should I/shouldn't I - 5yr old wants guitar for birthday

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so on the back of the thread about the piano..

My DD has been asking for a guitar for her birthday for the past 6 months. SHe is quite musical. ,as is she loves listening to music, singing to songs etc. And I thought this was a fad. In fact I think it is linked to the fact that her reception teacher plays guitar, which she probably thinks is cool.

I could get her a crappy toy guitar that she can leave in the corner to gather dust play. But not sure if something so crap would put her off. I am not a pushy mum and just want her to do stuff she enjoys and not force her into music, unless she really wants to do it.

Why dont you try a few beginner lessons and see how she gets on before making a comittment?

Great idea :)

She'll need a 1/2 size one rather than a full-size, e.g. this

And get hold of some nice children's tutor books too, maybe something like this

DS 5 ASD has one. He strums it and shouts. Not musically but he goes through phases where he loves it. If she's gonna play it though remember you'll have to tune it (I don't)

Most famous musicians say they got whatever at a young age and their parents helped them.........I myself played instruments from about 8 and before that loved singing...........if your child is gifted don't write it off with your comments about how it will gather dust in a corner! Really? Parents are supposed to notice what their children show aptitude for and then guide them towards achieving. Not being pushy at all incidentally.

Get her the guitar, and not a shit one either, and get her a book or a teacher, and then help her do half an hour every day and watch her progress. I can't believe you are suggesting she shouldn't pursue her interest for your own reasons! Way to go Mom! rolleyes

you can get little guitars which are really cute and 3rd of the size , dd1 plays the guitar but you need to be able to reach round your dds little fingers may not be long enough yet , but you can get her a tutor my dd plays electric guitar now and she is v v good even if i do say so myself ,

quite a lot of education authorities have a music department. they help with things like offering lessons in school time by peripatetic music teachers. check on monday to see if your school does this and also if the ed auth have someone that can help. we borrowed instruments through them for 6 months and that gave DC's time to decide if they wanted to carry on or not. also see if there are any saturday music schools in your area. they will cost a couple of pounds but the good ones let children see/hear/play a whole range of instruments. she might just be thinking guitar because thats what she sees most of when in fact her destiny is to become a world class trumpeter!

Thanks all. I do actually want her to pursue it, somethingtosay, .. . My own reason?... what did i state? that it might be a fad? I am not a pushy mum? - I haven't said she shouldn't pursue it. I am only asking for suggestions and experience, what I said was not a fait accompli, can't I use mumsnet to ask these questions? AIBU seemed to be the right place.

erm.. and FWIW I have noticed that she has an aptitude musically, I am not writing it off. I just know how my daughter's mind works, given I am her mum.

I had heard that starting lessons earlier than 7/8 is not worthwhile, just wanted to get some view on whether 5 was too young and if we got one, plus a book to help her learn whether she would get frustrated because she couldn't read etc etc.

I started playing the violin and singing at the age of 6, I achieved grade 8 violin and singing, sang in choirs, bunked off maths to go to do my violin practice. I adore music, but I don't want to push her into something just because I LOVE IT (sorry if I neglected to add this information, didn't think it relevant) I just want to ensure she is doing it because she wants to.

Thanks to all for your suggestions, I will try them out and see what happens. I will talk to her teacher tomorrow, and go through the suggestions one by one.

Sue Ryder sell cheap small guitars a lot of the time. Pretty inexpensive if she doesn't keep it up?

You can get small 1/3 size ones which, while not tremendous quality, will give a decent enough sound to gauge her interest. They are not very expensive.

Oooh, tricky. When my DS was 5 he asked for a guitar too. And I went down the line of looking into lessons etc. more fool me...At school they all started on instruments in yr 2 and he came home with a violin very excited....for precisely one week, at which point novelty wore off and now sits in the corner of the room won weekends
Least we didn't buy it!!
I would suggest toy version until a bit older!

DS (just 4) had one for Christmas when I bought DH his.

They jam together, it's adorable (for the eyes more than ears ATM).

I suggest you get a proper guitar of ebay.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-30-Classical-Half-1-2-Size-Childs-Natural-Wooden-Guitar-9287-/280827197145?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item41629af6d9

I see no point in getting a toy. There are books that can help your dd learn guitar. It would also help to get her tuner.

My son loves guitar.

If you go to a good music shop you will be able to hire a small sized one for three months; they will be able to recommend a starter book which will come with a cd and probably a local teacher too.

IME, there's nothing wrong with starting a few basics early and if she's interested, she's interested. If she's not you can cancel after four lessons and hand the guitar back at the end of three months.

We do small guitars for children, 3/4 & 1/2 half size, they're really cute. I know nothing really about the instruments we sell as I'm office staff but maybe a ukulele is a good start.

Get her a half size one - DS4 had one at that age and took to it really well. All his idea but he is still playing the guitar in y6 (though not the 1/2 size one) They aren't too expensive - we paid less than £30 for his, and i sold it for a tenner when he was finished with it. you could probably find a s/hand one quite easily if you wanted to spend very little.

As a guitarist of 20 years, I would recommend a ukulele to get youngsters going - they are small, cheap (20 quid for a playable one - mine was 60 is probably not much better than a 20 quid one, it plays fine). Also, ukes have nylon strings and very thin neck will be easier on little fingers. I have a 2.5 year old, he likes strumming my guitar and bass, and also the uke !

I suggest a ukulele too - much littler, only 4 strings and usually really cheap.