Kids Guitar Lessons

Guitar lessons tend to be quite challenging for kids under 6 years old, and for smaller children it’s best to wait for them to be 7yrs.

More important than a child’s age, is the ability to sit and focus for a half hour guitar lesson, and having the hand strength to fret notes, which can be difficult for young kids.

For under 6 year olds, we often recommend a year or two of piano lessons. It’s much easier on small hands, and the skills learnt can transfer across to guitar when they’re ready.

No prior experience is necessary! Being a complete beginner is often the very best time to start guitar lessons, especially for kids. It means they’ll get the best possible start on the instrument with a trained professional guiding them!

Learning an instrument is an ongoing process that takes all students, kids or adults, many years to reach an accomplished level. It is a gradual development process that happens as your child is growing and maturing.

All our lessons are structured in an age-appropriate manner. For students under 11 we use note learning, easy chords and simple songs. We do not use TAB for young students. High school range students are introduced to guitar via more comprehensive rhythm guitar and simple single-note pieces. TAB will be used where it is appropriate but all our students are taught rhythm reading.

For teens, one of our main goals is getting students playing the songs they enjoy listening to, as soon as they have the required foundational skills.

Yes, there are a few excellent guitar tutor books we use for children, depending on their age and experience.

The guitar teacher will start your child on beginner notes and then assess what tutor book is best for them during the first 2 or 3 lessons.

You have to encourage young students to gradually develop a practice routine. This can take some time and its important at least one parent understands what practice the teacher is asking your child to do at home. If you can sit with them for a few minutes of their daily practice this helps them accept the idea that practice needs to be a regular activity. For beginners under 11 we recommend just 10 - 15 minutes practice a day until they are established and able to start doing a little more. Patience is key at this early stage.

Both; these things are not mutually exclusive. Learning to read notation and rhythms is quite natural for young players but must always be supported by learning to distinguish the sounds of what is being taught.

Children under 9  - 10 years should be started on a suitable size nylon-string guitar.  Small children under 8 are best to use a ½ size guitar. Children over 8 yrs, or who are big for their age can start on a ¾ size nylon-string guitar. These instruments are a relatively inexpensive option for parents who are not sure if the activity will be a lasting one. Nylon strings are much gentler on small fingers than steel strings and we recommend you don’t start children under 10 on an electric guitar; they should commence learning on a ¾ size nylon-string instrument and then graduate to an electric once established and physically bigger.

A music stand, a guitar tuner (or app), a metronome, and a guitar foot-stool are all important tools your child will need and will greatly assist home practice between guitar lessons.

Also, its important you have a child-size, flat chair for them to be seated on for practice. Guitar practice should not be done on a bed, or a lounge chair; these do not allow for good instrument posture. A plain flat chair is needed.