Kid’s guitar learning book. Recommendations?

[Daniel Grenier]

I gave my 12 yo grandson one of my acoustic guitars and he is very much into it but a total beginner, as you might have guessed. Can anyone recommend a good kid-friendly guitar book? Something to give him a good foundation in the basics?

[MThomson]

If he's 12, I wouldn't bother too much about a kids book. Based on my 11 year old niece, they're trying really hard to be grown ups so I'd use any starter book you'd think would be good for an adult.

[619TF]

I personally like some of the Alfred books (the Authentic Guitar Tab editions) but I'm not familiar with the kids stuff. That said, they do have a series of books for kids and you can look at previews online (with sound clips) to decide if you think the kid is too mature for these.

https://www.alfred.com/search/produc...-guitar-course

If not, I'd go with the suggestion above and give him a basic adult learning book that YOU enjoyed and found valuable. The added value of that is you're familiar with the book and teaching method so you're the first place he'll likely turn for answers.

[AndrewG]

I have recommended this to a few people. David Mead writes well, understands that not everyone needs to read the dots, and explains things very clearly. Great for a beginner-and there's a CD included:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minute-Acou...s=books&sr=1-3

[619TF]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

I have recommended this to a few people. David Mead writes well, understands that not everyone needs to read the dots, and explains things very clearly. Great for a beginner-and there's a CD included:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minute-Acou...s=books&sr=1-3

That one looks interesting...for adults too it seems.

Here's the USA and Canadian Amazon links for those of us on this side of the pond:

https://www.amazon.com/10-Minute-Aco...dp/1846094976/

https://www.amazon.ca/10-Minute-Acou.../dp/1846094976

[rstaight]

I taught guitar for a couple of years. My guitar teacher would give me her over flow or ask me to work with the folks that was struggling. You know, a different set of eyes and ears.

I used either the Standard Guitar Method by Dick Bennet or the Hal Leonard Guitar Method.

When I was taking lessons I did have a book by Alfred.

But for beginning a really like the Standard Guitar Method.

[casualmusic]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

I gave my 12 yo grandson one of my acoustic guitars and he is very much into it but a total beginner, as you might have guessed. Can anyone recommend a good kid-friendly guitar book? Something to give him a good foundation in the basics?

Hi Daniel

I'd give a young beginner a head start with (a few at a time):

1. Some target songs: a few songbooks with easy chords and standard notation. Perhaps one children's songbook, one traditional/folk/ballads, one golden oldies pop. You can also find online a lot of songs with chords chez ukulele groups such as B.U.G Bytown Ukulele Goup in Ottawa.


2. Hands on lessons with a teacher who will teach good habits and correct bad habits. Especially useful are easier ways for the young fret hand to grapple with a full size instrument. A teacher experienced with children will show how fret chords comfortably with a child's grip. The teacher will prescribe a good starter book.

Community centre children's programs are a good place to find the first teacher; then continue or switch to music store or private teachers.


3. Soft strings for tender young hands. For steel strings extra lights like 11-52 or 10-47.

(Do we dare consider a baritone ukulele which is a four string guitar with a 20" scale and nylon strings?)


4. Social playing with gramps, kids groups, music camp, ukulele group to develop rhythm and pace.


5. Music slowdown software to slow down soundclips and videos to a comfortable beginner practise speed. (Time spent playing along to recordings sure beats hours lost to computer games.)


6. A capo and/or a chart of chord familes that shows how to transpose songs to play along with recordings or with people who have song sheets in different keys. Recommended is the Guitar Cheat Sheet from Sceptical Guitarist Publications.


Cheers

.

[foxo]

As a 12 year old he’s more than likely got his eyes glued to YouTube all the time. I’d recommend him using the Justin Guitar website. There is a book to go along with it, I can’t comment on the quality, but Justin Guitar’s beginner course really is great for getting you started on the basics - worked for me.

[boombox]

Originally Posted by foxo

As a 12 year old he’s more than likely got his eyes glued to YouTube all the time. I’d recommend him using the Justin Guitar website. There is a book to go along with it, I can’t comment on the quality, but Justin Guitar’s beginner course really is great for getting you started on the basics - worked for me.

This definitely the best suggestion so far. What 12 year old is going to want to learn old songs in dry music books? Sites like Justin Guitar or Lick'n'Riff will have songs he's heard of. Better yet, talk to him about the sort of music he likes, then look on Ultimate Guitar or similar, download some tabs and work through those. Kids want instant results and if he can learn the first few bars of a song he loves, he will be more likely to stick at it. I started lessons at age 9 and hated all the boring (to me, anyway) songs written for beginners in the Ulf Goran Ashlund (sp??) book. Had we jumped straight to the middle of the book and done House Of The Rising Sun, I'd have likely carried on. As it was, I quit after a couple of months and didn't pick up a guitar for nearly ten years.

[rstaight]

I neglected to mention earlier. Find a good local instructor. Yes, some of YouTube guys are great. But you can't ask questions.

That personal one on one is worth it's weight in gold.

[zephystar]

My daughter started lessons at 8 and is still doing them 1.5 years later.

She really needed an instructor. Dads (and I assume Grandfathers) know nothing of course so me trying to teach her was not working out.

I found a great local folk player who teaches and happens to mesh with my kid's personality so the lessons have been working out well. I let the teacher pick whichever book she felt most comfortable with. She went with the Alfred series of kids books which have been. I bought some of the other brands as well and honestly they are all pretty similar for the first few books.