Anyone teaching their kids to ply?

[Jack C]

After several aborted attempts to get my 10 year old son to learn to play over the years, he's finally interested. He's learning bass because it's easier to get started and I have a short scale Fender Musicmaster that fits him. So far, I've just been teaching him how to fret notes and pick/pluck. The first song he learned was one of my originals, which is pretty cool.

Anyone successfully teaching their kid to play? It's been a test of my patience, that's for sure... If anyone has any tips or suggested books or tools, I'd appreciate it.

[Feynman]

I hear about people doing this, and I'd be a little jealous. Even if I could, I think it would be stressful and frustrating for both of us. Who the heck wants to listen to their father?

I'd go with lessons and then try to just have fun reviews and practice sessions with the kids.

Of course, you are a true pro and your kids probably like you.

[Carl.B]

Find a good instructor for him I found sometimes the undo pressure to impress dad or piss him off slows down the learning curve. I would help my son on some of his lessons early on but I was surprised how quickly he caught on with out my interference. We were lucky and found a him a great teacher and he gave him more structure in his lesson plans which in turn increased his success. By the time he was in high school every local band wanted him play with them and then he was offered 2 different music scholarships.

Carl B

[gorch]

All of our three boys went into music at 6. We pay for a teacher and its mostly me who's accompanying throughout the week. Since we pay for the teacher, we've set the daily playing on the same level to school homework. Daily control works until they reach about 13 or so. Children never force themselves the way adults could. So, it's your turn to drive them patiently.

Over the years, one moved from piano to bass and successfully runs his own band. Another seems to quit guitar after 11 years. He played cello for about 4 years through school. Eventually turned to electronic music on the computer. The third makes a pretty good learning curve on drums. It's to early for him to say where it goes.

[Tres Aardvarks]

Our 3 year old loves music, and has since he was playing the drums at 2 (pretty well too, hands crossed over to play the hi-hat and snare). Anyway, we just encourage him, try to give him a little bit of help, but mostly he learns by watching. So, I'll play with him and the next day he'll be trying to strum the way I do. His "uncle" is a pro guitarist, so Matt wants to be like him. Figure he'll be the one to give Matt lessons when he can hold the strings down.

I can tell you this from experience: the best way to discourage a kid from playing music is to make (what you consider harmless) comments about it. When I first started playing low brass in school (in 5th grade), I came up from the basement where I'd been practicing and my mom laughed and said "it sounds like a cow down there!". That snarky remark has stuck with me for over 20 years.

[burningyen]

My 3-yr-old is singing our ears off. We just spent a week in the Poconos and every car ride it was "Do Re Mi" or "Tomorrow" hundreds of times. We plan to get her started on violin soon. Some of our friends have had success teaching their own kids, but I think I prefer to farm it out for the reasons Carl mentioned.

[Stike]

My 3-yr-old is singing our ears off. We just spent a week in the Poconos and every car ride it was "Do Re Mi" or "Tomorrow" hundreds of times. We plan to get her started on violin soon. Some of our friends have had success teaching their own kids, but I think I prefer to farm it out for the reasons Carl mentioned.

"Tomorrow"? You poor man.

[bubs_42]

Its only a day away! My 3 year old is has taking a liking to sitting at the piano and singing. Last night I was making dinner and realized she was holding a rythm while she was singing. Then all of a sudden a complete trainwreck. I'm afraid she has been listening to me.

[Jeff R]

My oldest son (22 this year) is very good on guitar. His primary instrument is piano - he's played since he was a young child and he took to that very quickly and unbelievably well - his piano teacher as a child, a 30+ year retired music educator, taught him for free because she was convinced he was potentially the best piano student she'd taught during her tenure. He also played drums in his junior high and high school bands and had a Tama kit around the house. IMHO, if you're a good piano player and a good drummer, guitar playing is probably a given.

I never really "taught" him how to play anything on guitar, he just watched and listened to me play all his life and then he just started playing around on my guitars out of nowhere. He applied all the general music theory via piano and percussion plus finger dexterity he already possessed and just expressed it via a different platform. I gave him a basic chord book, he learned the blueprint on the fretboard so to speak and didn't look back.

[polara]

My six-year-old has a nylon-string guitar and yeah, kids will NOT push themselves to learn. Which is cool. We have a weekly time when I sit down with her, her best friend, and her best friend's mom and we just do some exercises. A few basic chords, some strumming in time together, etc. I figure she'll start expressing some keen interest in SOMETHING and then we can get "serious" but so far it's ballet for her. We just keep it fun, so that she can think of music as being something normal and enjoyable.

[hamerhead]

For a kindergarten project, my oldest daughter had 2 weeks to learn a skill that she didn't have before and do it in front of the class. She wanted to play guitar. I think I suggested finding something a bit easier, but we re-strung a small acoustic up left-handed, printed out some chord charts, and sure enough in 2 weeks she could finger all of the major chords. I thought how cool is that?!?

She performed for her class and never touched it again.

My youngest tried when she was really little, but it hurt her fingers. Her Mom already had her in piano lessons, and she took up the viola in grade school, which toughened up her fingers. She eventually started playing guitar in high school, and got good enough to do some local coffee house gigs - but with no help from me at all. She wanted to do it herself. It's a little frustrating to know you could have helped, but couldn't. At the same time, it's pretty cool to know that she went and did herself, her way. Had to prove something to the old man, I guess.

