My 13 year old daughter wants to learn to play the guitar. What is the best beginning guitar?

Question

(acoustic or electric) She is unsure which to start with.

Answer 1

If electric, I would go with a Squier Standard Fat Strat. It will cost about $200, and is a great first guitar.

For acoustic, I would recommend the Martin LXM Little Martin Acoustic Guitar. This is a well made small guitar for travel or beginners.

Answer 2

I have a 10 year old that plays and we have both instruments in the house (along with a 13 year old drummer and a 8 year old learning to play the bass) and from experience I can tell you that it is best to start off with classical lessons on an acoustic guitar and then once your child has the fundamentals down they can move up to an electric guitar. You can buy an inexpensive, good quality (even used) acoustic at most music stores. Lessons are not that expensive from most teachers and there are even places where you can buy DVD instructional videos, if that is the way you choose to go, and books that will help teach cords, etc. Your child should be playing in no time. I can easily say a bad sounding acoustic (while learning) still sounds a far sight better than a ground pounding electric any day. Keep it in mind. It takes a while to get the hang of it, and when it sounds bad, it sounds bad, and when its loud, it's loud. The electric should definitely come after your child has a better handle on how to play some notes and cords.

Answer 3

Which ever guitar you choose, electric or acoustic, don't go thinking of buying a cheap one, this is because the cheap ones are often harder to play and the actions can often be too high. A good quality guitar, where she doesn't have to press so hard on the strings (often the problem with cheap ones) will be the best option, so let her try some out to see what feels right for her. Good luck!

Answer 4

Acoustic, I play classical guitar myself, a nice Yamaha, would cost you under $200.00. Classical is a little easier on the hand and fingers but a lot of my students find the wideness of the fingerboard overwhelming, and it's also flat, not beveled like the acoustic, so it makes it a little harder to play for small hands, until they get used to playing. At the Guitar Center they have a nice selection of guitars and nice prices, ask and they'll usually bring down the price. Thirteen is a nice age to start, the best woman guitarist in the world started at fourteen, and today she's an awesome player. Go on youtube and type in Liona Boyd and you'll see her, she plays tremolo like an angle, not only does she play well but she's beautiful to look at, and she's almost sixty !!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Let me save YOU a lot of money
and your daughter a lot of anguish
For a first guitar -- go with a classical or gut-stringed guitar !!
They have them in smaller sizes to "fit" the individual -- so that the keyboard (Frets) are not so large as to make making the chords SO difficult --- AND, the simple fact that the gut-stringed guitar is going to make learning a lot easier since the strings are easier on the fingers !!!
One of the BIGGEST problems with first timers and the guitar IS the fact that steel strings are MURDER on the fingers --- and when an individual is first learning --- THIS alone discourages MOST from spending the time and the effort AT the guitar to get the basics down !! So--- they make the effort --- they get discouraged by the PAIN of the effort -- they walk !!! I've seen this happen hundreds of times --- Great guitar -- sitting in the closet !!!
Hope this helps -- and -- good luck in this endeavor !!!!!!

Answer 6

I agree totally with sendmeo - If you could afford it , it may be worth going for an electric acoustic ( Thats an acoustic guitar with additional pickups inside- yamaha make some nice ones .(note - not an electro-acoustic thats a different thing).

An acoustic is harder to play but like he said, it gives a far better start and its easier to make the transition to electric than the other way, Your daughter is also less likely to get distracted with effects pedals etc. As a bonus it wont drive you as nuts either.

As for the cheap ones - the strings tend to be higher from the fretboard to offset inconsistencies with the neck not being as straight, this makes it harder to bend the strings down to the neck - you can lower there height but this may introduce buzzing.

Answer 7

Acoustic is harder on the fingers it kinda hurts electric is easier on the fingers it is just kinda loud. At the music stores they usually have an all in one box with everything you need acoustic and electric. They are good to go. Ask for "Fender" acoustic or electric all in one package.

Answer 8

If it were my daughter , I would start her on a nylon strung classical guitar. It will be easier on her fingers and the sound she will get will be nicer, sooner. Get the nicest one you can afford because there are big differences in tone quality and ease of playing.
If you know someone who plays, have him help you chose a good one.
One nice thing about accoustic guitars is that she will be able to play at gatherings where everyone can sing along. That is a lot of the fun of playing guitar.
Once she gets to the point where she can play and her friends can sing along, she will be hooked. That is what got me started so many years ago.

Answer 9

Acoustic is best to start. All the other answers to that effect are excellent advice. I wanted to add that the best thing is to find a good teacher to teach her. If she tries to learn on her own, the technical difficulties of learning the instrument will eventually discourage her.

It's important to find a teacher who works with kids AND who has experience teaching young girls.

Answer 10

Get an acoustic folk guitar. Nylon strings, so she will have a chance to toughen her fingers with easier strings to start with. And a lot of folk and classical stuff is easy to play around with.