Guitar Teacher for 7 year old
Can anyone recommend a Guitar Teacher for a 7 year old boy? I am in Westford and would like to keep it local & affordable.
2/12/2008 2:15:47 PM
Email Rob, he may be available. robkeeler AT comcast DOT net
2/12/2008 2:17:32 PM
Denis Brunelle--978-790-7903
Great guy and skilled player. Highly recomended
2/12/2008 3:20:11 PM
recommended
2/12/2008 3:20:59 PM
Can I make a suggestion?
7 is pretty young to start playing, but I think it's great.
I just want to say that I started at age 10. It was plastic guitar with nylon strings, and later on, found that steel strings were painful and hard for tender small fingers. So whoever you get, it might be good to start with nylon strings and a short scale neck.
That's just a suggestion. Make it fun. Not work. Let the kid pretend he's a rock star, and encourage him, (or her)
I'd say the worst thing to do is to make itpainful (physically with steel strings) OR unpleasant by being strict and overly mathematical about it.
2/12/2008 9:59:54 PM
One other suggestion: Find a song or a piece of a song that the kid really loves and thinks is cool, and show the kid how to play a little bit of that song.
that's gonna be the key to keeping that kid interested in playing. It has to be fun. That's why they call it Playing.
I hope you find a teacher who understand those things and not just some guy who will take your money for a half hour "lesson."
2/12/2008 10:13:08 PM
Yeah, forget guitar teachers. They're all scam artists.
2/12/2008 10:25:35 PM
WOE!
Hold on there!
Did I say that?
Did I say to forget guitar teachers?
Did I say that they were all scam artists?
WTF is wrong here lately?
I gave some good advice.
you wanna correct that? or WTF?
2/12/2008 10:49:47 PM
Can a person state an opinion anymore on LR?
I was trying to help someone, based on my experience.
2/12/2008 10:50:55 PM
Dennis, are you suggesting that a 7 year old should start on on some 10 gauge strings witha Les Paul?
Should he start right out with a book in front of him at 7 years old?
Were you ever 7?
can you remember just trying to READ at 7?
How about a 7 year old's fingers?
Most grown women feel pain playing electric guitars.
I'm suggesting a guitar neck that fits the size of the child's hand.
I'm suggesting strings that wont hurt.
I'm suggesting a teacher that emphasizes building confidence through playing songs that the student likes.
I'm suggesting encouragement over testing.
At age 7 that's what makes a kid WANT to play.
Now go have a Doctor Pepper.
2/12/2008 11:00:15 PM
He was joking Ken...
Kennium is right, kids need to *want* to play, not be forced to play. When I was trying to learn my first teacher kept trying to make me learn songs I'd never heard of, in a style I had no interest in playing. You have to make it something they can't help themselves from doing -- and they don't even have to be alone to do it.
But it probably helps...
2/12/2008 11:00:55 PM
I'm suggesting a teacher who understands a 7 year old.
2/12/2008 11:01:25 PM
Kenny, if you find someone who understands a 7 year old, can you send them over here to help me figure out mine? hehe
Seriously..a seven year old playing guitar...that's gotta be one talented, mature, dedicated 7 year old. Mine is really into karate, she's a green belt in Kyokushin karate, yet getting her to practice that is tough.
Make it fun, good advice.
2/12/2008 11:04:46 PM
This farging site lately.... everything you say becomes a shit slinging dick measurement.
What I said, I meant.
Cut me down all you want. I know what I meant, and what I meant was good advice.
Or go the other route:
get that 7 year old a big scary book. Sit him down witha Les Paul and some heavy strings, and instead of making it fun, break the notes down into quarter notes, whole notes eighth notes,
teach him the minor and major scales, and the Nashville numbering system. Don't let him have fun experimenting. ! GOD NO! THAT"S WRONG! If he lives though that he might even continue on to be another soul-less closed minded hack who get's his jollies proving how fucking sophisticated he is on some website.
2/12/2008 11:09:34 PM
AAAAAHHHHRRRRGGG!!!!
Let the kid play!
2/12/2008 11:10:24 PM
Bring me the kid. I'll teach him how to ENJOY the guitar!
2/12/2008 11:11:41 PM
We have a couple of play guitars here...the kids jam, we applaud. It's fun. I'd like to get an old piano in here too.
