How to choose the right guitar for your children?

When a child wants to start playing the guitar, several questions arise, among them: whether to choose an electric or classical guitar, what size of guitar will be ideal for learning, what budget we would need, etc.

In this article we will clear up all your questions.

How to find the right guitar size for your child ?

Guitar size for children from 5 to 7 years old – or approx. 1.10m high.

If a child of this age wants to start playing guitar, a ¼ guitar is the recommended size.

This type of guitar can be used up to about 7 years of age.

* It should be noted that this depends very much on the physical build and height of the child, but with some exceptions, this will be the right model size decision.

Guitar for children between 6 and 8 years old – or between 1.10m and 1.30m in height.

For children between 6 and 8 years of age it is preferable to choose a ½ guitar.
In this type of guitars you will find a greater variety and better quality. Furthermore, its use could be extended up to 9 years of age depending on the child’s build.

Guitars for children from 8 to 11 years old – or from 1,30m to 1,40m in height.

From the age of 8 years onwards, suitable guitars would be ¾ guitars.

This size of guitar is suitable for children between 1.30m and 1.40m tall.
There is little difference in size between 1/2 and 3/4 guitars. The choice of size will depend mostly on the child’s comfort with a larger or smaller guitar.

*Knowing how quickly children grow and develop, it would be advisable to choose the larger size, which will therefore be used for longer. Obviously taking into account not to strain the child’s physical abilities.

Guitar for children aged 10-11 years and upwards – or 1.50m or taller

From the age of 10 or 11, children can start playing guitars in the standard 7/8 size, suitable for pre-adolescents, or 4/4 which is the standard for adults.
The 7/8 guitars are a little smaller than the final size, but they are often used by adults with small hands who have difficulty playing a full-size guitar.

Guitar for adults 

Already for adults the standard size is 4/4, or 7/8 for people with small hands or short stature who are not comfortable with the larger size.

Guitar sizes chart

Here we look at the different sizes of guitars.
Knowing the differences can help you choose the right one for you.

The scale is known as 4/4, 3/4, 1/2, 1/8, etc.

This nomenclature used on guitars can be very misleading, as we could deduce that a 1/2 guitar is half the size of a 4/4 guitar, but this is not the case.

The important thing to remember here is that this nomenclature only tries to simplify the different options.

Should My Child Learn the Electric or Acoustic Guitar?

Practicalities 

On the practical side, if you choose an electric guitar for children, you should know that you will also need an amplifier to plug it in it (there are small amplifiers that sound good and are quite affordable).

Is it easier to learn with a classical or electric guitar? 

As for the difficulty of one instrument or the other, we can assure you that it is the same.

The guitar is an instrument that requires a certain amount of time and patience at the beginning, so starting with an electric guitar or a classical guitar will require the same effort.

One of the biggest obstacles a novice student faces is pain in the fingertips until callus development.

At this point, a small detail that we can add is that the classical guitar usually has thicker strings than the electric guitar. Therefore, it requires a little more strength when plucking them. But on the other hand, nylon strings are softer.

On the electric guitar, the fact that the strings are thinner, but all metal, can give the child the feeling that the strings “hurt” the fingertips more, as if the strings were a little “sharper”.

Anyway, we say again: It’s all a matter of habit, the body will adapt easily.

Budget needed to buy a guitar

Nowadays there are many models of guitars for children. They come in all price ranges and qualities.

We could go on and on about all the options, but in general terms we can say that the most important thing in an instrument is the tuning!. And it depends to a great extent on the construction of the instrument itself (leaving aside the finish and aesthetics).

Having that first premise in mind, we will continue by being realistic and being very clear that children’s guitars are used only in a learning phase and most probably they will have to be changed after a short period of time.

It is therefore not necessary to buy a guitar of impressive quality, a modest guitar will suffice.

* Although, obviously if it is within your means to get a super guitar, great!

Guitars of acceptable quality can be found on the European market for a price starting at around 60 Euro. Accessories apart.

If you choose an electric guitar, consider the cost of an amplifier. This can also be found from 30-40€ .

Accessories : guitar case, tuner, music stand, replacement strings, etc.