Whenever we think about kids’ abilities in terms of achieving what we regard complex accomplishments, we tend inevitably to underestimate their skills because of their young age. If this is mainly true when we consider tasks which involve mainly intellectual abilities or physical strength, it can be absolutely true the opposite when we take into consideration activities which require manual dexterity and good muscle memory. Playing the guitar is one of those activities.
The brain of a kid works like a huge empty hard disk ready to store as many information as possible, free from all the mental infrastructures which he is going to develop and inherit in the course of his life. At the same time his body, and in this particular case his hands and his fingers, are still incredibly flexible and capable of considerable stretches. Those are the ideal conditions to approach the study of a musical instrument, and in our particular case the study of guitar.
This is the reason why guitar lessons for kids are extremely important and valuable, providing them with the chance of discovering and developing their musical abilities. No need to say this doesn’t mean every kid is cut to become a professional guitarist, but on the other hand kid guitar lessons can increase dramatically the possibilities of reaching the full potential of the students.
Romance (anonymous) – performed by Federico Chianucci
Usually the average age to start with the guitar is between eight and ten years, but in some cases, when the kid shows particular interest and dedication we can start even earlier. In this early stage of the learning process a full size guitar would be impossible to be played and for this reason we usually adopt a ½ guitar, absolutely identical to a guitar for adults except for the reduced dimensions. At about twelve years of age it is usually time to switch to a ¾ size guitar to get to the full size at about fourteen. The student will progressively learn not only how to properly play the guitar but even how to read the music in a challenging but engaging way, in order to stimulate his passion and interest for the instrument.
Here at the Fingerstyle & Classical Guitar Studio, thanks to several years of experience in teaching kids of different ages and different skills, we can provide kids guitar lessons extremely focused on the individual learning needs, in order to exploit in the best way the unique abilities every single student presents. It is the teacher’s task to be able to establish a relationship of friendship and trust with the student in such a way as to know how to guide him during the learning process. Being sensitive enough to understand the right moment and the right way to correct, to encourage or to praise him along his path can be absolutely decisive in the final result of the studies. For us being a good teacher it is not just a matter of developing the technical skills of the student but mainly taking charge of his development not only as musician but even as mature and responsible human being.