From childhood to adolescence, playing the guitar is a musical practise that fascinates everyone, that makes you wonder and that makes you want to learn more: we want to play our favourite songs in our own way, we want to imitate the best guitarists like Jimmy Hendrix, Slash or Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin or David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

All these giants of music have made us dream, they have shown us that each one is capable of making prodigies with the guitar, of transmitting emotions, of telling a story. Obviously, as an echo to their own history, we also want to do the same.

But is the guitar reserved for children and teenagers? From what age can we start playing the guitar? Do we have to wait until we know the bases of the solfeggio? When should we start practising? When can we start the guitar lessons? What to think about online guitar lessons?

Age is not important to play the guitar

The answer is clear: there is no age to play the guitar, either as an amateur or for professional purposes. If you are motivated, if you feel like it and want to play the guitar, then it’s a good time to start. From now on, nothing will stop you, nothing will oppose your motivation to play as you want this instrument.

Only the learning time will vary depending on your motivation. It’s never too late to learn how to play the guitar. Obviously, a child or adolescent will have more ability to memorise and it will be much easier than it is for an adult to learn a second language, such as musical language.

Everything, the notes, the solfeggio, the rhythms, their specific vocabulary, the universe of music and in particular that of the guitar, is a new world to learn. Are you interested in knowing also how much time it takes to learn to play the guitar?

At what age can children start playing the guitar?

Although you do not have to learn everything by heart, there are two functions to consider when playing the guitar, performing and coordinating the main chords. It is necessary to wait at least at the age of 6 or 7 years to be able to position the fingers correctly in the mast and to push the first chords.

Then, you have to know that learning and playing the guitar takes time, nothing is done from one day to the next. As for any learning, you have to dedicate time, spend hours on the guitar to get the sounds you dream of listening. Younger musicians should be able to concentrate a minimum, about 20 minutes a day; thus, the maturity of the child will play an important role in their learning.

Also, if a child does not have enough freedom during his free time to play, he can feel frustrated before learning the guitar and reject the instrument. The guitar is considered an excellent extra-school activity for children: it frees the child from certain tensions accumulated in the school, it offers the opportunity to exchange knowledge and spend time with other children different from those of their usual environment (school / family / friends).

The guitar is a fairly easy instrument to practise and children are often surprised to discover that they can play their first pieces very quickly. A guitar teacher is in a position to accompany the younger ones in their discovery of the instrument and the guitar lessons.

Whatever the style (rock, blues, country, jazz or classical), the repertoire is varied and very rich, which will favour the opening of views in the child, allowing him to expand his cultural and musical horizon towards sounds that would not have imagined discovering.

All this discovery is only possible if the child wants it, obviously: learning to play the guitar corresponds to the will of the child and not to that of the parents.

For teenagers and adults

While it is generally towards adolescence that you decide to learn to play the guitar -it is therefore an excellent means of expression, to convey what you feel-, it is not uncommon to see adults and even elderly people wanting to start with the guitar.

The reasons are many: some had not thought about it, others have always dreamed of putting themselves but have never taken the step and there are those who have such a busy professional life that it is not until now that they have decided to think a little about them and take the time to learn. Whatever the reason, the proportion of adults who start learning to play the guitar is in constant progression.

Other, more technical reasons also explain why teenagers and adults jump into this musical adventure: indeed, even if children retain the foundations of music more easily, the technical side is more difficult for them.

Knowing how to link the chords, get to separate the fingers on the fingerboard, vary the rhythm with the right hand, vary between playing with the pick and fingers with the right hand, so many things that can be difficult for small hands.

The musical awakening

If you want your son to discover the guitar as soon as possible, why not start the musical awakening? Learning to play the guitar requires a lot of maturity, both physiologically and mentally, as well as discipline.

If the child is blocked, the experience quickly becomes negative and there is little chance of him returning to the guitar later on. The musical awakening is an excellent alternative to see if the child is ready: you start at home, where parents adopt the role of initiators integrating musical environments, making you discover different sounds, different musical universes (world music, children’s songs, classical music , blues, etc.).

The child can then test some instruments and the adult can check if the child shows an interest in music: does he sing? Does he dance? Does it simulate playing an instrument, the guitar in this case?

If you want to hire the services of a professional in Melbourne, you can learn to play the guitar using new techniques and ensuring you can play any rhythm or solo from any song you want, check our website!