If you have a child or grandchild who has an inkling to learn to play the guitar, but you don’t know where to start with purchasing their first instrument, consider my following suggestions:
Small-person problems
If you are a small-bodied person, —either young or old— then you should consider a smaller sized guitar. Some people assume that you can simply “grow into” a full-sized guitar, just like a kid’s feet grow into a new pair of shoes. But this concept doesn’t translate over to guitars very well and can actually make the child’s learning curve more steep.
There are two reasons for this.
ONE:
A child is going to have an easier time reaching the tuning machines at the headstock of your guitar.
You might think that it won’t be a big deal, but, as a guitar teacher, I’ve seen too many new students trying to reach —in vain— their tuning machines, as well as struggling to reach the frets that are closer to the headstock, all because someone (Ah hem, parents…) think that it won’t matter that much. It does!
Remember that every hindrance to a musician’s progress, is well, a hindrance to their progress. While it is entirely possible for a child to learn to play well with a full-sized instrument, why make things harder than they need to be?
TWO:
A lot of younger people also have a challenging time getting their strumming arm around the body of the guitar.
It only makes sense that short arms would have a hard time getting around the rather large lower bout of some guitars. There are some smaller-bodied adults who have the same issue. The solution is quite simple: Get a smaller guitar.
Okay, now that I’ve vented my frustrations, how’s about some helpful tips in choosing a guitar for your child?
Figuring It Out
It’s helpful to know that most guitars are typically made in standardized sizes: 4/4(or full-size), 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4.
Here’s a table showing the differences:
It’s best to go to a music store to try out the different sizes and find the one that fits. Because every person has a different growth rate, it’s a lot easier to sit down with a guitar in your hands than to try and measure torso and arm length. But, if you must buy online, then here is a list to approximate a good fit:
Ages 4 – 6 = ¼ size
Ages 7 – 9 = ½ size
Ages 10 – 12 = ¾ size
Ages 13 & up = 4/4 size
If you are going acoustic, then you’ll want to make sure that you get a good fit, because the size of an acoustic guitar’s body is simply larger by necessity (The strings’ sound energy must have a chamber to resonate from). The bigger the guitar’s body, the harder it is for a child’s short arms to get around it.
If you’ve decided to go electric, then you’ll have less to worry about in regards to body size. Electric guitars, by nature, are thinner and less wide, meaning it’s usually not so much of an issue to get a small arm around. However, the guitar’s neck length can still be problematic for short arms, so it’s still a good idea to size-down.
One last consideration.
String gauge
The gauge of the string is a very important component to the playability of a given guitar. If you get this wrong, you could end up with very agitated finger-tips on a very frustrated guitar student!
Light gauge strings are easiest to press down for beginning fingers because the strings are thinner than medium or heavy gauges.
Electric guitars are generally equipped with lighter gauge strings than acoustic guitars, but you can find a whole range of different gauges of strings for either type of guitar. Acoustic or electric, you’ll want to go with a lighter gauge to start with.
The type of strings on a manufactured guitar(most guitars are manufactured), are usually in the medium range of gauges, so you’ll probably need to get new strings even on a new guitar.
Conclusion
In light of all the above information, we can safely conclude that the easiest guitar for a child to learn on would be a small sized electric guitar. That guitar would be the right size for the child to reach all of the frets as well as get their arm around the body of the guitar easily.
That being said, not everyone likes electric guitars for one reason or another, so if you want to go acoustic, make sure you’ve fitted your child to a guitar before you buy.
Klamath Falls Guitar Lessons 