Bad day at school - might be just the ticket

So you guys remember how stoked I was that my ten-year-old son John is taking guitar lessons? How I was going to be supportive but not push him? Yeah, well of course I f'd that right up. At one point he told me guitar sucked at the dinner table as I was going on about guitar. He stopped taking lessons about six weeks ago while he played basketball on his school's team or some half-baked excuse. He still had Tae Kwon Doe (Do?), even still had piano lessons, all sorts of activities, but the thing that got shot down was guitar. No doubt dad's ultra-enthusiasm kinda turned him off. It was just going to be until basketball is done, then he'd resume guitar, or so the story went. Right.

It also happens that his guitar instructor has a gig at John's school every two weeks, doing some kinda music class for the two fourth grade classes. Today was that day, and it seems my son's teacher was unaware that some students in the other class were told they could bring their guitars. They turned up, two kids which are John's friends but they're all competitive, with their guitars. One has a cheapie Squire Strat he just got for Christmas, and the other has his brand new G&L T/S ASAT Special. Yep, his dad bid on that guitar - which I had donated - at the school's fundraiser last Friday. Oh, the huge manatee.

Not good. John sat there while his two friends, one with a shiny new G&L, played with the instructor in front of all the fourth graders. My wife called me here at the office to tell me John was just fuming, and that he is demanding guitar lessons im-freaking-mediately. He marched right up to his room and started practicing.

All I can say is Hallelujah! This might be the best thing that could happen. Man, oh man, I hope this gets him motivated. Right or wrong reason, what do I care. I promise not to push him this time. At least I hope I can keep a lid on it.

Dave

PS My wife Amanda just called. John's booked for lessons Mondays at 8pm. Fingers crossed!

...goes to show, there is always an opportunity to learn...but it's not always a predictable curve, whether young or a little older than young



Kris

Seems like he is taking the lessons for granted.

You may try to play semi-hard to get on this one a little more... make him Really want it. Maybe make him pay for half of the lessons with chore money.

I hear you though, I have a new Piano and a Gretsch Renown purewood mahogany drum set sitting around because of the musical whims of my daughter...
so I'm not exactly the person to give advise on this. To add insult to injury, I am now without a job, and could use the money.. but she doesn't want me to sell them
because she wants to start back up, someday....

Peer pressure. That, Good Sir, is more squeeze than most parents can muster. Got the scars.

Ken...

The ONLY good reason to play guitar is to get the girls. He'll learn....

You couldn't count the number of guitarists who got their start due to peer competition. That can be a powerful motivator for a kid in school.

So your son has the modified Squire strat with the S-500 pickups and the cool finish, right?

He just has to be able to back up the cool guitar with some effective licks.

If the teacher is good, and he has the talent, he should be on his way.

The next step is to get him in some kind of band. Any band to give him a perfomance opportunity or two.

That can really get the girls talking!

Good luck with it, Dave.

We have a couple hundred students. Every now and then a parent will tell us that their child is not motivated. Some teachers will play drums along with the guitar students, and suddenly the kid's completely back into it again. We also do jam nights which can shed a whole new light on things. Good luck Darth!

I can't get my son interested in guitar. I bought him a little martin and I figured he'd just take to it. Nada. I ain't going to push him, though, either he'll take an interest or he won't. No big deal either way. He can see how 'into it' I am so I'm thinking at some point he'll at least imitate.

Hi guys,

So far, so good. He's showing good interest and we've been spending some time on Crazy Train. Not the easiest thing for a newbie to have a go at, even simplified. His instructor gave him some Green Day riff and Sunshine of Your Love but he's fixated on Crazy Train. So be it. I'm working on it too, using some YouTube lessons on the leads. Gotta be millions of us who've got the riffs down pat but didn't have the chops or patience for learning the leads back in high school.

The peer pressure thing is still holding up, and my fingers are crossed.

