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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on June 21, 2012 at 2:45am

Some simple 3 - chord boogie songs should do nicely, very rewarding learning a whole song for a beginner, and mix the strumming patterns, tempos and beats. (-:

 

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on June 21, 2012 at 2:55am

Thanks Steve.  We're not quite there yet, but I'm sure we will be soon.  She still has to get through the pain of fretting a note.

I'm considering switching the git over to nylon strings.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 21, 2012 at 5:09am

Eric,

The guitar teacher who taught my kids for the last year and a half insisted on teaching them for the first 6 months on nylon strings, so that their callouses can build up gradually. He has taught several hundred kids here precisely the same way, with excellent results. Then he switched over to steel. Rationale for this also is that the hand doesn't have to work so hard, and you reduce the possibility for injury. With a 7 year old, her muscles are still growing. Switch her temporarily to nylon for awhile. She'll enjoy it more, and won't cut up her fingertips.

Play along with her, and encourage her to sing each note as she plays it. This is good ear training, helps reinforce both muscle and tonal memory, and is used by the classically-trained opera singer who teaches piano and voice to my kids, and is also done by their guitar teacher. Show her how to make a simple 3-note song out of a single chord.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on June 21, 2012 at 5:51am

Thanks Ron.  We played follow the leader this morning together and it worked well.  I told here I had to sit for days just finger picking to get the muscles burned in.  Hours and hours.  She has to develop this patience.

Nylon strings are next.

Thanks for the advice.

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