Is my brother too young to learn acoustic?
Greetings!
My younger brother will turn 12 in a few weeks time (on the same day I turn 24... Crazy, eh?) and has expressed an interest in learning guitar.
We don't live together, and I only see him on weekends, but I'm more than happy to show him a few chords to get him started, and take it as far as he wants to go. I was taught by my uncle, and he thought best (and looking back, I wholeheartedly agree), to start on acoustic. My uncle told me it'd build my muscles up, and the initial pain would be worth it in the end! True, true...
Thing is though, I play my Ibanez EP-9 with 13/14s on it... I mean, he's a strong kid n all, but arm strength means bugger all the first time you try holding an A minor.
I would get him a guitar for his birthday, but he's a typical child (one could say a typical musician), who has fleeting interests in such things. If he kept it up for a few weeks though, I could find him a decent starter acoustic like my uncle did for me.
What do you think? Is 12 years too young for a child to be playing a heavy gauge acoustic? Should we get him a guitar if he keeps it up for a few weeks?
PS; I'm not restringing my baby to teach a child A minor.
Perhaps get him a cheap nylon strung guitar first and a steel string can be an incentive. It'll be easier on the fingers for him and gague whether or not he likes guitar. If he continues to show interest, then get an acoustic down the line.
Guthrie Govan's first day at Nursery was spent wondering where all the other kid's guitars were.
12's a good age, I like the idea of the nylon string classical.
Starting off on an electric is better I find than an acoustic for younger players due to the lower string tension, perhaps pick him up a cheap strat/les paul with a semi decent setup...when doing lessons I can't believe how much a bad setup puts off younger players.
then progress onto an acoustic ?
- if you decide to go that route I have a cheap strat for £40 that my daughter used to play till she got a squier telecaster.
There was a thread similar to this some months back. It may be best to ask him what kind of music he wants to play, and let this determine what kind of guitar you give him. Just remember Martin Taylor started playing guitar when he was 4 years old!!
Thing is... I was brought up on The Kinks, The Small Faces, The Jam... When I got a bit older, my Dad & Uncle introduced me to Pink Floyd, Radiohead & Nirvana. When I first started listening to my own music, I fell in love with the White Stripes when I heard White Blood Cells.
My brother wants to learn Eminem... That's why I'm concerned. I think he just wants to be like me, but I don't see him as someone with a love for music at all, to be honest.
Nothing wrong with wanting to learn *any* kind of music. If he wants to learn eminem, let him.Originally Posted by Tenebrous
I would have thought that your older brother treating you like you have "no love for music" would be guaranteed to put you off. Better to nurture an interest in trying to emulate his own musical heroes (be that on guitar, or on any other instrument) than trying to force your own on him and putting him off for life.
12 is fine
Plenty of people learn at 6 or 7.
I see nothing wrong with learning on electric if he wants. I didn't have much interest in acoustic when I was a kid and I still don't.
I happily play electric with 11s so it did me no harm.
I guess not eh?
I started when I was 12 and I was handed a £30 nylon guitar.
I was told that if I kept it up I could get a better one. I to was very fickle with my interests.
About 9 months later and never putting down the nylon I got my first electric and the rest is history.
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