You know, those cheap guitars that you get at Target or Walmart. Are they any good? Don’t worry… I’ve got your answers…
Agree or Disagree?
Let me know in the comments below…
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(Jake Posko does in-home and online guitar lessons in the Annapolis, Maryland area including: Annapolis, Edgewater, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold and Kent Island, inquire about lessons by e-mailing him at jake@jakeposko.com).
Jody does an awesome job breaking it down… even if the chords that Jody uses are beyond your skill level… the tips/techniques are amazing and will absolutely help you learn chords faster.
(Jake Posko does in-home and online guitar lessons in the Annapolis, Maryland area including: Annapolis, Edgewater, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold and Kent Island, inquire about lessons by e-mailing him at jake@jakeposko.com).
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
I’ve gone through a ton of different guitar tuners since I started playing.
The old kind that you plug directly into.
The kind with a microphone that you sit on your lap.
Even just tuning to songs I know are already in the key of E.
Guitar tuner apps that basically do the same thing.
(FYI – if you’re looking for a guitar tuner app or any guitar apps click here, I like the Pano Tuner app… it’s a free guitar tuner app and works on iOS and Android)
And lastly…. I’ve definitely been through a ton of different kinds of clip on tuners.
When you’re looking for a guitar for a child, it can be tricky to find the right size and style. I’ve written about it before (here), but I thought providing an actual specific instrument may be helpful. So here’s your step by step guide:
1. Don’t buy a “Toy Guitar”
If you want your child to learn, a toy guitar is barely even a guitar. It’s going to be really hard to stay in tune, and even harder to play. These guitars are usually set up so that you have to use a lot of pressure to press down the strings which will: 1) Make the guitar sound not-so-great and 2) Really hurt your fingers.
The $30 price tag may be appealing, and you may think, I’ll just get this for my child to try out. Don’t do it.
2. Be aware that if you buy a guitar for a child, they will grow out of it.
No way around this my friends. Your kid is gonna grow. By the time they hit 11, 12, or 13 (depending on their size), you’re probably going to have to upgrade to a standard size guitar. DO NOT buy a standard/normal size guitar for a child (unless they are really really tall). It will be so frustrating for them to learn to play (maybe even impossible).
3. Take a guitar lesson ahead of time (if possible).
I offer a trial-lesson. And I also provide a child-sized guitar if the student doesn’t have one. This does a few things:
It allows them to try out the instrument to see if they like it
It allows them to try out a lesson with me (to see if they like me)
It allows them to learn (at least a little) bit of music so…
…after our lesson, they can go to a music store and try out a guitar using what they’ve learned.
You really can’t go wrong with this guitar. It’s small enough for most kids. It’s made by a reputable brand (Hohner is super famous for harmonicas). It’s not super expensive (about $90). Plus you can sell it on Craigslist when they outgrow it and let someone else enjoy it.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
When should you change your guitar strings? I don’t really care.
Frequently, folks ask me how often they should change or replace their guitar strings. As with most of my guitar-related questions, my answer is an obnoxious: “It depends…” (see: this, and this, and this)
Michael Scott holds to key to music perfection. Read on…
I’ve written about practice a bunch of times. If you haven’t, I totally recommend going back and reading those articles… or you can just get the bullet points…
My last post about how much guitar lessons costhas proven to be pretty popular… So I thought I should do a follow-up with a little more detail (for all of you informed consumers).
Last time we gave an overview based on certain criteria (e.g. lesson length, in-studio vs in-home). This time we’ll try to break it down by, “what you get for the money”…
