YES, A SIX-YEAR OLD PLAY GUITAR WITH SMALL HANDS
After teaching hundreds of six-year-old children how to play the guitar over the years, Rock Dojo understands the challenges and frustrations of playing guitar. One of the biggest challenges kids face is how to play guitar with small hands. The good news is this: Yes, your child can play the guitar with any sized hands. That being said, I’ll provide you with five tips to help you alleviate the stress of playing the guitar with small hands.
Get your child started on the journey to a black belt in rock!
5 TIPS TO HELP YOUR CHILD PLAY GUITAR WITH SMALL HANDS
- Choose the appropriately sized guitar: The easiest and most effective choice for playing the guitar with small hands is choosing the suitably sized guitar for your child. For kids between, pick a 1/4 size guitar. For 4 – 6 years old, choose a 1/2 guitar for ages 5-8. Choose a 3/4 size guitar for ages 8-11.
- Choose a thin-neck guitar: One of the thinnest neck sizes available today is the “Modern C-Shape” neck by Fender. According to Fender, “the modern c-shape neck has a comfortable oval profile that works well for most playing styles. Kids with small hands should avoid the “U-Shape” neck, and they’ll probably want to steer clear of the “V-Shape” neck as well.
- Swap out barre-chords for power chords: The dreaded barre-chord is the most challenging guitar grip of all. It’s also a right of passage and a badge of honor for most guitarists. While barre-chords are challenging for every beginning guitarist, they’re downright brutal on small hands. Instead, swap out hard-to-play barre chords with their easier substitute: power chords!
- Use extra-light gauge strings: String tension is another massive challenge for beginning guitarists regardless of hand size. In addition, lighter gauge strings make everything easier. That’s why I recommend students with small hands to play on electric guitars with extra-light gauge strings.
- Have your child’s guitar set up by a professional: An excellent guitar setup can make all the difference in the world, especially for guitarists with small hands. I want all my instruments to play like butter, so my guitars are set up by a professional. In short, that means having the string height lowered, the guitar restrung, the frets polished, and the intonation set. If you’d like to learn more about a guitar setup, check out “What is a guitar setup and why do you need it.”
BONUS TIP: NEVER GIVE UP! YOU CAN PLAY GUITAR WITH SMALL HANDS
If you tried all of the above tips and your child is still frustrated about hand size, tell the story about Django Reinhardt. Django is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Born on January 23, 1910, in Belgium, Django was a child prodigy on the guitar. A caravan accident as a teenager Django badly burned. He lost the use of his right leg in the accident. Worse yet, this young guitar star lost the use of his ring and pinky finger on his fretting hand. Did this stop Django from becoming one of the greatest guitarists ever to play the instrument? Nope! Django overcame his challenges, teaching himself how to play blazing fast leads with just two fingers! A century later, guitarists with big hands and the full use of their fingers are still struggling to recreate Django’s music!
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