# Looking for a guitar teacher for kids in Ottawa



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I bought a Simon & Patrick Parlor guitar a couple of weeks back which I am giving to my granddaughter on her 6th birthday this coming April. I also would like to have her take guitar lessons. So does anyone know a good guitar teacher for kids in West End Ottawa? Thanks in advance!

BTW, for those who are interested in how the guitar is, I was surprised when I played it at L&M. I was playing a Taylor Mini when the sales guy told me to try the S&P. It is a lot better sounding than the Taylor and the Martin LX1 I tried later on.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

If you're local to your granddaughter, why not teach her yourself (assuming you have the patience required)? Save money AND spend quality time.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

JBFairthorne said:


> If you're local to your granddaughter, why not teach her yourself (assuming you have the patience required)? Save money AND spend quality time.


I've never had guitar lessons so I don't have a clue on what to teach someone how to play guitar specially a 6 year old. I learned playing guitar by myself. I wish I could do it and I've been asked that by other family members but I have always told them I would if I knew how to. I'm hoping to find the best instruction that she could get as a starting point.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

lol. wise decision. its fun to play with kids and grandkids, but less fun to try to teach them. I have a very nice teacher, sent you a PM.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

zdogma said:


> lol. wise decision. its fun to play with kids and grandkids, but less fun to try to teach them. I have a very nice teacher, sent you a PM.


Thanks! I also question my patience. LOL


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

It's natural to want to start a child on an instrument you play (I also realize you mentioned having a guitar handy) but personally, for a child that young, I would get them piano lessons to start. It would teach them how to read music, basic timing and a bunch of other things that would relate to ANY instrument.

An added bonus is that a keyboard is linear, all the ascending and descending notes are in a straight line and make intuitive sense. The overlap of notes on a guitar fretboard makes it far less intuitive imo. Another plus is that many keyboards have a huge variety of sounds to play with, adding interest for a child, right out of the box without the need for pedals etc. 

Beyond that, the greatest hurdle to a young child learning guitar is the length of their fingers. Not that long fingers don't help with piano but, to start, finger length is less of an issue. Some open chords would be easier (A) but others would be far more difficult, if not impossible, to reach with short fingers(C, G). Even 5 power chords (A5 etc.) might be difficult once away from open position.

Another thought, many song writers who play piano AND other instruments often say they prefer to write on piano then play it with whatever instrument they feel works best. I'm not sure why, but it's common.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I totally agree with what you posted JB. They already have a piano and I just thought if I'm giving her a guitar, might as well provide the lessons too. Maybe what I can do is offer her either piano or guitar lessons whichever she prefers. I can also offer her drum lessons as her little brother already has a drum kit that I'm sure he won't mind lending her sister. I'm trying to give the grandkids all the opportunity to succeed in playing a musical instrument. Thanks for the advice.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

I'm also a big believer in having an instrument handy for the kids to handle even if they can't physically play it yet. They'll grow and eventually have the physical traits required and when they do it won't be totally foreign to them.


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## bluesician (Mar 14, 2007)

delete


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## amagras (Apr 22, 2015)

6-8 is the perfect age for start learning guitar, for piano it's 3.


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## johnnyshaka (Nov 2, 2014)

bluesician said:


> I've taught guitar to kids and as stated before, the biggest obstacle is finger length and finger/hand strength. My two cents is that you may want to hold off guitar for a few years and, if its a stringed instrument you want her to play, get her a ukelele. They're easier on the fingertips and don't require as much finger strength to play. And THEY'RE FUN! You want to make sure the lessons are fun...maybe sing songs along with her while she plays and you play. Then, when she gets older and bigger she can graduate to a guitar.
> 
> I used to get my student kids to squeeze a tennis ball to help develop finger and hand strength to play guitar. It definitely helped them.


My daughters have always enjoyed when I pull out the guitar and always want to "play" it but are quick to put it down because their fingers hurt. Inevitably it turns into "daddy, you hold the strings and I'll strum" so at least they are making some kind of noise.

They are now 9 and 7 and the oldest one has been taking piano lessons for 3 years and the youngest one (who expressed interest in learning to play the guitar in the past) decided she wanted to take ukulele lessons instead of piano or guitar. At first I was skeptical because I wasn't very familial with ukuleles at all. I thought they were pretty much cheap toy "guitars", but after doing some research I quickly realized it might be exactly what she needs to get started. Being a smaller instrument with nylon strings makes plenty of sense to me based on my experience with her quickly complaining about trying to play my guitar and promptly setting it down. Sure, some kids will be more persistent but apparently mine isn't one of those kids...lol.

