Re: Kids First Guitar, 11YO
Fishrdan,
I am going to opine in a way that I hope you (or others) do not take offense to.
I spent 15 years as a multi-instrumentalist, worked in the live music industry, have recorded in private studios for both myself and others, and have taught percussion, piano and guitar to 5-15 year old students. Please consider my experience when you read my responses.
The biggest mistake a parent makes when introducing a young person to a musical instrument, is trying to do it on the cheap. A cheap instrument will never behave in a way that is meaningful to the student. I could give you a laundry list of reasons to explain this, but I will expedite with the very important ones. A cheap stringed instrument does not hold tune for very long. This makes the learning experience terrible because the student becomes accustomed to hearing incorrect pitch/out of tune notes and that is a handicap that is very difficult to get over. It is important that a student learn harmonic tuning immediately! Electronic tuners are for lazy/hasty beginners and Pro's who are onstage and need to tune between songs. Learning the fundamentals is key to an enjoyable experience. Correct pitch, intonation, fretting and transitions are much more difficult to attain on a cheaply made guitar.
I know this is not what you wanted to hear; but the truth is, anything less than a $300 acoustic guitar is going to be of inferior quality, and subject to these, and more issues. I believe that you would be in the $500 range before quality really becomes apparent. You may want to look at the leader first and get a feel for what is quality. That of course would be Martin. After the sticker shock subsides, look at Taylor, Ovation, or Yamaha products. I have a friend in the biz who records with Taylor's exclusively, and I would recommend a gently used one as a starter. I would also advise against starting your son on a nylon stringed guitar, or an electric for a very simple reason. The "soft touch" of a nylon string or electric guitar does nothing to increase finger/hand strength or dexterity, and only serves to make it a more difficult transition to a steel stringed acoustic later on. Finger tip callouses come with the territory, so he might as well develop them now.
I know what you're thinking..."Gee, $300 to $500 is too much money for a kid who might not like the challenge and give up after several lessons." Well, you face the same dilemma that I have seen countless parents wring their hands over. The bottom line is, crappy instruments produce crappy results. You may not "hear" the difference while your child learns, but the child instinctively knows that something is not "right" when the sounds emanating from his guitar are less pleasing than those that come from his instructor's instrument. This is why any instructor worth his or her salt will advise a quality rental for your child while he makes up his mind about pursuing this musical endeavor.
As an example, if a parent brought in a "Wal-Mart" guitar to a lesson for Junior, I would dispatch it to the corner after the parent left, and teach the student on mine. There are $100 acoustic guitars being sold in toy store type environments that will NEVER hold a tune. I don't care if you gave Clapton, Page, Satriani, Beck, Richards or Santana one of these, THEY wouldn't be able to get through a song with it either. Why should your potential prodigy suffer the same embarrassment?
I could wax articulate about this for pages and pages, but I will leave you with just one more thing to consider for right now. Are YOU ready for your child to experience the awe of musicianship and the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with a learned skill...or do you simply want him to try this like the newest video game that he will dispose of in a few weeks when he tires of it?
A meaningful education is never cheap, and the rewards are intrinsically proportional to the effort made. I wish you and your son the very best, and would be happy to elaborate on this and more if you would like to PM me.
Cheers!
