get those minor chords early

[Bill Bradshaw]

What fun! My 9 month old granddaughter shredding on an old Gibson..

[LadysSolo]

Too cute! Addict them early!

[foldedpath]

Kid's got a future in music!

Something that worked really well with our grandkids when they visited us, was putting one of my old metal-body 1930's Dobros on the floor, and giving them a bottleneck slide to play with. These guitars were always tuned to an open chord, and so just sliding up and down the fretboard made neat sounds. When they got older, they would progress to finding chord positions across the strings while strumming. With a metal body and high string action, there was no way they could damage the instrument. Any old beater guitar tuned to an open chord can work like this.

For the really young ones, shaky eggs and maracas are always a hit... if you can stop them from throwing them across the room. Get them started on rhythm early!

[Bill Bradshaw]

It's just fun. She sure can't hurt that old mandolin that a neighbor gave me a while back. Heck, if my dad woulda put a mando in front of me at that age, maybe I could actually play one by now. Hah. instead he gave me a fishing pole so I got stuck being a fisheries biologist. Cheers to all. BB

[BrianWilliam]

Looks like a dom 7th to me. Nice!

[MontanaMatt]

I look forward to helping my boy learn about music! I know to tred lightly and not push. As for now he loves it!

(I don't know how to invert the thumbnail...click on it and it's upright)
P.s. I should add Tiny Cowboy Guitar to my gear list!

[Mark Gunter]

I love it! I was playing guitar at a gathering on my brother's carport in Louisiana year before last, and this young tyke (a neice's son) who'd been watching closely waddled up and started strumming with me in the middle of a song. His mom started freaking and I hushed her up; I can use all the help I can get. The kid loved it for a moment.

Here, two great-grandkids take a keen interest in my Eastman from last summer July 4:

[Ivan Kelsall]

If you have children or grand children,expose them to 'live' music as early as you can IMHO. I was always a keen Rock 'n Roll addict back in the late 1950's ( i left school at age 15 in 1960) & loved the sound of the guitar,but it wasn't until i met the guy who taught me how to play banjo-uke in 1963 at work,that i had a 'hands on' encounter. I had my grandfather's old banjo-uke at home,& honestly,i didn't know that it was a musical instrument until i saw my friend play his. That was the start of it for me. I learned banjo-uke easily,graduated to banjo in late '63 & had a band by 1966. I also learned very early on that i'm hellishly good at 'copying' & that's how i've taught myself by ear - copying everything i've taken a shine to.
How much better,or more accomplished would i have been if my grandfather had taught me how to play when i was very young ??.

Children as many of us know, are far more aware than we ever once imagined. They're like little blotting pads & soak up all sorts of things. Exposure to live music,something that they can watch as well as hear, could set them off on a lifetime's musical journey,
Ivan

[pops1]

I gave my kids a tenor and baritone uke when they were very young. I open tuned them so they would sound a chord when strummed and no learning necessary. I told them these are real instruments like mine and they treated them with respect. They are both musicians today. I think it helps when a parent plays in the house, they want to be like mom or dad and play too.

[doublestoptremolo]

True story: about 3 weeks ago I was driving my 2-year-old daughter to daycare, and I had Flatt & Scruggs "Mercury Sessions" in the CD player. Usually she just listens to whatever I play without comment, but she piped up and said she didn't like the music. I asked her what she wanted to listen to, thinking "Frozen" or "Now that's what I call Disney Princess," but she said, "Bill Monroe." I popped in a CD from the 1950-1958 box set and she listened quietly the rest of the drive. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.

[MontanaMatt]

I gave my kids a tenor and baritone uke when they were very young. I open tuned them so they would sound a chord when strummed and no learning necessary. I told them these are real instruments like mine and they treated them with respect. They are both musicians today. I think it helps when a parent plays in the house, they want to be like mom or dad and play too.

I saw a great rant online once about the disrespect the Uke gets and that it is universally chosen as the sacrificial lamb for children to beat on. My kid usually takes good care of his tiny guitar/uke, but I had to stop him from using it as a step stool for reaching the counter the other day!

[pops1]

I saw a great rant online once about the disrespect the Uke gets and that it is universally chosen as the sacrificial lamb for children to beat on. My kid usually takes good care of his tiny guitar/uke, but I had to stop him from using it as a step stool for reaching the counter the other day!

The kids had these for years, they didn't treat their plastic guitars like the uke's. After a friend had kids I sold them to him for his kids. They were still in great shape. Maybe I got lucky.

[Matt Harris]

I built this 17" scale electric guitar for my girls to mess around on. They've also got a few cheapo on instruments, ukulele, drums, etc. But so far this is their only custom build.

[catmandu2]

Electric. Ya I was most compelled by my dad's electric Hawaiian lap steel - all that shiny metal, psychedelic celluloid fingerpicks...still among my most evocative memories and playing interests today.

Of course we all love acoustic instruments here, but don't be surprised if/when your kids take interest in electronics/tech, rock, et al. It's what they get in school, through peers, media, successful college degree components, etc. Rock today is a stew of anything, so no doubt your kids are exposed to so much of this by middle school or earlier..a lot of this is great too.

I'm interested to see if/how my kids use music in their adult lives. A nice side effect of giving up playing in bars til 2 am (among many other things) is that my kids get to observe the value/function of (live) music in various contexts. They've acquired the typical peer-induced interests in tech, hip-hop, et al, so I'm glad I can model 'relevant' alternatives to all that

[MikeZito]

I gave my son an old Les Paul copy as a toy to bang and crawl on when he was two.

At four he knew a Rickenbacker from a Les Paul from Telecaster.

At five he dressed up as John Fogerty for Halloween; (checkered shirt and tennis racquet guitar).

At six he got a Fender Dou-Sonic for Christmas.

Today, he is a far more superior player than I am.

[fscotte]

Haha awesome!

[Mark Gunter]

I gave my son an old Les Paul copy as a toy to bang and crawl on when he was two.

At four he knew a Rickenbacker from a Les Paul from Telecaster.

At five he dressed up as John Fogerty for Halloween; (checkered shirt and tennis racquet guitar).

At six he got a Fender Dou-Sonic for Christmas.

Today, he is a far more superior player than I am.

Great story

[Ivan Kelsall]

From doublestop - "..but she said, "Bill Monroe." ..". Obviously a young lady of very discerning taste !!,
Ivan