Lead Cat Press: Music Education for Guitarists

SIT IN ON YOUR CHILD'S GUITAR LESSONS

It shocks me when I see parents drop their young children off for music lessons with a teacher who is pretty much a stranger to them. Lesson studios are typically very small private rooms, a person doesn't need any special training or certification to call themselves a guitar teacher, and most stores or studios do not require background checks on their teachers.

All parents should be welcome to sit-in on their child's lesson anytime. This gives parents the opportunity to hear the concepts that are being taught, and it also allows the teacher to discuss the student’s progress with the parent. Parents may also be able to share useful information about their child's learning style.

I require the parents of young children to be present during every lesson simply because young children who have their parents with them during the lesson play the guitar better than those who have not had their parents sit-in on their lessons. 

Most 7 and 8 year old children are not able to absorb all of the lesson material and then apply it to their daily practice sessions on their own, even when I make careful notes on their assignment sheets. I have seen many young kids feel frustrated and quit lessons simply because their parents were not present during the lessons and did not help their child at home.

In order for a child to be successful, she/he needs to understand the assignments, practice on a daily basis, and hear lots of encouragement that the physical demands of the instrument will be met if she/he continues to practice every day. Parents do not need to be able to play an instrument themselves to be able to help their child, they just need to show their support and help their child develop good practice habits.

I really would like to see more parents come into the studios to meet the the teachers who work with their kids. Building a good relationship with the teacher will help your child be more successful, and it just makes sense to be present when your child is meeting a new adult who may become a very important person in their life.

WHAT AGE SHOULD YOUR CHILD BEGIN TAKING GUITAR LESSONS?

When I was teaching in person lessons, I would invite students who were as young as 7 to begin taking lessons from me if they were showing a strong desire to play guitar, they were able to listen and follow instructions, they had supportive parents who would take part in the music lessons and daily practice, and they had the required physical capabilities to actually play some notes on the guitar. Now that I am only teaching online, I've found that students who are 12 and older have the most success in their lessons with me.

Kids who show a strong desire to play guitar usually listen to a lot of guitar music on their own, they pretend that objects like brooms or tennis rackets are guitars and act like they are "playing" them, they will sit still and act mesmerized when they see guitarists playing in videos or in person, they will draw guitars whenever they get the chance, and they will try to play any guitar they can get their hands on and they may surprise you by figuring out how to play a simple tune with no instruction.

WHAT IS THE BEST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FOR YOUNG KIDS TO BEING LEARNING ON?

I most often recommend young students begin on piano, for a few reasons. One is that pianos are physically easier to play than guitars. You can play a note with just one finger on a piano, but you must use the fingers on one hand to press and hold strings to a fretboard, while the other hand maneuvers a pick in the other hand to strike a specific string on guitar. Guitars just require more strength and more coordination skills to play well.

Another reason that piano works well for young kids is that there is an abundance of method books and teaching styles that are specifically designed for really young kids. There are also many great teachers who specialize in teaching piano to young kids.

Finally, all the of skills and concepts that young piano students learn easily transfer to other instruments, so if a student takes piano lessons from ages 5-10 and then switches to guitar, they will experience much greater success on guitar than a student who is brand new to music and begins guitar at age 10.

Some young kids benefit by learning on a uke or a 3 string guitar made especially for young kids, and in that case, I’d do some homework to find a teacher who specializes in teaching young kids on those specific instruments.

I HOPE THIS HELPS, THANK FOR READING!

Susan Palmer of Lead Cat Press, LLC