We are constantly asked the same question. Which guitar should my child learn on. There is no easy answer but we must
stress that the old idea that they must learn classical guitar first is erroneous. Let's go through them one by one.
Acoustic
Guitar
The acoustic guitar has steel strings and is played with a pick or with the fingers. Although a very versatile
instrument, it suffers from being the hardest to actually finger as it has thicker strings which need more pressure. The acoustic
guitar is primarily used for playing chords in the early days.
Classical Guitar
The classical
guitar has a wider fingerboard and nylon strings, although three of these are coated with steel. It is primarily used to play
classical music and is always played with the fingers.
Electric Guitar
The electric
guitar is probably the easiest to get instant gratification on. It has a slimmer narrower neck than the other two and is primarily
played with a pick.
Younger Children
We recommend the classical guitar to pre-teen children
as it can be smaller and lighter to play. There is plenty of non-classical music available for younger children and the grounding
it gives can help with playing all types of music later on. They will also have to learn to read music.
Older
Children
Unless they really want to play the classical guitar it is best for them to start straight away on an electric.
It is far easier to play, the music is written in TAB which is like playing by numbers and there are vast resources on the
internet to keep them interested.
I Want Them To Play Classical Guitar For The First Couple Of
Years.
This is the big no no. The techniques for playing classical guitar and electric guitar are totally different.
Hand positions, width of neck, fingers instead of pick, it's almost like chalk and cheese. So, once again, unless your
child wants to play the classical guitar you will be wasting money and possibly putting your child off the idea altogether.
