Acoustic guitar for a 5-year old?

[PorkPieGuy]

Whenever I get my guitar out and play, my little girl (now age 4) gets in my lap and wants me to teach her chords. I play a Taylor GC8, and while it’s a great little guitar, it’s not small enough for her little hands. A uke fits her perfectly, but she’s keen enough to know that my guitar has more strings and, well, “Yours sounds better than mine does, daddy.”

So, here’s my question: What kind of 6-string guitar would be good for her? Her 5th birthday is coming up in August, and I thought about getting her something. She has a hard time reaching chords on mine (of course, she’s 5!), so I don’t think something like a backpacker would be a good idea b/c the fretboard is the same size. I thought about starting her on mandolin, but she likes guitar the best. Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone!

PS. What an awesome problem to have!

[kudama]

A very fun problem indeed.

There's some really fun little guitars out there. Unfortunately most stores I've been to usually only have maybe 1 or 2 in stock at a time.

Here are a few little steel strings that I've played and had a lot of fun with:
Baby Taylor
Taylor GS mini
Yamaha JR1
Takamine G series mini

Or maybe you could try out the Yamaha Guitalele, but it is still very ukulele-esque in sound, so she might not like it.

You've set the bar pretty high for her since the guitar she's comparing all others to is your Taylor GC8. lol.

[Hanns]

I'm no expert by any means, but...

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-GL1-Gui...7390004&sr=8-1

Edit: kudama beat me to it :-P

[jhchang]

However I'd avoid any steel-string guitar for beginners. The high tension would easily kill their interest and keep them away from it. Start with something like Yamaha cg103s nylons.

[Kerbie]

What a great problem to have! I would think the Little Martin or Baby Taylor. I wish her well.

[Marley]

I have a 5 year old and 3 and 1. All of them want and do play most of my guitars. Even the Baby Taylor (which I gave to my 5 year old) is a tad too big for him. But it's the best I have found and he's rapidy growing into it. I also bought him a small "kids" electric which is OK but he has to plug it in to hear anything. And the Taylor is much much easier to play than the crappy electric. All 3 prefer acoustic because you can pluck strings and hear them.

I say find a good deal on a Baby Taylor.

[mr. beaumont]

You can use light strings and slacken the tuning...

I think it's a misconception that nylon strings are easier to play for little kids...think about the diameter of the string, too.

Remember, chords don't have to be all 6 strings...you can get a 5 year old playing a G and C with one finger.

[zumaboy]

Having been there myself, I would simply say not to put very much money into it. All of the Baby Taylor/Little Martin/etc. suggestions are good - try to find one that is used.

[jhchang]

I don't think the string diameter matters. In fact thinner steel strings might hurt more in some cases, like a sharp edge cutting into the fingers. Ever got a paper cut? The thicker nylon strings are more friendly to fingers, at least they hurt less. I understand one drawback of classical guitars is the wider neck, which is a disadvantage for beginners when compared to steel string guitars. Since there is no single model good for both world, one has to decide which factor matter most to him/her and lives with the other one.

[Herb Hunter]

As others have recommended, as far as steel-string guitars is concerned, the Taylor Baby or the Taylor GS Mini are the best small guitars you are likely to find in their price category. Unlike other offerings, these have the more expensive ebony fretboards and bridges. They are typically easiest to play and have good intonation.

In the past I used to recommend starting out on a nylon-string guitar. (I started at age 10 on a classical guitar.) In recent years I've come to think that one should start out on the type of guitar one is ultimately going to play. If the child is uncertain about which type he ultimately wants to learn it is probably best to learn classical guitar technique on a nylon-string guitar as transitioning from classical guitar to other types of guitars and playing styles is easier than the other way around to my way of thinking. However, finding a good beginner's nylon-string guitar is not as simple as going out and buying a Taylor Baby. I'd ask the teacher to recommend a nylon-string guitar.

[john bange]

I recomend a baritone uke...let the child deal with 4 string guitar chords for a few years...It's easy to add the top bass strings as they get bigger...just my opinion

[mr. beaumont]

I've taught a lot of beginners. There's always some discomfort, but if they can't hold down a .09 gauge steel string and play a note cleanly, they're not going to be able to hold down a nylon "high E" and play a note cleanly. In fact, couple that with the fatter, wider neck many nylon strings have and the whole hand has to exert more energy to play a note cleanly.

Fingetip pain will last for a short while, but whole hand cramping is a more serious issue.

[Mudskipper]

My daughter used by Baby Taylor with good results (taking lessons, etc).

[patticake]

i'd recommend a little martin or yamaha jr1. they don't have the bulge that the baby taylor and laguna do, so easier for smaller bodies to hold. while neither will sound as good as your gc8, both will sound better than a uke, and i particularly like my jr1 with martin silk and steels, which are gentler on fingers and warmer sounding. in fact, i used to use d'addario 10's for the unwrapped strings for extra gentle fingers.

[bshpmark]

Take a look at the Hohner HW03 if you want a small and inexpensive steel string.