Electric guitars and teenage boys - a good or bad thing?

[tigermoth]

My nearly 14 year old has a new electric guitar for his birthday.(pre-birthday present)

Good news, it is the first time he has ever shown commitment to a musical instrument (trumpet practice was a struggle best forgotten).

Bad news.... well is there a downside to this? Experience tells me there must be. Will it Take Over His Life? Will it provide yet another distraction from homework? Will it turn him into a teenager proper?

As my son tells me lots of his friends have guitars, I am assuming some of you here are going through the same thing.

[harleyd]

i think its great
my little guy is talking about drums, he's only 9, i would prefer him to have a guitar but we shall see..

[Freckle]

DS2 has just started with the electric guitar. It was suggested by his music teacher at school when he discovered that DS2 had just given up learning the piano. Teacher asked if we'd considered other instruments - err, well, he'd already tried the violin, acoustic guitar and clarinet before the piano, so yes we'd tried!

I mentioned that DS2 had been on at us to learn the electric guitar and his teacher was ecstatic. Spouted about how he was going to be a teenager and that teenagers and electric guitars were made for each other. So he's started lessons and seems really enthusiastic. We'll see how it continues.

Not sure if it will take over your ds' life, but if you see it heading in that direction perhaps you may have to exercise some control over how long he practises for.

Oh and, if he hasn't already, be prepared for his hair to get longer! Seems to be de rigueur for the electric guitar.

[tigermoth]

Freckle, yes, his hair is growing longer - fringe over the eyes thingy. The baseball hat on worn at an impossible angle on head phase has passed.

I think it's brilliant that ds is so keen to practice guitar after all these years of saying 'no' to learning other musical instruments. And he and his friends apparently talk lots about forming bands togther - more talk than anything else as they are all trying to learn to play properly.

But we are in the honeymoon period. The guitar is new. I wonder how things will be in a year's time?

Harlyd, drums need lots of room, that's why we said 'no' - I think you have to be quite self sacrificing to allow for both the space and the noise.

[Freckle]

You can plug headphones into amps so only the person wearing them can hear the "tune". You hear the strumming but not the all-consuming loudness.

You can get drumkits which do this too.

[Freckle]

Oh and get ready to hear a lot of Smoke on the Water .

[GentleOtter]

This is really a Good Thing!
I did the same when DS was 14 and he progressed really quickly eventually deciding to sit his music higher with 'Sweet Child O Mine" and "LittleWing" as his chosen pieces. (He got an A)
A few years on and he is now lead singer in a rock band that is doing quite well
and yes, his hair is so long he can sit on it.
The noise could be quite deafening (luckily we have no neighbours) but a pair of earplugs was useful.
I like having the other band members round even though they look like a bunch of yetis and hearing how their music has evolved.
Massive good luck to your son.

[Freckle]

What's the band's name, GO? Do they have a recording contract yet?

[PaulaYatesBiggestFan]

i think it is good but would have made him learn guitar before forking out on an electric one

[tigermoth]

GentleOtter, that's wonderful No wonder you're proud of him. How good to see him carrying it through from first chord to this.

Freckle, thanks for the reminder about eagplugs - quite slipped my mind.

DS has been practising on his younger brother's acoustic guitar for the last few months. Ds2 was loaned a guitar via school, where he is taking guitar lessons. Ds2 is not so keen, but he's only 8 years old.

I have to say, for anyone wanting to teach music, guitar seems to be where it's at. The lessons are really popular at ds2's primary school. The freelance teacher must be doing well as he takes months to cash my termly tuition cheques!

[hubarbspong]

It is a very good thing, I've been playing since I was 16. There will be times when he lays it down and 'forgets' for a bit, but generally will pick it up again. The best thing you can do is find a good teacher (there is a registry of guitar tutors), most important is to find someone who plays a similar style of music to your son. I spent a long time with a very talented jazz guitarist when all I really wanted was Iron Maiden.
Be prepared to spend a fair bit on gear, beginner instruments are all very well, but often show their limitations very quickly. Happy to help with recommendations if you like.

[random]

Its a good thing Ds15 has been playing for a couple of years mostly self taught but is now doing an access to music course at school which includes free guitar lessons ..luckily we live in an end house so no neighbours to complain

[MrsSnape]

Its great! I'm trying to encourage my DS to play guitar, there is nothing cooler than a kid on guitar

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

Guitars have taken over DS(15)'s life these last 6 years. They are fantastic for destressing him, great for street cred. and very endearing when they discover Led Zep and Bob Dylan and think they are the first generation to do so. The only thing is you have to take them on holiday or else the withdrawel symptoms are awful.

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

Guitars have taken over DS(15)'s life these last 6 years. They are fantastic for destressing him, great for street cred. and very endearing when they discover Led Zep and Bob Dylan and think they are the first generation to do so. The only thing is you have to take them on holiday or else the withdrawal symptoms are awful.

[southeastastra]

get then to learn properly on an acoustic, spend the same amount of money on them rather than an electric.

hate the way everyone starts with an electric guitar

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

Yes SEA is right there, ds learnt classical first and now learns classical and electric in parallel. Acoustic great for strengthening hands.

[southeastastra]

and it nice to listen to. i have a yamaha 210 (i think ages since i played it) but the sound that makes naturally is lovely compared to my fender which need alot of room to sound good.

[southeastastra]

(should preview my spellings sorry!)

[Freckle]

Not everyone does start with the electric guitar. We tried Ds2 on the acoustic but he lost interest - as with other instruments - so I'm happy for him to learn the electric if it's something he'll stick with.

[Heated]

Ups his street cred considerably. A lot of the boys I teach play drums or guitar and think they're in a band.

[southeastastra]

any way in is good but just wish there more more good musicians coming up, seems boring atm all thrash metal stuff

[tigermoth]

Thanks for the insights. So far, it does seem that playing guitar is a good de-stressing activity for ds1. He seems more calm doing this than playing on his X box. I like the background noise it makes better, too.

I think I'll see how far ds1 goes with practising on his own. He's not keen on having guitar lessons at school - he's got very small hands and is a bit self conscious about them. He's already asked for some extra leads and a guitar stand

[tigermoth]

hubarbspong, thanks for your offer of help - I'll get back to you if we need it.

[lazymumofteenagesons]

Currently sitting at computer with headphones on to block out noise of DS2 (13) on drums.

DS1 (16) plays both accoustic and electric guitar, so very noisy household. At 13 DS1 pleaded to learn the guitar so I bought a cheap accoustic one (£75) in case it didn't last. He taught himself and did remarkably well.

Playing any musical instrument is good for them. However, as they progress equipment gets very expensive.

Also, guitar comes on almost every holiday and goes in overhead lockers on planes etc. Thank goodness drum kit is not portable.