Teaching kids to play the guitar might seem like a difficult and stressful task to undertake, but it doesn?t have to be! The key to successfully teaching kids how to master this beautiful instrument is keeping it simple to begin with and, of course, making it fun!
You must remember that children, especially younger children, have a very short attention span so you have to do your very best to keep them focused and entertained at the same time.
The first thing to do when starting guitar lessons for kids is to teach them some basic and easy chords which will form the foundation for their future guitar playing. The basic guitar chords are the C, A, G, E and D chords and these form the basis of many well-known songs. These chords are also known as the five major chords and the easiest one to start with is the G chord, followed by the C chord and then the other chords in whatever order you decide.
As mentioned earlier, these five chords make up the majority of well-known songs and it is often said that the best way to teach a child a chord is to teach them an easy song that has the chord repeated in it. The following are four simple songs (two for younger children and two for older children) that come highly recommended as they incorporate the easier chords.
Although this song might not be suitable for older children, you will be guaranteed a look of pure delight on a younger child?s face when they learn to play this instantly recognizable tune. Using the G and C chords, young children will be very pleased to hear themselves play this well-known nursery rhyme melody.
Again, this is another popular and easy song for a young child to play as it uses the chords of A and D. For this reason, it is a great song to start off with and will provide a little boost of confidence for the child, as they?ll have mastered one of the all-time favourite tunes.
The song ?Louie, Louie? is extremely recognizable and much loved because of its distinctive rhythm. This particular song, sung by The Kingsmen, is a big hit with older children who are learning to play the guitar as it has a very upbeat melody and cheerful sound to it.
Sung by the band Deep Purple, this song features one of the most famous and easiest guitar riffs making it quite easy for children to pick up. The melody is relaxed and older children seem to love the tune and vibe that it gives off.
Picking easy songs that children can pick up quickly is the absolute key to motivating them to keep practicing and improving their guitar playing skills. You should mix things up a bit to keep things interesting by picking a mix of educational and pop songs ? you can find more educational songs for kids here. As we all know, practice makes perfect so anything that keeps children practicing their guitar playing is a fantastic and worthwhile thing!
By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com
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