Guitar help!

[wtffgs]

DD would like to try the guitar and I quite like the idea too. I don't have hundreds of pounds to spend.

It seems 3/4 size would be good for her (age 10). Is that going tone too small for me (5 foot 3)?

A classical guitar has wire
strings and an acoustic has plastic ones? What's the difference in terms of ease of playing, sound etc. DD will probably play Taylor Swift songs and I would go for folky stuff.

TIA

[Ferguson]

Do either of you have any previous musical experience or knowledge?

Guitar is a difficult instrument to learn for complete beginners, and it could be a year or two before you are playing tunes in a satisfactory way. Just managing three or four chords to accompany simple tunes is feasible, but the hand and finger muscles take time to build up strength and familiarity where fingers should be.

Yes, I would think 3/4 size would be OK for you both; better on the small side for you, rather than being too big for DD.

To get quicker musical progress and satisfaction, I always recommend a keyboard as a better starting point. And a modern keyboard will have numerous 'guitar' sounds available. Also, 'pop' songs rely very much on 'production' and studio enhancements, so there may not be much for an inexperienced guitarist to 'latch onto'.

Try looking on dedicated guitar sites though, for more in-depth advice.

[SevenAteNine]

Guitars are OK, but quite hard for adults to learn without a teacher.

How about a ukulele? Smaller and cooler than a guitar, and you could go to a ukulele club together. It's really uplifting to play and sing with others in a group. Kids are welcome at most of them. And at home you can practice together! I love playing and singing with my family.

You can get good, playable ukuleles from £30-£100 each, but don't go cheaper. So long as you buy them from a proper shop and get the sales person to play the actual uke you'll buy before you hand over any money it doesn't matter which brand. Anything that you like the look and sound of will do; you will find one sparkles a bit more than the others. If the sales assistant won't play you anything, or is a bit snotty, go into another shop.

And, of course, if you still want to play guitar the ukulele gives you a good foundation, because the spaces between the notes are just the same as you get on a guitar without its bass strings.

Can you tell I don't feel the urge to play guitar anymore? :-)

[PullUpsAreTricky]

my just 10 yr old grew out of his 3/4 guitar, he was about 147cm,at this point. i would get a full size over 3/4 to be fair.

[ReallyTired]

I think a 3/4 size guitar is better for a 10 year old. My son has only recently out grown his 3/4 guitar at the age of 13. If a guitar is too big then it will be hard to do the chords.

I don't believe that guitar is harder than any other instrument. My son passed grade 2 after 18 months of lessons. Progress is down to how much practice the student does. I think it would be hard to learn guitar without proper lessons.

There are often good 3/4 guitars on ebay, but you do need to carefully research the make. Recently I got a new (full sized guitar) for my son for £25. It was in pristine condition and very good make.

Classical guitars have nylon strings and are cheaper than acoustic guitars. Steel strings hurt beginers fingers. Its often better to start off with nylon until the fingers toughen up. Many guitars are collection only on ebay so its hard to recommend you a guitar to bid on without knowing where you live.

My son's first guitar was this model. He got to grade 3 and only upgraded because the guitar was too small.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stunning-Classical-guitar-Valencia-CG160-3-4-Size-Excellent-condition-and-bag/181843690752?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D33053%26meid%3D9400949bf2ca419fbcf25c9b70770a2c%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D131587480962

You will need to get an electronic tuner to help you tune a guitar.

If you can afford around £50 to £70 it might be worth going to a proper shop where they will set up the instrument for you.

[OldBeanbagz]

A ¾ guitar is fine for your DD and will be ok for you too. In fact my DD plays in a band with someone who still plays one at age 16 and is 6ft tall. Apparently it's easier for him to carry on the bus!

My DD started off on classical (did Grades 2-4) before moving to acoustic as she prefers the music she can play on it (another Taylor Swift fan!). The steel strings hurt her fingers when she first switched but they've toughened up now.

You'll need an electronic tuner too. I've also found keeping it on a stand encourages DD to practice as it's just there to pick up.

She has a teacher weekly plus plays in two bands so lots of guitar playing.