Here's a kid on YouTube, looks to be like 15, who's showing me a couple of the lead bits in Crazy Train (wish I'd practiced as much as him):

[youtube]DnKuFdYXFFc[/youtube]

Dave

My son started taking guitar lessons when he was 11 and grew disinterested fairly quickly, so i stopped spending the money on them. When he was around 13 all he wanted to do was play guitar - the lessons started up again and this time he was really getting it and started making up his own songs as well as being able to play just about anything he heard. When he was a junior in high school, he fronted his band in a battle of the bands at the Greek theater in L.A. and they performed two of his originals. He is now 22 and lives in Chicago in a house with 2 bands operating out of it, having the time of his life, sleeping all day and rock and rolling all night and driving his mother crazy. (of course, I did the same thing when I was in my 20s) Be careful what you wish for.

Dave,

He's a fourth grader. You need more than a few grains of salt for that.

Brian

More good news.

You guys may recall my John's instructor Adam has a gig doing a music class every two weeks or so at John's school. Today he came to do two music classes, one for the 2nd grade and another for the 3rd grade, and John got called out of his class twice today to join Adam to play in front of the kids. He was ready. They did some 12-bar blues and John also busted out some of the Crazy Train riffs he's trying so hard to learn, to the surprise and delight of Adam - and the kids.

So let's see how this stacks up:

Bringing guitar to class (hotshot)
Getting called out of math, grabbing guitar on the way out (sanctioned class skipping)
Coming back after playing in front of a load of 2nd graders (basking in the glow)
Getting called out a second time, from science, playing in front of 3rd graders (more sanctioned skipping)
Coming back... again (yeah, the gig is tough)

Survey says: stoked

No worries on the missed class time. He's a straight A kid, tied for top of his class. Subject to change, I know, but it's all good for now.

Dave

Awww...who's a proud dad?

Great! My folks thought I was going to hell when I first started playing.
I got to believe he is hooked and never will regret it!
One question, will you adopt me?
John

Dave, I think I can safely say that I've been through a very similar experience with my own son. I even bought him a Squier Tele when he was about the same age as John, but my son never took any serious interest. While I had always hoped that he might play the guitar, I can't say that I'm disappointed. After all, at age 33, he's done very well for himself in his own right, so I can't complain.

Conversely, I'm now experiencing much of the same thing with my 2-year-old grandson as well as two step-grandsons at ages 8 and 11. While the older boys are showing some promising interest, I'm really finding it amazing how the little guy (2-year-old) really seems to have a genuine love for music. One day I got him pretty pumped up by playing a simple blues tune on my acoustic guitar, and every time I sang the "Hey" turnaround, he'd sing it dead-on right along with me! I also pulled out my lap steel guitar the other day just to see what his reaction might be. Surprisingly, he held the steel bar straight across the strings while sliding it back and forth along the neck. It seems he was just curious as to hear sounds he was making. Plus, he loves pounding on my piano, too! I don't know, but I've never seen a kid so dang young that just seems so enthusiastic about making some noise with musical instruments. The cool thing is that these kids live within three blocks of me, and whenever they come over to our house, one of the very first things they do is to check out whatever instruments might be laying around my studio.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that your son is still very young. Even if it takes him a few more years to fully realize he wants to play the guitar, it's ultimately his choice, but I'm sure you know this.

Anyway, here's a YouTube video of the little guy strumming on a G&L Legacy (S-500 pickguard) at the age of seven months. The video is only about 66 seconds long, but check out the last 15 seconds or so when he actually strums the thing.

[youtube]BO54WAJOtvQ[/youtube]

That is very cool Dave. School and those years are hard enough but to have a level of "cool" with his peers that is healthy can really help.

JimP, My wife is a teacher and early childhood guru....she watched your vid....first comment...that's a cute baby....end of the vid...big gasp...He's strumming it!!!
Proud Gpa yes, but something amazing going on there too. Very cool.

Thanks, jazzrat! The little guy really isn't such a baby anymore. He's talking and walking and just being a toddler these days. And yeah...I really think there's "something amazing going on" as well. He just seems to have a passion for music like I've never seen before. It'll certainly be fun watching him grow up while seeing how things develop.