The next hurdle was to find a teacher (I could probably teach her the basics but I think kids need that experience of being independent of mom and dad and learning the respect and responsibility they need to have with teachers/peers in a learning environment) and luckily the studio where we send the oldest daughter for piano just hired a teacher who listed ukulele as an option. Sweet.

We bought her a cheap ukulele (it's pink and she loves it!) that doesn't sound terrible all the time and she absolutely loves it. She's learned a bunch of chords and fun songs that she play and even sing. She can read basic sheet music and play something like Happy Birthday and her teacher has even taught her about tab. Heck, she's working on Vance Joy's "Riptide" right now and is even learning a little riff that includes hammer-ons...love it!

Bottom line is she loves to play it, is learning how to read music (traditional, tab and chord charts) and realizes that once she gets really good at it she can learn guitar because it's just a bigger ukulele!

Even better, when she's done practicing at home I pick it up and play for a bit and wouldn't mind looking into upgrading her instrument to something better sounding. We'll see.

And to your other point about strengthening your hand for guitar...I have two foam stress balls at my desk at work that I squeeze all day to try and get those barre chord muscles stronger...stupid barre chords! I also have a few of the same balls at home for my youngest to work with.


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## bluesician (Mar 14, 2007)

delete


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Thanks for the insight, Johnny. I'll see how it all pans out with the kids here. I'm hopin' to be playing with the grand kids in a couple of years or so.


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## Moosehead (Jan 6, 2011)

So I'm teaching a 6 yr old girl atm, wife's friends daughter. She got an acoustic for xmas and it was way to hard for her to fret the notes. Got one of those mini strats and some light Guage strings and it's game on.

I haven't taught many lessons but I usually start with down on the corner. Memorable little riff and a couple major chords. The few people I've taught can get at least the riff down in the first lesson. 

As far as piano of goes, I was put in piano when I was 7 or so, hated it and didn't return to music until 12 when I started on guitar. My advice is don't put a child into lessons they dont want to take. Anyone care to guess what Instrument my mom played? Yup, french horn. And piano. Nowadays I would really like to be able to be able to play piano but at the time I resented going as I wasn't at all interested.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I had the same experience as you Moosehead when I was young. I had piano lessons from the time I was 5 till I was 12. I quit playing as it wasn't 'cool' for a kid, let alone a boy to be getting piano lessons. |I regret that so much right now. I wish I played piano well, and I should've taken music in the university when I had the chance. Anyway, a year later after I quit piano, I got my mom to get me an acoustic and taught myself to accompany people when they want to sing. Even now, I can pretty much play anything as long as I have a chord sheet in front of me. Since I haven't had any formal training I've never experienced being taught guitar by someone. Although, I'm also thinking, since my granddaughter loves to sing, I could teach her how to accompany herself. Thing is, last video I got of her singing, she was doing 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' which in itself is not an easy song to play for a beginner.  I can play a jazzy version of it and maybe teach her that. 

I have over a month to think about this. Thanks for all your suggestions. Really appreciate it.


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## Moosehead (Jan 6, 2011)

Love this version. I still want to get a uke just to play this song.

this HTML class. Value is https://m.youtube.co


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## Motley (Jan 12, 2012)

I am very much a novice with guitar so take this for what it is worth. The reason I am taking up guitar again after 25 years (I did flirt with the idea a few years ago which is when I joined the forum but then chickened out) is that I am taking my 5 year old daughter to a Music For Young Children (http://www.myc.com/Default.aspx) class. It kind of got me hooked in trying again. Basically it teaches music using a piano, they have characters for all the different notes, animals for the beats etc. and simple songs to teach playing etc. At first it all seemed very random, then just before Christmas it all came together at once and she was playing simple tunes - even just by looking at the page and playing through. It has now stated to progress to reading more 'proper' music. They kinda trick the kids into learning using games. The added benefit is it is even working for me....

The down sides are you kinda have to commit to a year and also keep up with the 5 min a day practice.

So if she is interested in learning music it is worth considering. They are places all over, especially in Ottawa, I think the person that started it is from Kanata. We go here http://nicolecbowers.ca/ specifically and I think Nicole does a good job and is always good with the kids.

On the subject of Ukelele's I think that Festival House (the Dovercout/Bluesfest partnership does Ukelele lessons for kids and have lots of music camps and stuff)


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