Settle down Kennium. I agree with ya!
2/12/2008 11:11:49 PM
That's what it's for!
2/12/2008 11:12:04 PM
This place lately.
Unless you're with "The Group Mind," you get shit on constantly.
2/12/2008 11:13:06 PM
Ken, what's going on lately is you're overly sensitive, before you blast Denis, and the site anymore, wait and hear from Denis!
I'm pretty sure he was just joking.
2/12/2008 11:13:13 PM
I don't think so.
2/12/2008 11:14:42 PM
Why use terms like "Group Mind"?
Why not just say "clique" and go cry about it on the Isle of Misfit Toys?
2/12/2008 11:18:55 PM
I'm teaching my son bass. 13 years old...The kid is doing really well.
The key is to make it fun. He can't wait to get home to his bass, and we can play several songs together. He got the bass at Christmas. He might just be a monster someday. The key was, teaching him songs he likes. Once he starts learning them, I tell him - those are 8th notes or we're playing in 6/8 time, or these are octaves, and this is a minor scale.
He's learning by feel and then taught what he's actually doing as he goes along, and it works really well.
I lowered the action for him so the bass plays like butter.
But when he was 7 he couldn't get his fingers on the metal strings. I gave him a slide, but he wasn't into that.
I would have been better off starting him with nylon strings.
2/12/2008 11:23:15 PM
I never said that guitar teachers are scam artists.
2/12/2008 11:24:59 PM
For the record, I don't think anyone would, or does disagree with your advice.
2/12/2008 11:25:44 PM
Amy Winehouse might.
2/12/2008 11:26:43 PM
Have a nice night.
2/12/2008 11:27:13 PM
LOL
I'm sorry, I don't know why I do it. It's like I have tourettes.
2/12/2008 11:27:26 PM
Try to be nice to someone, and give some good advice, and I have to take this scolding by the cool kids.
2/12/2008 11:28:28 PM
I liked Kenniums advice too.
2/12/2008 11:28:37 PM
Actually, I read somewhere that Amy Winehouse was force-taught guitar at age 6 which led to frustration and self doubt culminating in drug use and self-mutilation. So she agrees.
2/12/2008 11:30:51 PM
Anyways, RL, I hope you don't let this relentless placement of "Kick Me" signs interfere with the honest advice I tried to give you.
I hope your 7 yr old gets a good teacher who makes it fun for the kid.
2/12/2008 11:31:52 PM
NO ONE DISAGREES WITH YOU!
2/12/2008 11:40:28 PM
Who ASKED YOU?
2/12/2008 11:43:46 PM
lol
2/12/2008 11:44:35 PM
I wasn't even talking to you.
I was giving advice to someone who needed help with a 7 yr old.
Mind your own damned business.
Stop being so rude.
2/12/2008 11:46:29 PM
Go sleep it off.
2/12/2008 11:47:10 PM
Go have a Doctor Pepper, and listen to Amy Winehouse.
2/12/2008 11:48:55 PM
Careful though, you might throw up from all that math.
2/12/2008 11:49:31 PM
The relentless pile-on of poop.
..unless you agree with the "Group Mind."
2/12/2008 11:51:04 PM
Kennium, my expereince, when i started at 7 was very different.
i didn't learn rock songs i liked at first.
I learned on a cheapo student sized classical guitar, (that we rented until i proved i was going to stick to it and practice), and started to learn how to read music, playing simple things that emphaized fundamentals.
Old school. I wanted to play so bad that i wanted to learn that stuff. I remember when i was 8, my mom threatend to cancel my lessons and sell the guitar one week, when i slacked off practice and i threw the biggest fit an 8 yr old has ever thrown.
Learninig songs you like at the expense of learning the fundamentals is for guitar tourists.
If your kid wants to suck, but have fun, let them learn what they like.
If your kid wants to be a musician, get a real music teacher to teach them the fun-damentals, which ironically are hard work, not fun.
And Kennium, you are NOT a douche bag, but i can tell you have that not so fresh feeling.
2/13/2008 10:57:24 AM
Whatever the above post says, for the love of Christ don't have your kid do that
2/13/2008 11:14:57 AM
Yeah you wouldn't want your kid to turn into the next Eddie Van Halen or anything - he started on Piano that way.
I think its cool chippa, how you "discover" new chords like Cm and D7 every day.
