My 3 year-old seems to be infatuated with the sound of electric blues and country guitars. After telling me, “I wish I could play a guitar like that!”, I took him to a local instrument store to seek advice on lessons. He was astonished when he strummed his fingers across a guitar and said, “Dad, did you hear that!”. His amazement soon fizzled after a store employee informed me that he would have to be at least five before anyone would agree to give him lessons. To no avial, I tried to explain that my son already knows how to count, spell simple words, and add simple numbers. With disappointment in his voice, my son told me, “Dad, he said they don’t have lessons for little people.” I thought about getting some instructional videos and attempting to do what I can. I played trombone in school and know a little about music. What type of electric blues guitar would anyone recommend for a 3 year old. I don’t won’t to go with the ‘Wally World’ crap though. I did buy him a Wii with a game that contains the guitar, drum, and mic bundle for Christmas. After I bought it, I felt remorse and think that this will hinder his ability to become serious about the guitar.
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August 10th, 2010 at 9:32 am
You could get him a decent student size guitar for a reasonable price that will play well. And if he’s as intelligent as he sounds, instructional DVDs will come in handy. There are lots of beginner videos out there. Even online. I want tickets to his first show.
August 10th, 2010 at 10:28 am
it’s not age the teacher is looking for… it’s $$$ and if your son is that interested, he could be the next Stevie Ray Vaghn… do everything you can do to help him develop his interest… and don’t pay any mind to people who say NO…especially those that aren’t the teacher… he could likely find a mentor who will show him the ropes for free, although 3 is way too early for that, instruction from a teacher is not..a coffee house is a good place for that to happen… I was taught that way by older performers who thought it was cool that a I wanted to play… I learned to play a 12 string because that instrument amazed me, and I performed by the age of 15 a few times, but just enjoyed learning to play and jammin with friends on the beach…
August 10th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Wow. Your son is seriously the coolest three year old ever! Yamaha’s are good for starters, and come in smaller sizes, I don’t know if you can get a blues/country style electric though, maybe an electric acoustic would have better sound. You could start with the tutorial videos until he could have lessons, that’s a good idea. Don’t feel bad, the games just a bit of fun for him, and he will enjoy it!
August 10th, 2010 at 11:56 am
I think you could find someone in your area.
Check the net.
Look at Kijiji and Craigslist in YOUR area.
If I were a teacher and a child wanted to learn something I wouldn’t stop him!
After 3 or 4 lessons, the teacher could be honest and tell you if he wasn’t responsive.
You wold be able to tell if you were wasting your money if he couldn’t do anything after a couple of lessons.
MAKE SURE it is ONE ON ONE lessons – not a group thing.
MAKE SURE you visit the teacher – or be there throughout all the lessons.
Make sure the teacher has a certificate and a police check done to avoid any problems that way – or be sure you stay for all lessons.
TEACHING any instrument is about 2% of the LEARNING process.
In the beginning, there is a “way” to teach, and a CURRICULUM.
Where does one start? That is the curriculum.
Once you – or the teacher – knows the curriculum, the first year or FEW are simply offering that curriculum.
It is 98% up to the STUDENT to APPLY what they have been told AND PRACTICE.
So – you COULD learn from youtube and other such places – the basics at least.
When I was about 8 years old, my sister – who was 12 – was taking piano lessons. She had been taught for about 2 years and taught ME everything I needed to know for the first year or more.
When I finally went to my private teacher – hers as well – she was amazed how much I already knew.
I started in Level I – this is about 3 levels from the beginning – and jumped to Level 3 – normally a level you might reach after 2 to 4 years of learning – in about 6 months.
All this because I was taught “early” by my sister.
August 10th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Keep looking for a teacher. In my area a guy who teaches all kinds of stringed Instruments had a 3 year old star student on the violin. At 5 she was winning fiddler competitions. There may not be a small enough electric guitar out there, as they are heavy,too, but there are some student sized acoustics and some “backpacker” models out there. Many teachers feel that the size of the child’s fingers need to be able to reach along the fretboard, and hence, an age “limit” of sorts.
Sure sounds like you got a bright kid there! keep nurturing that creative side! Good for you.