Learn to play the guitar for children

Our guitar teachers agree: the earlier a motivated child starts learning the guitar, the better. Children find many things easier when it comes to playing the guitar. In addition, the guitar is very suitable as a first instrument, as you can quickly achieve initial success.

However, two things are important: Firstly, the little ones should be able to hold the guitar and grip the neck without any problems. Secondly, the children should enjoy playing the instrument and should not be forced to play by their parents.

Learning the guitar is possible from around the age of four. However, some of our guitar teachers, such as Disu Gmünder, recommend that children start playing the guitar from the age of six to eight. However, if your child enjoys it before then, you should definitely allow them to start.

It is advisable to send children to guitar lessons regularly, especially at the beginning. This is because mistakes made at the beginning are more difficult to correct. Incorrect fingering on the neck or poor sequences with the strumming hand should be quickly recognized and corrected by the guitar teacher.

I have compiled some tips from our 71+ guitar teachers for children. The most important recommendations are as follows:

• Find what they like. Especially with children, it's worth finding out together with the guitar teacher what they enjoy most about music or making music. If you can then concentrate on this, it is much easier to practise. It's easy to work with children on a whim: What do they like, what do they want to be able to do. They should develop the courage to just get started.
• Playful lessons. Playful lessons often help children to get started.
• Encourage curiosity. Discovering and experiencing music is a fantastic and inspiring world, especially for children! The creative core is automatically activated.
• Try it out. With children and young people, the question arises as to which guitar they want to play on in the long term. If they can alternate between electric and acoustic guitar, that's good. Some teachers recommend starting with an acoustic guitar as it develops a sound immediately.
• Sheet music is not compulsory at the beginning. You can achieve your first results very quickly on the guitar without having to read music. Making music with the teacher as quickly as possible helps to give the children a motivating approach
• Simple guitar chords first. Fast learning progress is motivating, so start with the simple chords first. First they learn one, then two, then three simple guitar chords.
• Small steps. Children should not be overwhelmed. Don't aim too high, but start in small steps.
• Play regularly. Children should also practise regularly. It's better to play regularly for short periods than irregularly for longer. A few tips on motivation can be found below in How do I keep my child motivated when playing the guitar?
• Have fun and patience. Fun should also be the focus for children
  

In general, a child can play a normal guitar, but especially with complicated chords, the hands are sometimes too small to grasp all the notes. For this reason, there are also guitars with smaller scale lengths. The scale length measures the length of a guitar's strings from where they rest on the bridge to where they rest on the top nut.

The following scale lengths are recommended:

Height	Age	Guitar size	Scale length
up to 110cm	up to approx. 7 years	1/4	47cm
110-130cm	5-9 years	1/2	53cm
130-150cm	10-13 years	7/8	62cm
from 150cm	from 13 years	4/4	63cm

There will always be times when your child doesn't feel like practicing. They may prefer to play with other children or play on their cell phone. This happens even if your child originally showed a lot of interest in playing the guitar. Children like to put off practicing. Similar to homework.

However, a few conditions can help to keep the fun, joy and motivation to play the guitar alive:

• Favorite song: If your child learns the song they really like, they will feel much more joy and motivation. If the song is unfamiliar to them, they will probably find it harder to motivate themselves to practise.
• Always at hand: It's best to always have the guitar accessible. Put it in a clearly visible place, for example next to the sofa. This way, the children can pick up the guitar every now and then and play for a few minutes.
• Instrument of choice: The joy lasts longest if the child plays the instrument of their choice. For example, if they would rather play an electric guitar than an acoustic guitar, we recommend that they pursue this preference.
• A sense of achievement: Those who reach an intermediate goal and have a sense of achievement feel stronger motivation. In guitar playing, this occurs when learning chords. Praise is also a boost for motivation. Applying pressure is counterproductive. Children should be able to start slowly.
• Play together: Music is even more fun when you play it together. Perhaps your child can meet up with other children to practise the guitar together. Or maybe even form a small band.
• Goals: Setting small and big goals can help to motivate them when practicing. Such goals could be to be able to play a first song with two or three chords, to perform a song at the next Christmas party, to play something for the grandparents' birthday, to perform at a music school presentation or to organize a small concert. The motivation to achieve the goal drives you to practise.
  

If you're not sure whether you like playing the guitar, you can start by renting one. We have interviewed all the teachers and put together a list of great guitar stores in various cities that will rent you a guitar.

Almost all teachers also have various instruments in the classroom, including children's instruments. This can help your child find out which instrument they like.

In general, many children's songs are ideal for learning on the guitar first. From 'All my little ducks' to 'All the birds are already here' to 'Cuckoo and the donkey'. These are certainly good starting points if the child has no idea which songs they like.

However, many of our teachers also recommend starting with simple songs that the child already likes. Here you will find easy-to-learn examples in various music genres. From AC/DC to Oasis to Bob Dylan. Various modern rock, jazz and solo artists have easy-to-play songs that children can learn.

The first successes come quickly. Your child will certainly be able to play a chord after the first few lessons. Being able to play a simple song with two or three chords will come shortly afterwards.

After a year or around 40 guitar lessons, your child will be able to perform whole songs in front of the family.

