This whole site is being re-done as of November 3rd and will be finished by month’s end.
For now I want to tell you a few things that might help; a few tips and advice.
The first lesson:
You need a guitar. Some people believe it or not have asked me wether they need a guitar or if they can just use mine when they come. First off, how would you practice? Sounds silly, right? Second, if it is a question of money, some music stores will let you rent a guitar which is a god idea if you are not sure your child will stay with it. But you need a guitar. And you need an 8 1/2″ by 11″ notebook; not a music book but a notebook you would use in a writing class. See the picture below.
Buying a guitar:
Both acoustic and electric guitars should be purchased without going too low on a budget. What I’m saying is if you cheap out and pay less than $200, than you are buying junk. There are some models you can buy for just a little less than $200 in the $175 range but be careful. I would look for Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, or Epiphone. If you do spend less than $150 lets say, than you are ruining the experience as the guitar will not stay in tune that well and the guitar itself will not sound that good. I’s hard to explain in detail in writing and better in person but I’ll try. Cheaper guitars may seem like they are in tune at some point but when you push down on the strings they (the pitch/sound) moves too much up and down making the chords sound awful. I’ve seen parents really try to cheap out on this part and they get their child a really cheap guitar that really ruins the experience. Imagine I tell you that we are going to go playing and swimming at a great famous beach and then I take you to a local community “kiddy pool.” Not good, right? You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars. You can if you want and have that kind of money but all you need to do for a starter guitar is spend between $200 and $500. Even spending over $350/$400 is unnecessary. Telling you a model isn’t important. I’ll tell you something most people don’t know. I used to work for Sam Ash and Guitar Center and the funny little secret is that many different companies have their guitars made at the same factories over seas. So if you think you are getting a guitar from let’s say “Company A” for $300 is better than a guitar from “Company B,” well they are )like I said) probably made at the same factory. By the way, $350 is a great range for guitars. Not saying it will be a great guitar but it is a great price for a starter guitar. Also think about buying a used guitar but (and I need to keep this short because I cold write a book on this one) if you buy a used guitar, make sure you Google it (search online) and make sure it was worth at least $300 or more brand new. I see many people get suckered into buying a used guitar for $150 that costs $150 new or they spend $100 on a guitar that costs $150 but was a piece of junk.
Very important for beginners; do NOT buy a guitar with a tremolo bar when you are first starting out.
Sheet music:
I get no affiliate referral fee of any kind but want to share with you two books I like for beginners. They are not method or planner books. Instead, one is a Beatles book and the other introduces you to scales and soloing. See below.
And for those who want a far reaching, full list, scales for pros book, here is the Guitar Grimoire:.
Come back for much, much more when this site is updated by the end of November 2019. Thank you.