For me, the best part about playing guitar and ukulele is portability! It is wonderful to have an instrument that is easy to carry around and always “ready to go.”
These instruments are very similar and are accessible for beginners. When working with beginners on guitar or ukulele I strive to start by building skills incrementally, layer upon layer.
After several years of teaching these instruments and searching for “the perfect” method books (i.e. “how-to-play” books), I gave up. It didn’t seem to matter which method book I used, every student would have trouble with some basic aspect of playing the instrument that the given method book glossed over, assuming that the skill would be picked up easily.
Now, I am instead developing my own method for these instruments, one that is skills-based and enables me to move quickly with the student in areas where the skills are picked up easily, and slowly in the areas where the student needs to take more time to develop a specific skill. (I find that there is no “typical student” — each student tends to excel in some areas of music and struggle with other areas.)
Regarding instruments — an expensive, fancy instrument is not necessary. My ukulele was found at a thrift store for $4 many years ago, and it works very well! However, there are a few things to keep in mind. Avoid instruments that look legitimate, but are marketed as “toys.” Name brands are not required, but are helpful with entry-level new instruments, as the manufacturer often includes a warranty and will back the warranty up if any defects come to surface in the first year or two.
For guitars, it is IMPERATIVE that the guitar not be too large for the student — a guitar on the smaller side is preferred to one that is too large. An instrument that is too large will be difficult to play. Guitars come with two main types of strings: steel strings and nylon strings. Nylon strings are generally used for classical guitars. (NEVER put steel strings on a guitar designed for nylon strings — this will break the guitar.)
I recommend that beginners start with nylon string guitars, especially children. There is a very practical reason for this — pushing down on guitar strings with fingertips hurts. After a while, callouses develop on the fingertips, and there is no pain, or only pain after playing for a long time. Pushing down on nylon strings hurts only a very little bit — it may only be noticed after longer practice sessions. Pushing down on steel guitar strings hurts worse, than nylon strings, and the pain may be immediate for beginners. If callouses can be built up with a nylon string guitar, the student can then switch later to a steel string guitar with ease, and a lot less pain.
I recommend that children 12 & under wanting to play guitar start with a baritone ukulele. This instrument has only four strings, and these strings are identical to strings 1, 2, 3, and 4 on a guitar. The body is smaller than that of a guitar, and easy to manage. The skills learned on this instrument transfer directly to the guitar, and it solves some of the challenges that beginners face playing chords on a six string instrument. (For that matter, adults just beginning with guitar may also like to start with a baritone ukulele.)
For ukuleles, we don’t need to worry about the instrument being too large! Ukuleles generally always have nylon strings. New ukuleles start at around $50 — and these instruments are great for beginners.
If you are ready to begin your musical journey with guitar or ukulele, please check out my rates and current openings and contact me to set up lessons.
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