Any of you have Musically tallented kids?:

[Trailer Park Casanova]

At each end of my block live two, tiny 15 year old girls Ashley and Alexa.
Both of them have dads that are pro Guitar players, and the girls are fantastic players too.
I believe loving the instrument, and having a tallented parent willing to teach is a huge plus of course.
My wife can teach any child that can read Trebel Cleft to play the piano the same day, and play it pretty well too.
Both Ashley and Alexa picked up the Ivories what seemed like instantly, as did our 11 year old but they all did put in some time.
(Wifes a stripe-er and insisted they learn the black keys as well, which they did.).
I can't play for crap (though learning), so I really appreciate musical tallent, and that people can actually make a living from it, especially kids.
Your kids play any music?:

[IMPATIENT 1]

i've got a twin son who can sing awesome, picks up the words of any song within listening to it twice. i wanted to get both twin boys a guitar this yr for xmas but i couldn't find a teacher here local to hire :rolleyes: so for now i just encourage the singing till they're old enough to join the jazz band at school.
i think knowing a instrument gives kids alittle more confidence in themselves, plus its cool to see a 10yr kid beating a drum set, breaking strings on a guitar or pounding the keys.

[Jetaholic]

Any of you have Musically tallented kids?
I don't, but my dad does. :D
Impatient, as far as getting guitar lessons, he'd be much better off teaching himself. Buy him a cheap classical nylon string acoustic guitar (they're pretty cheap...that way if he ends up giving it up because it's "not his thing" you're not out a bunch of money) and a book showing him where the notes are, and let him go to town. Tell him to practice trying to learn a song by ear...listen to the song and find the sounds he hears on the neck of the guitar. If he can teach himself he'll develop even more confidence in himself than if someone else taught him...
Even more confidence can be gained within himself if he learns that BBCs rule :D

[Trailer Park Casanova]

Our 6 Year old was struggling with a big guitar when one of the neighbor girls loan'd him her Jr Stratocaster.
It's made by Fender, good quality, has 12 frets, much smaller, and is great for learning and small kids.
I bought him a new Jr Strat with an amp and tuner for a little over $100.
Huge difference, the kid can really play now.

[RiverToysJas]

My son enjoys the musical fruit.....the more he eats, the more he toots. ;)
RTJas :D

[Jetaholic]

Our 6 Year old was struggling with a big guitar when one of the neighbor girls loan'd him her Jr Stratocaster.
It's made by Fender, good quality, has 12 frets, much smaller, and is great for learning and small kids.
I bought him a new Jr Strat with an amp and tuner for a little over $100.
Huge difference, the kid can really play now.
Yeah that's the main thing...the instrument has to feel comfortable to the player right off. Those JR guitars are great for small kids just learning to play. They're limited to 1 octave (12 frets = 1 octave) but they probably won't be playing that high up the neck until they're a little bigger anyway.
The prices of those starter kits have really come down in recent years. Although I don't really care much for the amplifier that comes with a lot of them they're great for beginners. If he takes off with it, when he gets better you can find a really well priced small practice amp with a really great tone.
There is some gear out there that just doesn't sound great no matter what you do which can be misleading to a beginner. I'm talking about amplifiers that don't sound good even if you have an experienced player playing through it. This can be misleading to some beginners...it will make them think it sounds like shit because they're not doing it right, when in reality it wouldn't even sound good if they were doing it right. This is where a better amplifier comes in...one that sounds great with an experienced player playing through it. With these amplifiers, they'll be able to "hear" their playing improve as they progress.

[Trailer Park Casanova]

Yamaha amps any good?
I have a really good hook-up for them in Arcadia.
Kids are pulling a band together and we're gearing up.

[Jetaholic]

Yamaha amps any good?
I have a really good hook-up for them in Arcadia.
Kids are pulling a band together and we're gearing up.
Not too sure on Yamahas...I've been playing all Marshall for the last few years I really haven't kept up on practice amps.
However, I do know that Peavey, Fender and Crate make some killer practice amps.

