7yo wants to learn the guitar

[stuckinthehouse]

She has decided that she would really like a guitar for her birthday but we can't afford for her to have lessons. I'm vaguely musical but have never played a string instrument and so I'm not sure if it's going to be a waste of money if she's not going to be able to get the most out of it.
Has anyone's DC managed to get to grips with a guitar without any formal lessons?

Is there nowhere that does reduced prices for group tutorials?

Sorry, I think I meant to post this in extra-curricular...

My DD has, to a degree, but she's older. She uses tabs off the Internet, as opposed to reading music (this is what i did too, which is where this all started I suppose) - however, there's two factors required for this to be successful. A keen interest in guitar music/bands and a reasonable singing voice. Once she can play a few chords to a well known song and sing it, then that's pretty much what any teenager actually wants to be able to do with her musical ability. She and her mates will 'jam' for hours, but I don't know if they will ever develop further than that unless someone really talented joins their group

TBH I think pretty pointless without lessons.

What about a ukulele to start off with? Meant to be much easier to learn than a guitar (I can't play either!!)

I don't agree that it's pointless without lessons, because unless you particularly want to learn scales and happy birthday and wonderful tonight, lessons are expensive. Most teenagers get by pretty well using chord diagrams, and there are literally millions of them out there and every song imaginable is tabbed for you. I just think a seven year old isn't going to be particularly motivated to practice if they don't know the songs or have a keen desire to play certain music; lessons with a tutor might motivate her to practice and play. As I told my daughter when she got her first guitar, it's not magic- you have to practice, and to be fair she plays for hours.

I suppose the thing to do is get her a short course of lessons and see how she gets on. The first few months are awful- your finger tips really hurt, you sound awful, and you're chord changes are sloooooow. If she's prepared to practice in spite of those things then let her carry on!

Maybe find her a nice small nylon strung guitar (the thicker strings will be metal wrapped but under less tension so won't be so sore as a steel strung guitar). Sit with her and find tutorials on youtube, there are lots and keep it fun! She'll learn if she enjoys it and it would a really shame to leave her enthusiasm behind. Lots of people teach themselves, if you encourage her who knows what she'll do!