What guitar????

[JustAShopGirl]

DD(13) plays piano - just got her grade 4 and wants to take up guitar, just wondering if there is any knowledge out there -

I know ideally she would like to play electric guitar as she is into Rock music.. but didn't know what sort of thing to get really, is there anything in particular I should be looking at?

Should we get an acoustic to start? Is it very different? I am clueless..

Apparently she plays acoustic (well, she informs me they have 5 with a variety of missing strings!?! hence wanting her own) at school and has learned to play Tab notation.

Help...

[Mistigri]

That's great. A good acoustic is such a versatile instrument, take it anywhere, great for singalongs at barbecues, solo performances etc.

Starting on an acoustic will make the transition to electric very simple (if you can play a barre chord on an acoustic then it will be a piece of cake on an electric).

DD finds it great therapy too, she plays a lot when she is angry or upset (just back from music camp and suffering the post holiday blues so we've had hours of guitar today).

[mindyourown1]

My parents bought my daughter's guitars during my divorce - I know having music and creativity and calm time to herself saw her through the most hideous time. It is a fabulous gift to give someone.

[JustAShopGirl]

My Aunt is over the moon - especially at the beaming smile and spontaneous hug my DD gave her - she could see it meant a lot.

[mindyourown1]

Oh that is brilliant - she is doing really well too. Astounding how quickly they learn isn't it. I have heard nothing but good things about Yamaha guitars. How lovely it has found such a good home - I bet Aunt is really pleased.

[JustAShopGirl]

Just came back to say quandary solved.... my aunt saw on facebook where I was also asking about guitars and gave her my late uncle's old Yamaha acoustic - which has a lovely mellow sound to it. (so grateful)

So we have delayed the choice of acoustic/electric telling her we will get her an electric one for her birthday in December if she wants to keep it up.

She has tuned it up using the iPad and started playing Smoke on the water main guitar riff (and that annoying song from Frozen) - I am amazed...

[PurpleAlert]

My DD plays the guitar- started on classical then electric then finally landed on acoustic- she took her GTR grade three at Christmas but has decided not to carry on with exams as they are like pulling teeth for her.

Have a look at crafter light electro acoustics. They are relatively inexpensive but just amazing sound with an in built tuner. We went to a large guitar warehouse and she tried about ten ( most of which were much more expensive) but came back to this Crafter model. Think it was about £250.

She literally plays all the time- looks stuff up on the internet and her very very fabulous guitar teacher ( professional musician) knocks up Sibelius files for her to practice. She has just come back from a music tour with her school where she and a friend did a set each night- she just loves it!

I am a music graduate and never played as much as she does- as far as I am concerned that is what playing an instrument is all about.

[JustAShopGirl]

[mindyourown1]

you can play an electric in bed if the amp is near enough!

[Mistigri]

Guitar is great for teenagers. You can get quick results (if you can play 8 basic open chords you can learn a LOT of songs) and there are lots of resources for motivated independent learners. I think it is also great for theory/ general musical understanding - after a year of guitar (admittedly a pretty intensive year) DD has more natural understanding of chords, harmony and rhythm than I did with grade 6/7 piano/ theory.

[Greenrememberedhills]

My nearly 16year old has both, but much prefers the acoustic these days.

[JustAShopGirl]

Misti... yep I need to consider the playing it in bed thing too... already starting to find nighttime and lunchtime are merging...

[Mistigri]

You don't need lessons at first as there are so many resources on the internet - justinguitar.com has far and away the best beginner course and you can download tabs for almost anything from ultimate-guitar.

[Mistigri]

Electric then IMO.

The Yamaha Pacifica is supposed to be the best value bottom end guitar.

The only downside of electric guitars is that they are a bit more of a fuss to get out and play - my dd uses her acoustic a lot because she can play it in bed. This is very important at 13 ;)

[JustAShopGirl]

No not paying for lessons, she has learned to read TAB at school, and has had the rudimentary stuff shown by friends and teachers.

The school guitars are rubbish though, so she wants something to have a go on at home.

[MaccaPaccaismyNemesis]

Start acoustic, a Jumbo size (smaller than a Dreadnaught). You can get a nice basic one for between £80-100. Anything less will be cheap and nasty, sound poor, play badly and not stay in tune.

Provided she makes progress with chords and rhythm, a move to electric should happen after about a year. Then, learning from tab books, internet videos and just listening to her music will see her right.

The important thing is practise. There is no such thing as easy, and if she doesn't practice, she'll hit a wall and never progress. Once you have a guitar the next thing you need is determined trying and trying. Otherwise it's never going to happen.

[mindyourown1]

It is a basic guitar, but Fender won't put their name to anything which isn't good. It is a great starter guitar, and for a teen it looks great too, which is of course v important!

That is a really good website - they offer loads of advice and next day delivery. I can't fault them really.

[JustAShopGirl]

didn't see all the new posts... that link looks really good... thanks.

[mindyourown1]

Will you be paying for lessons too? There is so much on the internet it is possible to teach yourself. Guitar tabs are easily found for anything. Apps for tuning for iPod or phone are free. I think of the hours worth of use it works out a cheap and fabulous hobby.

[JustAShopGirl]

Rock music is all she wants to play (at the moment) - Starting with stuff like Smells Like teen spirit, Smoke on the water BIG chord type things, and Green Day/Black Veil Brides/Linkin Park - her favourite bands of the moment.

She is not petite - she is 13 and 5ft6 and plays piano so is used to a full octave stretch hands wise.

Budget probably stretches to about £250

[Mistigri]

Lol - nice to see I'm not the only one! At least electric guitars are reasonable and you can add amps and other lot gradually. DD was looking at a new acoustic for performances (in order to get a bigger sound) but the prices are :-O

[mindyourown1]

Ha - Mist - you and I crossposted!

[mindyourown1]

My daughter started with a Fender Squier, then got a half decent acoustic, and has now upgraded to a Telecaster. There seems to be no such thing as too many guitars. She did already have a small basic acoustic which was only about £30 I think years ago. I upgraded her amp too last year to one with more oomph and effects. She always replaces the strings to good ones too.

This is a very good starter electric

www.gak.co.uk/en/squier-stop-dreaming-start-playing-set-affinity-series-strat-with-fender-frontman-10g-amp-black/67502

[Mistigri]

And you probably should be hoping she doesn't get into it seriously, because there is apparently no such thing as "too many guitars" ... DD wants a bass for Christmas and is saving for a semi-hollow electric guitar ...

[Mistigri]

What sort of music does she want to play? Do you have a tight budget? If your budget is tight get an electric, you get more bangs for your bucks. A good acoustic, properly set up so it is pleasant and easy to play, is going to set you back a bit of money. Electric guitars are also easier to play; the flip side is that if your learn on an acoustic, the transition to electric is very easy.

You need to think about size too - if she is petite you may want a smaller instrument (if acoustic) and if her hands are small you need to think about the width of the fretboard. My petite 13 year old has a Taylor GS mini (a good quality "travel"/parlour guitar which is about the same size as a 3/4 classical, though with a narrower neck of course) and a Strat, both of which are good instruments that she will keep for years and which are comfortable for her to play.

[CanaryYellow]

My DS started on a cheap(ish) electric guitar, but also had an acoustic. Now we have quite a collection. The electric wins with him every time, I prefer the sound of an acoustic. When we realised he was taking it seriously, we treated him to an Ibanez Prestige which has a wizard neck - slimmer than normal guitars so ideal for small hands.

If she's into rock then I know you said she doesn't want exams but she could take a look at the RockSchool grades. You might find she'd be quite enthusiastic about these.