Kids Guitar Lessons

“My whole life history is on this cassette!” Brain was my 5-year old guitar student about 25 years ago. He was showing me a very special cassette that he had recorded that week. Brian was one of many little guitar students I have taught.

One of the homeschool guitar classes I taught had 4 little boys from ages 5 to 9. They never wanted to miss a class. They didn’t even want to take off for summer vacations or holidays.

I made the class like a game. For example, we started the class by seeing who could find a particular string and fret the fastest. Then I asked them who could change to a specific guitar chord the fastest.

One day, William, the nine year old, showed up with a cowboy hat. The following week they all came with cowboy hats. They were so cute!

In 2001 I made the first of a series of Christian guitar lessons with worship songs, Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class. These lessons are geared towards teens and adults. I knew little kids would need to start a bit slower. My little homeschool class could play all the songs on volume one, but I started them with chords using only one finger

In 2007 I finally filmed Christian guitar lessons with a 7-year old, Abigail Cash. It’s made just for kids, Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class for Kids. (The music for the video in this hub is at this website.) The first three lessons use only one-finger chords and one finger at a time melodies. They don’t play full chords until the fourth lesson.

The first lesson is in the video below. If you have a child in your life, invite them to watch it and try playing along with the lesson. It’ll be easiest for them with a little guitar. If you only have a full size instrument to use, try putting a capo at the 2nd or 3rd fret to make it easier for them to play.

If you would like to download the music for this lesson, it’s on the kid's website shown a couple paragraphs above the video. The music is at the bottom of the website. This lesson is the first of nine lessons.

I don’t know if Brian is still playing the guitar, but it is certainly still a part of his ‘life history.’ It's amazing what children remember. Music is a wonderful addition to a child's life.