There’s a lot to consider, no matter if it’s for one of your children or for yourself.
In MY opinion, it is essential to have a think about what STYLE of guitar you would like to play and pick a style with which you are DRAWN to. It might be that your child wants to play classical guitar at school and that is fine, but if they prefer listening to Nirvana or Iron Maiden, then it is probably a better idea to get them an ELECTRIC guitar.
Myth No 1: You need to start on an acoustic guitar before moving to electric guitar.
Absolutely NOT so! If you prefer listening to Hendrix over Handel, go ahead and get that electric!
You like pop and rock but feel more drawn to The Eagles or John Denver (!)… Then you’ll be looking at strumming away on a steel-string acoustic.
Myth No 2: You need to read music to play guitar.
Absolutely NOT! A great many of your favourite guitar players do NOT read music… Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and The Beatles. All of these people did pretty well on the guitar despite not being able to read and write music!How Much To Spend?
These days, we are lucky that you can buy a very reasonable instrument ‘quite cheaply’. That’s in inverted comma’s because it’s subjective what ‘quite cheap’ means to each person. You can certainly get started around the £130-£150 mark for a new instrument, but if you CAN stretch to £200-£250 then you’ll be getting something quite decent.
Buy Secondhand?
Absolutely! There are some great guitars to be had, for £150 or so… BUT… beware! If buying off Ebay or Facebook Marketplace, take someone with you who knows what they are looking for as you MIGHT end up with something unplayable or even faulty. DON’T buy without seeing it in person!
I can CONFIDENTLY advise you to speak to John at Edgware Music to buy new OR secondhand. He’s a very old friend and looks after my students. He would never let a guitar leave his shop that is sub-standard.
You can reach the shop on: 020 8952 1133