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  #1  
Old 08-10-2014, 08:41 AM
leatherguy leatherguy is offline
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Default What's a good song to teach a 7 year old?

My grand-daughter came for a visit and I played for her and my son. They both went home and had a guitar within two weeks.
She is only seven and "pretends" to play, but she is very smart and determined, I have no doubt she can learn to play if/when she decides to.
I'm going out to visit them next month and would like to teach her a song she can "pretend" to play and eventually learn.
I was wondering if there is a classic song(s) taught by teachers to little kids when they first learn to play.
Maybe just a one-chord ditty with down-down-down strumming?
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:55 AM
6L6 6L6 is offline
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I've got five grandkids aged 5 to 10 yrs. They all love;

* This Land is Your Land
* Freight Train
* Puff the Magic Dragon
* If I Had a Hammer
* Teach Your Children

ANYTHING by Buddy holly!
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:58 AM
Davis Webb Davis Webb is offline
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I teach rock and country to kids. The beat is infectious.

House of the rising Sun is always a good choice.
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Old 08-10-2014, 09:46 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leatherguy View Post
My grand-daughter came for a visit and I played for her and my son. They both went home and had a guitar within two weeks.
She is only seven and "pretends" to play, but she is very smart and determined, I have no doubt she can learn to play if/when she decides to.
I'm going out to visit them next month and would like to teach her a song she can "pretend" to play and eventually learn.
I was wondering if there is a classic song(s) taught by teachers to little kids when they first learn to play.
Maybe just a one-chord ditty with down-down-down strumming?
Don't teach her chords. Chords are difficult for 7-year-olds - not only to hold, but to change in time - and they don't make recognisable songs anyway.
However, if there is a song she likes to sing, and it only has 2 or 3 simple chords, then those chords could be the way to go, so she can accompany herself. But only in that case. (and don't urge her to grab full 6-string shapes: start with partial shapes on the top 3 strings, such as 1-finger G and C chords.)

But the main idea is to allow her to be able to play something she can recognise - which means simple melodies are an ideal starter. Twinkle twinkle, happy birthday, jingle bells... Simpsons theme goes down well (but is harder).
If she's into rock riffs, Smoke on the Water is a good one.
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Old 08-11-2014, 08:17 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Hi l-guy...

I had a niece show up who was 8 and want to play guitar. So I tuned my smallest guitar to open G, and handed her a slide. She sang and played by herself for 2 hours.

I think she had a good time. When she was a mid-teen (14ish) she took a guitar class at school and learned to play chords in standard tuning. She is in college and still doesn't own a guitar, but when we visit, she grabs mine and plays nicely.





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Old 08-12-2014, 09:21 AM
flagstaffcharli flagstaffcharli is offline
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Having taught kids quite a bit - I will admit I like ukulele better for that age.

But I'd start with a familiar melody on the first two strings. Maybe a movie theme, like Star Wars. Anything to make her pretending more musical. Also, teach her open harmonics. Those are fun.

Fun!
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Old 08-15-2014, 07:43 PM
beachbum205 beachbum205 is offline
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Horse with no name. Buy the song for first on iTunes. 2 easy chords with an easy switch.
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Old 08-18-2014, 07:19 PM
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GySgtFTL GySgtFTL is offline
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Old 08-18-2014, 07:53 PM
Scootch Scootch is offline
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Yellow Submarine
Octopuses Garden

Some trad songs:
BINGO was his name-o
Erie Canal
Old Dan Tucker
Sloop John B.
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Old 08-18-2014, 08:00 PM
YamaYairi YamaYairi is offline
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That's the age I was when I started playing. My teacher first taught me simple songs using 4 string chords. The first song I learned was "Michael Row The Boat Ashore." 4 string chords are easy for a child to learn. A C chord is just the first finger playing a C on the B string. D is the same as normal, G is the G on the high E string, G7 is the F on the E string, A is normal. Then you have them just strum the top 4 strings.
Oops, you need to play the E on the D string and the C for a C chord.
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Old 08-18-2014, 09:16 PM
mot mot is offline
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When my son was 6 he went from a couple of chords on the uke to mandolin then to guitar (Baby Taylor for his 7th birthday). He loves the Beach Boys 409 among other songs (Eagles, Beatles, Weird Al, etc…). I had him play 409 in G using a C add 2. It made the chords really easy for him. He's 8 now and all about the power chords and the pentatonic scale. He likes to show off on the Squire and a cheap amp whenever his friends come over.

Another easy song the kids will love is the Unicorn Song. It's right up there with Bye Bye Miss American Pie in our house.
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Old 08-20-2014, 12:38 AM
TheGuitarist TheGuitarist is offline
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Default HI there

The easiest and most convenient way for a 7 years old to start pretending to play is teaching him or her first initial lessons like holding and fretting a note like one note one fret exercises and possibly note reading. Think of a simple song that you can teach him first. Or you can browse the internet for some easy chords.
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Old 08-20-2014, 07:25 AM
Paultergeist Paultergeist is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonPR View Post
......But the main idea is to allow her to be able to play something she can recognise......
That is so important, and I would add "and likes." The world is full of discouraged would-be musicians -- people who quite probably would have ended up enjoying making music -- were it not for misguided instructors insistent upon a particular learning path. If a child is to be engaged by the instrument / making music, they really need to like the sounds/songs they are hearing.

There are lots of children's tunes, popular tunes, and pretty much every time Disney releases an animated movie, there are a couple of songs in the soundtrack that kids have hear and like.....great fodder for children's lesson.
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Old 08-20-2014, 01:21 PM
guitarman2201 guitarman2201 is offline
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+1 for something they can recognise and importantly a tune that they like! As Paultergeist correctly stated there are lots of youngsters start with lessons, especially piano, then the traditional approach of many music teachers puts them off the idea of learning an instrument pretty quickly. Disney does indeed have some great tunes. My 7 year old granddaughter loves almost all of them, currenly her favourite is "Do you wanna build a snowman" from Frozen. I'm in the process of learning that on piano so I can teach her how to play it. I know she'll be really excited when I play it to her the first time! I think that's a good way to get youngsters interested in trying themselves.

I also need to find a decent arrangement of the song for guitar! Any suggestions?

Regards,
Howard
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Old 08-20-2014, 01:36 PM
Pualee Pualee is offline
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My son started playing at 6. Even playing out in public. Full 6 string cowboy chords and making his own strumming patterns to the music.

Don't water it down. See what the kids want to play and give them a push. The only thing to consider... do you have a suitable guitar for small kids? A short scale nylon acoustic lets them learn without the limitation of the hand strength required for a steel string acoustic.

At 8 years old now, my son plays a full scale telecaster well (barre chords, cross picking, etc), but still generally wants to play the rhythm parts. He will pick up my dread occasionally, but says it is hard (translation: he cannot play barre chords, and is limited to the 1st position open chords, and he is slower on transitions).

Generally, when I pick a new song now, I ask him what he wants to learn. We learn it together. We started together, we learn together. So my advice... to teach a kid? Teach the same way you would teach an adult... just make sure the instrument fits (and seriously... think about whether the song lyrics are appropriate).
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