Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school DS2.7 asked for guitar lessons

On the other hand, drums cannot easily be played out of tune.

I agree with everyone else, I would wait and see. But if you are going to start a preschooler on guitar I would not start one on an electric guitar. I took guitar when I was a high school and it takes a while of practice to get get the calluses that make it comfortable to play. I wouldn't even start him on a steel string but a nylon string guitar. We had until recently a decent child's nylon string guitar, for elementary kids that my son took lessons on for a while when he was 8. It takes a lot of practice and sore fingers to get used to holding the frets down, particularly on the steal strings on a eclectic guitar. I would suggest this even for an older child. What you learn on a acoustic guitar does translate to electric.

Most Beatles music can be played on an acoustic guitar.

But HK, the best part about playing drums is playing LOUD! It just feels good! There's something amazingly cathartic about just pounding hard to a really great song.

I think it's actually great therapy for anyone. My kid is lucky that I get it, but I also close his door! Now that I'm a parent with a kid who talks nonstop all day long I can't hack as much noise as I used to!

Do you play music with your husband? That's how I met mine...

Not a chance-- we could hardly BE further apart in terms of our musical styles (in terms of playing, I mean-- he plays jazz, Latin, and rock, and I'm a Celtic, folk, and up-to-late-Baroque music specialist). Luckily, we both like a LOT of different kinds of music. I've teased him that he need only fear Jordi Savall, otherwise my loyalty is secure. For a pair of scientists, though, we have a LOT of musical instruments in our house, and a lot of artsy stuff in our lives. I'm a big believer in the arts making a person "whole."

Bluemagic I see your point about electric, but my little guy has not had any problems with his electric and he's quite proficient with it at 6 1/2. The cool thing with an electric at this age, and younger, is they can experiment with the sound. Throw in a pedal and some feedback with an amp and they are hooked.

My son wanted to play The Avett Brothers on guitar at 4. We open tuned his electric and he could strum and sing to any of their songs. Very happy guy. We have a lot of guitars at our house. Classical, acoustic and electric. If we had forced him to try classical he wouldn't have loved it and would have stopped playing. It totally depends on your kid. If we had listened to everyone else we would have waited for piano until after 6. We started at 5 and he's already at an intermediate level loving Bach and Mozart. Go with whatever they want to do at 2.7 and you'll have a happy kid. Oh, and hand drums are also a must. We have bongos, a djembe, shakers, tambourines, make your own instruments!

Experiment and have fun! Can you tell we love music at our house?

That's great information, DrummerLiz! So glad you shared! I adore the idea of a family jam session!!! What kind of songs does your DS write? That kind of stuff should go in the ultimate brag thread!

If you'd be willing to dig up the guitar model, I'd be much obliged. $120 is definitely a reasonable price for our budget. Also, good tip re: tuning.

I'd LOVE for DS to take Suzuki lessons, but our conservatory doesn't offer them for guitar, sadly. As to cello, I'd love to learn that.

What's most important is that DS fall in love with his instrument(s). I play piano and violin and sing, but a friend of mine in high school had about 7 instruments that she played at a grade 8+ level, and I can see DS being a bit of a musical polymath like her. He likes drums, guitar, voice, and piano, though that's what he has exposure to in our home. We have a keyboard and electronic drum kit that get a fair bit of play--great in a loft--and he managed to pull out a C scale intuitively one day, which earned some applause from me.

Music is a way of life for us. I'm sure it comes through in my post, and I would even consider getting him lessons on 2 or more instruments simultaneously if he was motivated down the road.

Rock on, aquinas' DS!

Sending you a PM.

You'll laugh, but DS' favourite thing at the playground is a set of plastic bongos on the play structure!

I also agree about respecting the style of the child. I'm no Beatles fan--but I try to expose DS to a WIDE variety of bands and genres because music is so individual. I'd hate for him not to find his favourite music because I was too provincial not to play it. You have to find and own your style, so much the better if you can carve out an autonomous identity from your parents in one area as a child. It's liberating!

Awesome! Thanks Mana! He's got the sunglasses to show he means business, too.

Just for fun, here's a little ear candy to thank for everyone kind enough to offer feedback: Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, arguably two of the world's best drummers, playing a drum-off.