trouble I could foresee is if it is too big for him, if it's a full size guitar. That would lead me to say you should buy a less expensive acoustic that DOES fit his more diminutive frame. (I like the Lerner brand 1/2 & 3/4 size guitars, as they have good intonation all the way up the neck as a rule, while the low-end Deans & Johnsons & 1st Acts can be a bit floopy. You need to check this on an individual basis for every guitar you buy anyway.) You shouldn't have to spend more than $120 for a 1/2 or 3/4 size acoustic, but be sure to take someone who plays to see if it's worth the $, if you don't play yourself. 3 identical guitars, side by side, by the same maker, can all be very different in quality. Check them out 1st before you buy.

As far as practicing, I try to get parents & students to set a schedule to play at the same time every day, without fail. Make it a habit. Best times are 1st thing in the morning, after teeth-brushing but before breakfast, & again in the early evening before the good stuff is on TV or right after homework time. Keep practice times to a maximum of 15 minutes at 1st, or he'll burn out quickly. Try to do it twice a day if you can, if you really want to see quicker improvement. 10-15 minutes for both sets of practice will more than suffice at 1st, & will help him to see actual improvement in his playing, more than likely.

Remember, if it's a regular part of his every day, it will be more likely to become a part of his life, for all his life. If it's a hit or miss thing, he'll be more likely to drop it before he sees any real improvement.

Whatever you do, work with his teacher to make it as good an experience for him (& YOU!) as you can.

Best of luck!

all great advice philby
one addition
schedule both some 'practice time' AND some 'play time' where he/she can practice scales/chords/warm-ups and then practice just making noise or experimenting or practicing the fav song (this kind of tricks them into practicing the fun stuff w/o realizing it's still practice).

I agree with everything Philby posted, good stuff there.

A couple of comments and additions...

Guitar strap...should be set so that it holds the guitar no more than 2" lower than playing while sitting down, I set mine about an inch lower than it is when I sit down. I set my straps while sitting down then test them standing up. When I stand up I want it to drop no more than an inch. Playing a guitar hung really low ala Jimmy Page (yeah I used to do that too, I play much better now) puts the wrist in an awkward, uncomfortable position because you have to bend it more to fret the strings. Page played slower and much less accurate onstage because his guitar was hung much too low, it was harder to reach the strings, it affected his accuracy greatly, speed too. In the studio he was usually sitting down, much faster and more accurate. I found this out sitting down to practice.

Strings...electric strings on an acoustic work just fine, I used them for years because acoustic strings in a light gauge for leads were not available and I like to practice with an acoustic. Start with lighter gauge strings until some calluses build up so his fingers won't hurt while playing, should take a month or two, then go go the next larger gauge, I prefer 12 gauge strings for acoustic, 10 gauge for electric. I play 9 gauge now because of a tendon injury when I was a kid, 10's make my wrist and the problerm tendons sore after a few minutes now. I played 10's for 30 years, boy do I miss them...and keep good strings on the guitar, I change mine once a month whether they need it or not, and every gig for the electrics. Dead strings suck, and I never had good ones when I was growing up, I got strings once a year for Christmas, and that was it, they had to last till next December, no matter how much I pleaded for a new set of $2 Black Diamonds...I finally started breaking them intentionally just to get new ones to replace the dead, out of tune strings I was playing. My father didn't like that at all...but he didn't know I broke them on purpose...

Practice...absolutely necessary, 15 minutes a day to start sounds good, I tried for a half hour when I was teaching not long ago, hoping they would actually do 15 minutes. Once it gets to be a regular habit, try to upgrade it to a half hour, then an hour. I practiced 4 hours a day as a kid, but nobody ever told me to, I did it on my own because I wanted to be the best and my uncles who taught me told me that was the way to be the best.

As far as practice and keeping his interest goes, either he has it or he doesn't. nothing you do can change that. if he WANTS to be a guitar player he will, you won't have to do a thing but get him to some lessons and sit back and watch a guitar player grow up. Nothing you do will make him practice, keep his interest or make him a guitar player, that happens all by itself and no other way, either he has it or he doesn't. Whatever you do, DO NOT try to use force or ultimatums. You'll turn him off to it in a hurry. "Practice or no TV" will make him put the guitar down and go watch TV every time. If he likes it he'll stay with it, if not, he's not a guitar player and never will be.