teaching a 6 year old

[zachg]

hey guys. i know this topic may have been brought up in the past, but my questions differ slightly.

 

is there a major difference that any of you can pinpoint between teaching a teenager compared to a very young 1st grader?

 

i was looking up books and found this one(link) the description mentions the use of animals and pictures to get the student to have a fun learning experience.

 

are there any other books you know of for this age group? how would i keep their attention and focuss on the lesson?

 

i was told i might want to use candy to make the child think he will be having fun(with the parents permission of course). is that a good method.

 

i guess i could be thinking to hard about this, i just figured this new student would be a little more of a challenge.

 

thoughts?

[A String]

After having a 5 year old student, I just about set an age limit on my students. This kid had trouble with his alphabet, how was I going to teach him to read sheet music?

 

After two very frustrating lessons, I finally settled on a method that worked. I focused on timing. We started out banging on the back of the guitar (He loved that!). Then I would have him play the open E then an F and finally a G along with a beat. We would count out the beats (one and two and three and four and...), only I would substitute the first beat with the note name.

 

I wouldn't recommend using candies and stuff, might cause the kid to have trouble sitting still through the lesson. On the other hand, teaching a kid this small to play a guitar is tough and whatever works is what you should go with.

 

Best of luck and please let us know how it turns out.

[musicalhair]

http://www.musicplayer.com//ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/19/t/011019.html#000015

 

Here are some big differences between teaching a little one and a teen:

 

A teen can be sold on the idea that the obstacles that you have to overcome on guitar are worth it because playing guitar is "cool", a 5-7 year old won't really be dedicated to "cool" like a teen,

 

A teen's finger strength and pain threshold is higher and little ones fingers hurt when playing,

 

A teen's attention span is greater than a little one's so you have to cater your approach to the little one's drifting mind.

 

Animals and stickers abound in kid's method books, get them out of the book and reward the kid with the sticker after the lesson. They use this idea in Ice Skating too. If the stickers are in the book they'll play with the stickers and not use the book till the stickers are all gone.

 

Little ones like simple catchy and melodies that indicate strong cadences, and since those are the most instructive, use them.

 

Little ones like to sing, so it is a good time to establish the "if you can sing it you can play it" idea. I've gone as far as to use a "fixed Do" sofegio system with "Seven of Mine".

 

Focusing on basic musicianship like tapping beats and rythmns is good, it spares the little fingers while still developing the musician.

[ictdude]

Mel Bay Childrens methods 1,2,3 are very good graded methods. Simple chord forms, strumming, basic note reading. I've started a student as young as four and a half. An exceptional case, though. Both of his parents are school teacher and he could already read. He just turned eight and is well into MB adult method 2.

 

Some adults with children also like working through the MB childrens methods also.

[BluesWithoutBlame]

This bothers me a lot...

 

I may be way out of touch, but I don't think anyone should be teaching a 6 year old guitar.

 

Not unless they want to rob them of the joy of discovering it themselves as teens. Maybe teaching a little plinking, sure, but to actually TEACH them guitar. I don't know any 6-year olds that would know that they want to go through all that, and I think it must be one in a million that have a burning desire (something that really learning it requires) for doing it.

 

And putting in the hours.

 

It just seems cruel to me. Let the kid play!

[BlueZet]

Originally posted by BluesWithoutBlame:

This bothers me a lot...

 

I may be way out of touch, but I don't think anyone should be teaching a 6 year old guitar.

 

Not unless they want to rob them of the joy of discovering it themselves as teens. Maybe teaching a little plinking, sure, but to actually TEACH them guitar. I don't know any 6-year olds that would know that they want to go through all that, and I think it must be one in a million that have a burning desire (something that really learning it requires) for doing it.

 

And putting in the hours.

 

It just seems cruel to me. Let the kid play!

I used to teach guitar in a semi "school" situation and the last two years I did it, I had a group class of 6 - 12 year olds - after a couple of weeks I more or less "threw out" the method I was given and focused on having fun, meaning I did the method thing for about 1/3 of the time, then we just had a go at the guitar. I had the kids "teach" ME what they had found during the week, I taught them how to play melodies they were asking etc etc.

In my opinion it IS possible to teach a young kid to play SOME, but the real question is: does the kid want to play or did the parents decide (s)he "wants" it? If the kid wants it, it'll put in the (or at least some) time - if you need stickers of animals, my guess is dad or mom wants the kid to play and you might as well go and get an ice-cream, it'll be more satisfactory for both of you

[ictdude]

I've been teaching for quite a while and I empathize with parents that want their children to learn skills and have fun. Why can't a six year old have fun and learn the guitar? Playing guitar can be fun, even if your reading a chart of simple chords or melodies. Just don't talk over their heads or overassign studies. Be as clear as you possibly can. And patient.

 

I rarely offer treats, mainly on holidays and only as a token. A high five goes a lot further in my experience. Also encourage the the parent to sit in on the lesson and passively offer encouragement. Parents can pick up on things and help their child practice at home more effectively.

[Bob Keelan]

I dunno. I've always thought 6 was kinda young to have the mechanical dexterity necessary for the guitar. My son is 8 and I have him taking piano right now. If he wants to do guitar in a couple years I'll show him what I know.

[zachg]

hey guys, been gone for a couple of weeks but plan on sticking around now. my Mozilla(quasi internet explorer/browser) got rid of all my cookies, bookmarks etc.

 

anyhow, i met with the six year old today. it really did seem that his parents were in no way pushing him to learn. his father told me of how he absolutely hated his parents forcing him to learn piano.

after speaking to lots of pros including everyone who posted on this thread and similar ones, i just figured i would make the lessons fun.

 

a guy at the local music shtore(murphy's music on rt 110) said that if the kid was able to retain 10% of what i showed him, that was progress. also said that after four lessons, i'll know for sure whether or not it's right to continue.

 

either way, the kid (lucas) had a great time. he seems very smart(well, as smart as six year olds go )

 

toodle-ooh

[musicalhair]

Cool, keep us appraised of what kind of progress you make and what like works and don't.

[MILLO]

The age limit I set for my students is 7 yrs old.

 

In case any of you guitar teachers is interested: I'm developing this great gadget that is basically a couple electrodes that connect to the kid's fingers and foreheard. If he/she plays out of the beat, ZAP! If he/she talks or jumps while I'm explaining something, MAJOR ZZZZZAPP!!! Wrong fingering, or wrong note? ZAP that finger!

 

I'm on my way to becoming a happy instructor and a millionaire!!!!!!!!....

 

I think I'll call it "Mr. FRET-BUZZ"!!!! What do you guys think? I'm taking pre-orders!

 

ZACHG, If you're not interested in this, I suggest you keep a bottle of Whisky and a bottle of Ritalin in your lesson room!

[MILLO]

i see no one is interested in my invention.... I guess you'll have to pay the full price at Musician's Friend once it comes out... hahahahahahahahahaaaa

[s mel gibson1642606968]

I started violin when I was 7. I wanted to. I always was listening to music and pounded away on my toy xylophone along to the tv.

I think it's important to expose young children to all forms of music in their very young years. I think classical music with all it's intricacies is the best exposure.

If you can see a spark of interest, you might be on the way.You would think that constant exposure to music would be a determining force in a young child's pursuit to musical gratification.

Picture yourself with your child from day one, in your arms and listening to some album by Bach and humming along. Everyday! That's got to sink in. By 6 years of age, your child's ear training is a non-issue.