Early musical training using guitar...

[Skylark]

Just wondering if anyone had experience with early musical training using guitar. There is a lot of information available on piano, and I agree that for teaching child to play that would be an instrument of choice ( and we will be doing that). But I was wondering if anyone had experience teaching baby notes, sounds and melodies, musical concepts using guitar, mainly for perfect pitch or music recognition and appreciation, not much for playing per se, as child has to be at least 4-5 to be able to hold the cords on guitar properly....

Will be looking forward to get some input! Thank you!

[TheyCan]

I would like some info on this as well!  I've been wondering this for awhile.  It's the only instrument we have and it's the only one my husband likes . 

[graffjamie]

I have been teaching my baby "how to play" the classical guitar since we brought him home. He was "fretting" single notes with his left hand from about 3 months.

I would tell everyone to ignore what "conventional" wisdom tells you about AGE limits and just try and do your best as early as physically possible. His right hand has gotten quite good and strumming and plucking with just a couple of minutes of play time each day. 

If you are going to teach pitch from a guitar: make extra sure that it is in perfect tune!

And be very, very careful!! Safety first!!

I tune my inexpensive classical guitar down 3 whole steps (which will confuse him a bit perhaps) for safety reasons: plastic strings are safer and less tension on them is safer too - in case a string breaks.

Also there are 1/2 size and 1/4 size (and who knows what custom sizes!!) guitars for young hands!!

[Skylark]

 Very nice, graffjamie!

I agree with you about no age limit    Our little one was very intently following my husband fingers as he is playing classical guitar since she was about 10 days old.

She also would react, when he would "miss" a cord ( on purpose) in a familiar melody.

And watching my husband play is her favourite activity.

I am so impressed that you were introducing classical guitar to your son as well! So inspiring!

Would you be able to share some practical tips? What would you do in a typical a few minutes "lesson". I am sure for him it is a fun play, but do you have some structure, where have you started first, do you show cords and tell their names, notes and show their names. Is he primary watching and listening or you are giving him some picking to try, and how dis you started it?

Anything else along the same lines... I am so glad that someone does it and very curious to hear back from you with some tips.

K to you!

[graffjamie]

I try to play to him - and sing to him - as much as possible. I practice in front of him as well so he hears different scales and so forth - and of course I try to explain everything I know - music harmony, style and improvisational tips, etc. - to him at different levels: simple "This is C" all the way to extremely complex "A Melodic Minor scale is a Jazz Minor Scale going up and a Natural Minor going down" "This is a bebop riff".

His studies are really just learning to LOVE playing - as this is by and far the most important element in ALL education!!
I try to make it as easy and fun for him to play as possible (for instance I tuned the guitar way down and put it in open tuning to make it far easier for him to immediately make "music".) I always try to get him to try one more thing that he hasn't done yet: fret two notes instead of just one for instance - and I try to slowly get him into a traditional playing technique but I always let him have "free time" where he can do almost anything he wants with "his" guitar just short of harming it (and of course he is never allowed any opportunity to risk hurting himself!!)

[Skylark]

Fun, fun! Thank you for sharing experiences. We do much the same ( in fact everything that you have mentioned , plus), not sure if I understood correctly what you mean by fretting a note, and when did you started that...

[graffjamie]

"Fretting a note" is pushing the string with your finger against a fret so that the string's length and pitch will be changed.  Joe has been "fretting notes" on his/my classical guitar since he was about 3 or 4 months old (I video tape everything!)

I couldn't really say he was playing the guitar until he began fretting the strings! Pretty soon we will be onto all the other instruments.

[abmoncla]

I also want to add that the small 1/4 violins are very inexpensive and our old Suzuki teacher said they even made plastic ones which I am sure are cheap.  (Cheaper than most guitars and easier to manipulate.)

[jane_dmitrova]

I would like to reopen this topic again. I could not find anything about teaching small kids playing guitar (book or dvd program...). May be somebody saw or use something and can recommend?

[Shifra]

If you're still interested, before Suzuki had a guitar method, Sonia Michelson put out New Dimensions for Classical Guitar, which was meant to be used with young children.

[Matthew2285]

Hi. My son is interested in playing drum. He is 5-years old, and we have trouble with fast drums kicks and to improve that we have some couple exercise for brush. To my mind it good idea for guitar playing too. By the way good choice is expander for this.

[itop10]

I really want my children to learn guitar but have not found a suitable center. Help me.

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