What is the Right Age for Learning Guitar?

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What is the Right Age for Learning Guitar

The right age to learning a guitar is when the child can follow instructions well and can hold the guitar in the right position. Perhaps, the earliest age of the child to learn guitar is 6 years old. But, only at the age of 12-14 will the child get serious.

Overview

There is no ‘too young’ or ‘too old’ to learn a guitar. There are a lot of guitarists who start playing at a young age, yet aren’t serious until a few years after. While others become a child prodigy at a young age, it depends on the interest of the child.

So, if your child shows interest in music at a young age, do you give him toddler guitar lessons right away? Or, will you buy him a real guitar? Of course not. Perhaps, you’ll give him a toy guitar first.

Likewise, if you want your child to love playing the guitar, you shouldn’t force him to do it, until he welcomes it. The more you press your child to learn the guitar, the more he will shy away. Let him open himself to playing the guitar. Then, you don’t need to force him.

The same is true with adults. If you love Ed Sheeran because of his guitar prowess, you don’t jump into buying an expensive Martin, right away. Start slow and get the motivation high. If you start playing as an adult, there are a lot of other priorities that demand your time. Make sure to sort them out and make sure you have the heart to play the guitar.

Also Read: ¾ Guitar vs Full Size: How to Choose the Right One?

What is The Minimum Age to Learn Guitar?

Compare a 4-year-old to a 6-year-old child. Most 4-year-old kids easily get distracted, while 6-year-old have more focus, especially if he’s interested. Likewise, if a guitar teacher gives guitar lessons to kids, he’s more likely to get more results from a 4-year-old child than a 6-year-old.

Now, aside from the attention, let’s go the strength and dexterity of the child’s hand. To play the guitar, you should lift it or put it on your lap when sitting. The child’s hand should be able to grip the neck with one hand and strum the other hand. If your child can’t get the right position, no matter how interested you are for your child to learn, you can’t get results.

A 6-year-old is generally stronger and has bigger hands than toddlers. So, he has more chance of getting the right position than younger ones. However, you should consider the built of the child, too. Even though your child is already 7 years if he has a small profile, he’ll not comfortable to hold even a baby guitar.

Toddler Guitar Lessons – Is It Recommended?

If you see that your child has potential, do you think it’s okay to give him guitar lessons at a young age? Don’t you think it’ll be exhausting for him when the rest of the kids of his age are just playing without the need to deliver results?

Many guitar teachers guarantee results for your toddlers. And, if you hire them, you got to pay for their time and effort to tame your child. Don’t you think this is just expensive babysitting? If you give your 3-year-old guitar lessons, do you think it’ll kick start his guitar skills?

The best thing that you can do to encourage your toddlers into music is to buy him a toy guitar. It’s too early to buy a real guitar for kids because it might be too expensive to be destroyed the next day. Or, if you are willing, you can buy something less than $100.

However, it shouldn’t just end there. Learn a few guitar chords so you can play it in front of your child. At less this is less expensive than hiring a guitar tutor. These are just a few sacrifices you should make while waiting for your child to turn 6 and to hold the guitar properly.

Lastly, aside from nursery rhymes and lessons, expose him to some guitar lessons for kids. Just allow him to watch videos, so he’ll get an idea that the guitar is not just a toy, but an instrument to get good sounds from. You’ll be surprised at how he’ll imitate the guitarists at his young age.

What is the Best Age to Learn Guitar?

The best age to learn guitar is totally different from the best age to learn drums. With drums, the child can start by just hitting them with the sticks. Drums are the easiest to play, though hard to master. However, once the child recognized the sound of the drums, he bangs it over and over again, until he gets a playable combination.

Guitars, on the other hand, require too much from the child. He’ll not get interesting sounds by simply strumming or plucking the strings. He needs to use both his hands to play it. And, he can’t do it well without learning how to position his tiny fingers to get a chord.

Though a 6-year-old child can hold a guitar, maybe it’ll be too hard for him to learn the “A” chord or the “C.” So, it’s not only at the age of 12 that the child will get serious in playing guitar. Or, maybe as early as 10 years old.

Sometimes, the child’s interest can be triggered externally, not from the demanding parents but his surroundings. At this age, they can now appreciate the instrument and start to seek more professional lessons. Now, it’s the parents’ time to shine and provide support to their children.

Again, the very time your child gets interested to play, that’s the time that he’s ready. Don’t wait for your child to reach 12, or he’ll lose the interest. Likewise, don’t force your child to learn early or they don’t want to play the guitar at all.

For adults, the right time to learning guitar is the moment you’re interested to play it. Since you know yourself and you have the means to get a guitar, go play it. Who knows, even if you start playing at 40, you’ll be a famous guitarist at 50. It’s not impossible.

Conclusion

The right age to learn a guitar is the moment you get interested in it. However, it’s different for a child. Even though a toddler shows some interested in music, it’s not right to expose him to guitar lessons right away.

If you do, you’ll be spending a lot of money on guitar teachers without getting tangible results. You can always encourage him by buying a toy guitar and exposing him to guitar video lessons for kids

If at the age of six your child still shows interest in playing the guitar, it’s the time to buy him a guitar for kids. At this age, your child is stronger and more focused. He can also follow instructions from a guitar tutor in case you’ll hire one.

Quick Answer: The best age for a child to get serious with playing guitar is 12-14 years old. Not only will the child have the strength to hold the guitar, but he’ll also have enough focus. The money you’ll pay for a guitar tutor will pay back in time. But, of course, your child must have an interest, too.

The more you expose your child to music, the more he’s interested in it at a young age. However, it’s important to be patient for the child to crave to learn the instrument, rather than forcing him. Every child is special, especially in their capacity to learn the guitar. What parents do best is to support them, without forcing them. They’ll bud in time.

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