Beginner guitar for 6 year old ?

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by menhir

Look into those First Act acoustic guitars.
They're inexpensive, so those no crying if it gets damaged...And they play like guitars.

If the motivating factor is that the kid wants a guitar, then get him/her a guitar.

Absolutely agree here, and also with a couple of the other small guitar suggestions.

Here's a video of someone with really small hands managing pretty well on what may even be an adult-sized guitar.
It says that she's 8, but I'm pretty sure this was when she was actually 6 when this video was made.

Desirée by Maria Linneman, played by Tina Setkic

There's a lot of other videos of her playing under the heading of Tina S.

[guitar george]

Pretty much any nylon-stringed classical guitar would be a good start as in the video in the previous post by Nama Ensou.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by BallisticSquid

We got my daughter a 3/4 acoustic when she was 10. It was a good size for her but it was the ukulele that she got a few years later that really got her playing. Much of what she learned on uke she easily applied to the guitar when she went back to it. My vote is for the uke also.

There's a lot of sense to this. The BIG factor in whether or not a uke is acceptable as a "cool" instrument. Luckily, the past few years have seen the uke gain wide acceptance as a good choice with younger players.

The bottom line is to work with the perspective player in choosing what he / she will find acceptable.

[Cabarone]

This is timely...a little boy @ church got a guitar for Christmas...similar to a First Act nylon string...he wants me to teach him so I got a beginner's book and tuner for him...showed him how to tune it and, since his hands are so small (he's small for his age) taught him the bottom 4 strings of a "G" chord and
the sad chord" (Eminor-'cause all sad songs have minor chords in them). The next week I taught him the top 4 notes of the G and once he gets comfortable w/them we'll put it together.

I thought about switching to a uke, 'cause I'm concerned his hands just aren't big enough yet...whatever it takes to keep him interested/enjoying it...

[BallisticSquid]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

There's a lot of sense to this. The BIG factor in whether or not a uke is acceptable as a "cool" instrument. Luckily, the past few years have seen the uke gain wide acceptance as a good choice with younger players.

The bottom line is to work with the perspective player in choosing what he / she will find acceptable.

At the time uke had become popular again so that certainly factors in. The indie music she listens to features guitar which brought her back to guitar. When I was a kid, guitar was "cool" so that's a big part of why even I started .

If the kid insists on guitar, I would say just get the smallest and most comfortable one they can play. As long as it holds tune it's good...sound quality is entirely secondary at this point.

[wguitar]

GREAT responses so far -- THANKS! Grandpa has his work cut out for him, and I've had her holding a guitar (toy and real) since she was around 3 -- so she does at least know how to hold it. Uke sounds like a practical starting point since she would actually be able to fret notes and chords. But as some have already noted, it's ultimately up to her.
Life is Good!

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by wguitar

...I've had her holding a guitar (toy and real) since she was around 3 -- so she does at least know how to hold it. Uke sounds like a practical starting point since she would actually be able to fret notes and chords. But as some have already noted, it's ultimately up to her.

It's all up to you, but the reason I posted the video was to show that there's no reason to simplify by going to the ukelele unless that's the actual goal. She's already holding a guitar for three years now, continue with an actual guitar, oh, and take a look at the video I posted. Not only is she competently holding a large guitar and playing it with tiny fingers, she's actually reading sheet music and not even looking at the fingerboard.

Absolutely no reason to over-simplify.

[BluesBelly]

A Larrivee 00-40M
Perfect size. Perfect neck. Long scale. Sounds great.
My nine year old plays my Larrivee 00 and it's the perfect size in every respect.

Blues

[wguitar]

Originally Posted by Nama Ensou

Absolutely agree here, and also with a couple of the other small guitar suggestions.

Here's a video of someone with really small hands managing pretty well on what may even be an adult-sized guitar.
It says that she's 8, but I'm pretty sure this was when she was actually 6 when this video was made.

Desirée by Maria Linneman, played by Tina Setkic

There's a lot of other videos of her playing under the heading of Tina S.

WOW! That's impressive! THANKS for sharing!

[Wellington]

My sister and brother in law bought their son a Yamaha guitalele or something like it, nylon strings, 6 tuned for a guitar, but a very small instrument, I’m interested in that for my son in a few years if he continues to show interest.

[upsidedown]

Disagree with a lot of the suggestions above. A uke is not a guitar, and the First Acts are toys - at best.

When my son was 6-ish, I bought him an Art & Lutherie Ami, which is essentially a parlor guitar - on craigslist for $100. The greatest $100 I ever spent.

I'd advise you to think small for small hands and body, and make sure you're buying a functional guitar, whatever the brand. Just like adult beginners, kids will lose interest fast if the instrument is an impediment to learning.

[Birchtop]

If she’s really small go with a 3/4, a Yamaha JR1

Otherwise, the Yamaha FS800 is a great choice.

I’ve seen many 6-8 year olds start out with these.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by ataylor

Here are a few ideas:

You might see if you can find a good deal on a lightly used Baby Taylor. I found them to have a tone that was closer to a larger guitar than the similarly-sized Yamaha, Martin, or Córdoba guitars. Also important — I thought the gig bag was the best of that group as well.

Don’t rule out electric. My daughter — who started playing a year or two ago at a similar age — tends to prefer playing a Squier Mini Strat to the Baby Taylor because the slimmer body, faster neck, and lighter strings are easier for her to manage. I think she also likes that it makes her feel like a rock or pop star.

Another cool option is the Loog guitars. Similar to a ukulele but even more simple. My friend got his little guy one of these and had good things to say.

Good luck and realize at that age it’s a battle for them just to hold the guitar right and form basic chord shapes. But seeing kids show interest in and play guitars at that age is pretty adorable and worth a little investment and patience!

Similar to the Loog, it's not difficult to make something like this. I used to market the plan, but it's simple enough that it's easy for someone who is handy to make their own.

https://youtu.be/moOf9n4MPWU

[StringMeUp]

I agree with everyone who suggested getting a ukulele. If you don’t have one, get two. .

www.theukulelesite.com does an excellent job setting them up before shipping them.

[Nama Ensou]

I agree with everyone, including the only ones who count, the OP and his daughter, on getting a guitar.