Mini Acoustic

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March 28th, 2006 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Mini Acoustic
What is the best guitar for children to learn on?

My daughter is almost 8 years old and wants to learn how to play guitar. I know that I should get her a 3/4 scale one to begin with, and I know that electric is easier to play than acoustic, but what guitar is best? Would the Squier mini strat be good?

Electric and acoustic both have the same fundamentals. If you buy her an electric, then you also need an amplifier and speakers (and ear plugs for yourself!). You might consider getting her a teacher first and then going with the recommendation of the teacher. As far as I know, the traditional way is to start with a student acoustic. Learn the fundamentals of fingering, strumming, finger picking, chords. At some point, your daughter will tell you if she wants to move to electric or move up to the next level of acoustic. My other piece of advice is to purchase the instrument from a music store, not a department store. The music store knows that if she sticks with it, they will get more business from her. Therefore, they will not sell you a piece of junk that will hurt her fingers and discourage her. With a non-music store, they’re thinking: “One and done. See ya.” Plus, at some point, every student exclaims, “My guitar sucks!” This is an expression of frustration with the pace of mastering the instrument. If you have a good quality instrument, you’re in a better position to handle this. For example, I had a nephew who was at this stage. I asked to see his guitar. When I played a song, his jaw dropped, as if he was thinking, “My guitar doesn’t suck!” He went back into it and is writing songs now.

Race Owen – first Mini Acoustic Concert – (part 3 of 4)