lobematt Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi there, I may have a new guitar student taking lessons with me but the student is only 6 years old. I've taught kids from about 10 upwards but never this young. Does anybody have any advice on the sort of material I should be teaching with? As I've never taught anyone this young I'm just a bit unsure! Any advice would be appreciated, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 How long are you teaching them for? I've found anything more than 30 mins with a child this young is nigh on impossible. They just don't have the concentration span for it. Start with simple things, how to hold the guitar, names of strings. Maybe begin with simple melodies on a single string. I don't whether it was just the kids i was teaching, but they were much more interested in knowing the names of different parts of the guitar than actually playing the thing at first. I've had a print out of a guitar before with arrows pointing at different parts of the guitar for them to take home and write the parts on. Seems to keep them interested at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Not a teacher myself but I learnt from a very young age (4-5) on organ and then keyboard. It will depend a lot on whether the child wants to learn or the parent IMHO. If it's the parent then it's worth asking how they will be judging progress. If it's the child then it's a case of keep them interested. In either case I would try and make sure they have something simple they can play and work on each time from both the knowledge and technique from both. I wouldn't worry too much if they don't pick up both in the same week but at least then they are making the decision. The above is how I remember my organ tutors methods. Learn a bit, play a bit, learn a bit end session. Then set "homework" for next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Cheers guys. Yeah it's only a 30 min lesson, I've made the mistake of trying to do an hour with an 8 year old before, not good! The guitar diagram sounds like a good idea too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi, I've certainly found that it pays to spend time chatting and finding out what the student likes. One of my younger ones likes Pokemon, so using a number of Pokemon style games tied together as 'building blocks' i've been able to teach some fairly complex theories for a younger learner. Being able to drip feed theory and technique through play works well too. Lots of games, lots of fun. A dry guitar lesson would bore the pants out of me, so will definitely have the same effect on a student. Yes, i agree about lesson length. 30mins is nearing the limit for the younger ones. Keep them interested with varied lessons. Last week I did a set of lessons about rhythm with a whole selection of hand drums and things to make noise with in my studio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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