I'm good with that.

[Hbom]

I got no kids around to teach, probably a good thing, since I haven't been able to teach myself much over the years.

But I have bought a bunch of crap the past few years, including a box full of digital guitar lessons, everything from the basics to way over my ability. And another box full of printed song books.

Those, combined with a pile of guitars I can't play, led me to offering my play room to some of the neighborhood kids to learn to play.

Started with a 12 year old boy last summer, now I have 3. I added a girl 13 & her 9 year old brother. There's another who wants to learn to play rock & roll guitar, but his folks put the grades 1st rule in force, so he's only Saturday afternoons until the 1st report cards come out.

Each one gets an hour in the room twice a week; they play what they want and are learning at their own speed. I pretty much stay out of the way except to try to answer a question now and then. And telling the 12 yr. old to turn it down! He's got a real thing about LOUD!!!

It's fun to just listen from the other room and watch them grow.

So while I don't teach, I do facilitate. So far it's a win win. The kids are having a good time. And their parents are happy too.

[3of5]

I'm wondering when my son will have enough time to give me lessons.

[Stella]

I am a beginning guitarist who had been lucky enough to have a good friend teach me and work with me to get better. I love it, and want this joy for my kids too. Unfortunately, they were not nearly as interested in the joy. That is, until the joy took the form of a baby blue ukulele with dolphin tuning pegs. It's happy sounds and general demeanor lift the mood of even the hormonal teen. The chords are easy to form and the strings don't hurt your fingers. Hoping it translates into playing an actual guitar one of these days, but it is a start.

[Ting Ho Dung]

It's going to be up to your kid (s). Not you.

[Crimsontider]

It's going to be up to your kid (s). Not you.

Agree. If I could do it over again, I would have had background music near constantly playing from day 1 until he was out of the cradle. If he does end up with the bug, I would think this would have a huge impact later. When you start playing doesn't seem to be that big of a deal unless he displays prodigy like singing or rhythm. I would always get them a guitar if they want it or not, and have a piano in the house. Besides that, the when and what is up to them. Although piano lessons are good, playing by ear is how good musicians learn, unless you are just a recital player.

My son had zero interest in the guitar, drumset and VSTI Computer Host and Keyboard I bought him from 8-14 and then all of a sudden around 16 he started playing drums (All State) and producing music on the PC, which he does songs and beats for those dime a dozen rappers on the net, but they pay him a little.

But exposure to music from day one is crucial! I think it will make writing more natural down the road, just like verbal communications.

[FGJ]

My four kids dig music. My wife is teaching them the piano and I'm teaching two them guitar. My son seems to be showing interest in drums, so I'm encouraging him on the kids' drum set we have.

I have a buddy who went to school to be a professional guitarist, even though he ended up not perusing that. However, he's taught me a lot about scales and theory. He's good at simplifying things in a way that helps. He's really helped me a lot.

[Michael_B]

I figured I'd teach my kids "right". I started with teaching my twin (then 8-year old) boys to read music and play simple melodies. They did great despite the fact that the melodies were boring and "kiddy" to them. Then, I started to teach them open chords and teach them simple/common progressions. Again, they did great.

The problem was, they did it to please me; they didn't care about guitar or guitar music. The music that they like is Top 40 and hip-hop. So, I couldn't teach them any songs that they liked. On the rare occasion that I would get them tabs for the music that they liked, it didn't sound sufficiently similar to make them happy.

To their credit, the kids stuck to it, until after a couple of months, when I realized that they were still not enjoying it at all. When I offered to let them stop, they did. I invited them to come back to me, if they ever become interested.

So here's my take-away on teaching your kids. It's not hard. Teaching them to read simple melodies wasn't very hard. Teaching them open chords wasn't very hard. If they had progressed to that point, I believe that teaching them scales would have been easy, too. But, if they don't love it, you're just going to be giving them additional work.

[burningyen]

My 3-yr-old is singing our ears off. We just spent a week in the Poconos and every car ride it was "Do Re Mi" or "Tomorrow" hundreds of times. We plan to get her started on violin soon. Some of our friends have had success teaching their own kids, but I think I prefer to farm it out for the reasons Carl mentioned.

I forgot all about this thread. Our now-4-yr-old ended up surprising us and chose the cello (much to my former professional cellist wife's delight). She's been at it since Xmas and making good progress. She didn't really understand what she was getting into in terms of the practicing, and the 1st couple of months were hard, but now that she's really picking things up and playing songs she looks forward to practicing (most of the time).

[dragan]

I have taught lots of kids , not mine , he digs music but wants nothin to do with playing it

[Biz Prof]

Both of my middle-school-aged kids are in concert band. My son is actually using my refurbed 30-year-old Bach Strad Model 37 and seems to really like playing trumpet. Neither has shown much of an interest in guitar, but my five-year-old is a different story. She keeps my Baby Taylor in her bedroom and strums on it while improvising lyrics on the fly. I think it's important to keep the tools available and to let them develop their interest naturally. When I see the interest, I'll get involved. Until then, I'll stand back and let them explore.

[kizanski]

No. If I wanted to hear someone who has the playing ability of a toddler, I have myself.

[gorch]

We are doing good in the family over here. Anyone improved on his instrument or in the band. Even, I became a guitar teacher now.