You should also mention what type of music you want to hear him play. What type of music does your son wish to play (what does he listen to).Before you walk into a guitar shop, be ready to answer a few questions: Materials and styles don't matter much at first, just buy standard teardrop shaped picks.Īll of this is fairly general advice. A few picks (buy a pack of thin and a pack of mediums for your son to try).A local shop should be willing to credit you for the soft-sided case and give a discount on a more secure hard case.) A hard-shell case (most inexpensive guitars come with a soft-sided bag, I strongly recommend you protect the guitar with a hard-sided case.A book of chords (or consider the Planet Waves Chordmaster, an electronic tuner, chord dictionary and metronome, for about $30).In addition to the guitar, remember that you'll also need to purchase just a few accessories for his first acoustic: It will be the beginning of the dreaded "equipment acquisition syndrome" suffered by all men with hobbies (I speak as one who has refined this art). Either you'll buy him one on another gifting occasion, or he'll save his money and buy one himself. If (this is a BIG IF) he continues to play guitar, he'll end up with an electric.but for an electric you need to haul an amp, cables, and have access to electricity. In fact, if he learns on an acoustic, the electric will come very easily to him (the strings on an electric are often a little closer together and easier to push down, so making the switch is very easy). All guitars play pretty much the same.If your son has visions of playing electric guitar, you may need to reassure him of a few things: Read more about what a setup is and what it costs elsewhere on this page. Steel-string guitars are a bit harder to play initially, but if you have it setup for him and use extra light strings, he'll be fine.Steel-string guitars have better sustain and more volume.Steel-string guitar necks are usually thinner, so smaller hands can play them easier.Nylon strings are smoother, and won't cause as much early finger-tip soreness.Nylon strings are thicker, but easier to press down for new players.Unless your son wishes to play classical guitar, stick with a steel string acoustic. They are almost certain to prefer either a nylon string acoustic or a steel string acoustic. If your child will take lessons at school you need to consider what they school will expect or require. In a case like this, there are probably other factors to consider, such as what the school will allow or what you want to hear around the house. In general, new guitar players should select a guitar based on the type of music they want to play. His school provides lessons and his birthday is coming up. My 8-year-old desperately wants to learn to play guitar. My electronic tuner goes haywire when I tune my B string.What should I expect at my first guitar lesson? The second?.What should I look for in an instructor?.Where's the battery that powers my electric guitar?.I want to become an exceptional guitarist.I want to play songs by my favorite band.Why would my new guitar need new strings?.I was told to have my guitar "set-up." What does that mean?.My string keeps breaking when I tune, what's up?.My new guitar is making a buzzing sound.My 8-year-old desperately wants to learn to play guitar.If you have questions not covered here, feel free to Contact Me and mention this Guitar Beginner FAQ. You can either click on one of the questions to jump directly to the answer, or scroll through the questions and answers below. The fact is, sometimes you don't even know what you don't know, so how can you ask a question about it? The guitar beginner FAQ focuses on you, the beginning guitarist. You don't need answers to questions like: "How can I refinish my guitar?" or "How do I install a pickup in my acoustic?" Eventually, maybe, but not yet. This is not another guitar FAQ, it's a guitar beginner FAQ! Guitar Beginner FAQ Beginner Questions & Answers
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