Unlike adults, I do not recommend that children learn to play the guitar on their own. As with any instrument, a certain regularity in practicing is important, as well as the trained eye and ear of the guitar teacher to correct common mistakes.

It is also not normally possible for children to access online courses or to consult tutorials or other resources on the internet independently.

If your child shows a preference for a rocking electric guitar rather than a classical guitar, it is important that parents encourage this inclination. After all, it is crucial that your child enjoys music and is not forced to play an instrument if they are not interested in it.

Some children are musically inclined and prefer musical activities to playing soccer or doing arts and crafts. If a child expresses a desire to learn an instrument, their interest should be encouraged so that they enjoy practicing and playing.

It can also make sense to start directly with the electric guitar instead of playing an acoustic guitar first, as the techniques are slightly different. There are also electric guitars that are specially designed for younger players, with thinner fingerboards and a narrower nut width so that younger children can also play them well.

For children's lessons, I recommend that you find a guitar teacher who specializes in children, who can build a good relationship with children and who uses a method that is adapted for children. With children in particular, it is also important that the teacher has an impeccable reputation.

This is the best way to find a guitar teacher for children:

1. Talk to your child to find out what exactly drives them to learn the guitar. Is it a specific song, is it the friends who also play guitar, is it a certain style of music?
2. Ask friends, family and acquaintances for recommendations. If you know someone who has found a guitar teacher for their child, this is a good way to get a recommendation that you trust.
3. Guitar teacher at elementary school. Many communities in Switzerland offer subsidized music lessons for children. If your school has a guitar teacher, it is a good idea to try them out, as the lessons are cheaper than at private schools such as Instrumentor.ch, which do not receive any subsidies.
4. Instrumentor, the personal platform with selected teachers. If you are not satisfied with the offer of your local school, be sure to search our website. Search our website for guitar teachers for children. We currently have 52 selected guitar teachers for children in Switzerland. All our guitar teachers are personally selected by us, perform on stage themselves and offer individual music lessons.
5. Contact us at Instrumentor. We know all guitar teachers for children personally. We can give you precise advice and recommend someone who is just right for your child.
6. Take advantage of the trial lesson. Most guitar teachers on Instrumentor will waive the trial lesson if you don't like it.
7. Once you have founda guitar teacher, you should accompany your child to the first lesson. See if it is the right teacher for your child.

• What styles of music do you teach?
• Which guitars do you play (classical, acoustic, electric,...)?
• How much experience do you have with teaching children?
• How do you organize your lessons?
• Are there other instruments in your classroom that my child can try out or that can be used for accompaniment?

Your child should feel comfortable with the guitar teacher. Let your child have a trial lesson with the teacher.

Most cantons and municipalities in Switzerland support music lessons for children. If your elementary school employs a guitar teacher, it is a good idea to try them out, as the lessons are cheaper than at private schools.

Parents often come to Instrumentor looking for a guitar teacher for their child who specializes in a style of music that is not offered by the guitar teacher at the local music school. Or they find that the teacher simply doesn't suit their child.

If your family doesn't yet own a guitar, we recommend that you don't buy one straight away, but borrow or rent one first. Younger children in particular sometimes need a guitar with a smaller scale, which they will then "grow out of". But sometimes it's also important to play a few different instruments first to find out which guitar you like and which guitar feels "right" for you.

This is the best way to go about buying a guitar:

1. Ask people you know: maybe you know people who already play guitar and own one. Ask them to show you or borrow one!
   Try it out with your child's guitar teacher.
2. Your guitar teacher may have several different instruments. Ask them for tips or try out the instruments in guitar lessons (->How to find a suitable guitar teacher)
3. Specialist advice. We asked all our teachers and made a compilation of great electric guitar stores in different cities. Go to a music store and get advice
   Rent & borrow. Many music stores also allow you to rent a guitar first. Our guitar teachers have put together a list of great guitar stores in various cities that will rent you a guitar at a reasonable price. You can find it here: Rent a guitar in my city.
4. Buy when you're sure. Don't buy a guitar until you're sure you like playing it. Once you've found the model you feel most comfortable with, buy it! Keep your first guitar forever

If you have a guitar-playing child in the family, you can also give the whole family educational gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Many well-known bands have songbooks. Why not give the book of your favorite band? Or guitar cables, effects units, picks, learning CDs or even vouchers for guitar lessons.

In many Swiss cities we provide you with numerous selected guitar teachers for children. We know all the teachers personally and recommend them for their outstanding ability to teach children:

Not all guitar teachers teach all ages of children:

8 Learn guitar for children from 4 years

In guitar lessons, it helps a lot if the student and teacher are in the same room. This makes it easier to spot and correct mistakes on the fretboard and exercises can be better demonstrated and checked immediately with feedback.

Nevertheless, some selected teachers also offer their lessons remotely via video conference. If this is of interest to your child, you can find guitar teachers for children who offer distance learning here.

No, not necessarily! Especially with the guitar, you can quickly learn your first songs without sheet music. With just a few chords, your child will get far on the guitar and be able to accompany songs. If you want to play more complex things, there are various other systems in addition to the notation system, e.g. the tab system.

Your child will need to learn to read music, especially if they want to learn classical guitar.

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