Teaching my kid to play when I don't?

[catmandu2]

I hope you'll inform us as to your progress/process with your kids. Mine are 10-11 and just now eligible for school band/orch ..

[Nashville]

Indulge her interest while she has it. Just so she can pick it up everyday and get to know it. That's the important first step. Worry about lessons after that. And certainly you can both learn a simple song together. There is no reason on earth to wait. Everybody is different and some kids don't get interested until older, some never get interested. If she is interested now then by all means get a cheapo for her and maybe one for you too. It's a no brainer.

[cgvm]

This is a valid point. I have essentially no mandolin knowledge and this is the key limiting factor. What I do have is the ability to assimilate, interpret, and communicate the knowledge of others in a way my daughter can follow, as you suggest. As a bonus, in the process of teaching her I'll be learning too, and will more than likely end up playing the mandolin myself.



This is pretty much what I'm thinking of as a game plan. To me, failure at this point means she becomes uninterested. I appreciate your thoughtful reply.

To get you and your daughter started the Beginner Series consisting of 9 tutorials available at MandoLessons.com focuses on the fundamentals and getting the beginner to progress from no prior experience to playing songs. A copy of Don Julin's "Mandolin for Dummies" as a supplement and source of practice exercises would be a good investment. Another excellent resource is "Beginning Mandolin" by Greg Horne (no relation to me).

Enjoy the journey!

[cgvm]

Indulge her interest while she has it. Just so she can pick it up everyday and get to know it. That's the important first step. Worry about lessons after that. And certainly you can both learn a simple song together. There is no reason on earth to wait. Everybody is different and some kids don't get interested until older, some never get interested. If she is interested now then by all means get a cheapo for her and maybe one for you too. It's a no brainer.

The Kentucky KM-150 A-style is a reasonably-priced beginner mandolin which often is sold with a hard-case and properly set-up. You can locate a retailer on this website if there are no music shops in your vicinity. The KM-150 came highly-recommended by the knowledgeable folks in this forum when I was looking for my first mandolin. I enjoy playing it and is pleasant to the ears (and keys). Avoid the sub two hundred dollar (regular price) mandolins.