2/13/2008 11:22:13 AM
Shows what you know you f*cking idiot
It's Bm
There's no such thing as Cm
2/13/2008 11:24:23 AM
Ken is exactly right, ask the kid or any student what kind of music they want to play and show them the chords (open at first). Learning anything, not just guitar, is difficult if you have no incentive. I never took lessons and learned trying to emulate the music I wanted to learn. The only "theory" I know is E=Fb! Strictly by ear.
2/13/2008 12:54:55 PM
He's to young for pressure. You need to keep it fun, let him learn the basics, mess around some easy things and let him play at his own pace and then school him a few years later when he's more mature and with an attention span. I know from experience.....
We were jambing in my jam room and all of a suddon we heard some assume drum licks...my step son at the age of 9, a natural. We were all so excited and kept asking him to play with us it felt like pressure and he never pick the sticks up again.
2 years later he came home from school with a Sax and with in week was wailing out some good riffs...And I did it again, got so excited and started putting on the jazz etc channels on Comcast for him to play to. He said it felt like to much pressure and never picked up an instrument again. I'm hoping that someday he comes around............So what ever you do, no pressure and keep it fun at his own pace...That's my opinion if it's worth anything.
2/13/2008 1:31:33 PM
Can we all agree that it depends greatly on the particular 7 year old?
There are a million paths to getting it right as a musician, but it's the individual kid that matters most.
My kid and I were just watching "A Hard Days Night" together!!!
2/13/2008 1:43:12 PM
Just an opinion from someone a little closer to 7 years old =)
I started about 3 years ago, my dad had a guitar lying around. I picked it up and asked my dad "how do you play sweet home alabama?" He showed me the open D, G and C9 chord that they use, and i just took everything else from there. It was slow going, especially when i took lessons at school.....trying to teach us theory only with those stupid unknown songs in music books.
I've personally studied from Denis, and he is a GREAT teacher. We first went through a song and learned it, THEN we started to disect it and be like ok, this is a major chord, thats an Add9 and here's why, etc etc. I happened to just suck in everything he taught me so we went a bit more indepth. He said himself to me one time that if he taught a younger student he wouldn't go into so much theory.
It really does depend on the child....if they want to know how music works, they'll do a lot of searching themselves....i know i did. When Denis taught me that different scales like lydian and locrian are just a major scale starting and ending on a different note, i went through and charted them and learned how to play them all...
I would definately say give Denis a chance, he's an awesome teacher and a likeable guy who can set this kid on a path to greatness. He's great because he can start out just ok its this chord, and this is the song, and then get into the real ok thats a 16th note etc, etc. But as Carl just said, it DOES depend a good deal on the kid. Make sure he really wants to get good at guitar and knows it doesn't just happen overnight.
2/14/2008 8:16:38 PM
trust no one over 30.
2/14/2008 11:37:35 PM
Hey Bill, I listened to your mp-3. Did anyone else hear that?
It sounded so good I wanted to steal it and put lyrics to it.
Nice playing man.
Again, my apologies to Denis for my foul mood that day.
He taught you well fer sure.
2/20/2008 11:02:17 PM
Kennium and Bill-that would be a cool collaboration :)
2/21/2008 8:32:10 AM
"Mr. Lennon, how did you find America?"
"......I turned left at Greenland."
2/21/2008 10:44:46 AM
Mr. Lenin, how did you find America? Not enough Red for me.
2/21/2008 10:47:07 AM
You capitalist swine.
2/21/2008 10:47:24 AM
whatever you do for the lessons, LowellRocks is to be off limits til the poor kids 18-that way you won't have to pay for the therapy too!
2/21/2008 11:11:14 AM
We have lessons for 7 yo guitarists!
Give us a call if you haven't found a teacher yet.
Pianomoe
johnson-music.com
2/22/2008 8:10:04 PM
Just for the record, Bill and I have been trading e-mails. He's a nice kid, and a serious musician. His father must be proud.
2/22/2008 11:26:03 PM
« Back to Musician Talk or All Forum Discussions
Login or Register to Post a Reply
All messages are the express view of the author of the message and not those of LowellRocks.com or its affiliates, advertisers, or sponsors. Neither the owners of LowellRocks.com nor its affiliates will be held responsible for the content of any message. LowellRocks.com does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message.