[haulina29]

My 13 year old plays a Ibanez destroyer , we picked it up for 2k at the quitar center in Hollywood he uses a Marshall amp ....

[Jetaholic]

My 13 year old plays a Ibanez destroyer , we picked it up for 2k at the quitar center in Hollywood he uses a Marshall amp ....
I would think 2k is a bit steep for a beginner's guitar lol.
The Marshalls I prefer are the vintage ones...which are WAY out of my price range, so I just build clones of them. You just cannot get a better hard rock sound than what an old vintage Marshall will give you. They're sort of a "one trick pony" (i.e. they only have 1 sound), but there's nothing else that sounds like them. However through playing dynamics you can get different tones out of them.

[Tremor Therapy]

3 of our 4 kids are musically inclined! I don't know where they got it as I am tone deaf! :D
Daughter #1 never wanted to even try, but has a nice singing voice. Daughters 2 and 3 both play the piano well, and at early ages were taking the songs they were learning and changing them. Creating new melodies and harmonies to known songs...it was really neat to see them spend hours on the piano "teaching" themselves new cords and melodies. Now my wife has a nice singing voice, and daughter #3 got the whole package. My son took to it like he was born to it, but he'd rather spend all day on his X-box as the piano is a "girls instrument." We're thinking about a guitar, but I know once I start down that path both my son and daughter won't even look at the baby grand piano anymore. :eek:

[deltarat]

My son is as you might say gifted. He picked my old acoustic guitar and was playing it in hours. So what is a dad to do, I went down and bought him a Jackson and a Marshall. That was good for about 6 months until he decided he wanted to play Bass so now he has a 4 string and a 5 string bass. No problem, his friends all come over and play and they have a blast and they are all good musicians. One day I went to work and when I came home he had taught himself how to play keyboards, wtf pick one and roll with it I said. He said he would rather know how to play them all, smart kid.

[Jetaholic]

So what is a dad to do, I went down and bought him a Jackson and a Marshall.
It's supposed to be a Gibson and a Marshall :D
And yes...mine go to 11 :D :D
I wish I had some pics of my rig...who knows? Maybe I can get EZ to pose next to the stack one of these days :D

[deltarat]

It's supposed to be a Gibson and a Marshall :D
And yes...mine go to 11 :D :D
I wish I had some pics of my rig...who knows? Maybe I can get EZ to pose next to the stack one of these days :D
My kids a speed metal junkie.

[Jetaholic]

My kids a speed metal junkie.
Have him check out Zakk Wylde/Black Label Society...he's a Gibson/Marshall freak too!
Just because the guitar looks cool doesn't mean it's gonna sound worth a shit.
Then again I honestly don't think there's a sexier lookin' guitar than a Les Paul. :D

[coolchange]

Anyone have input on the Fender combo they're selling at Costco. My kid thinks he wants a guitar. He's had drum lessons and picked it up pretty good.
80% of CEO, CFO etc. play an instrument. I had piano lessons and wish now I'd kept it up.

[bohica]

My 14 year old daughter has some unbelievable musical talent. Started out with the piano at age 4, mastered that and switched to the trumpet at 9. She's been in the All State concert band and the All Southern band the last few years. Luckily she attends one of the schools with the best known music program around. Through her music, she has gotten to travel all over the US. She's been offered a full ride scholarship to Northwestern University and is only a freshman. She is up in the air as whether to pursue a career in music, since she knows it can only pay the bills in rare occasions.:)

[slowinhavasu]

My 14 year old daughter has some unbelievable musical talent. Started out with the piano at age 4, mastered that and switched to the trumpet at 9. She's been in the All State concert band and the All Southern band the last few years. Luckily she attends one of the schools with the best known music program around. Through her music, she has gotten to travel all over the US. She's been offered a full ride scholarship to Northwestern University and is only a freshman. She is up in the air as whether to pursue a career in music, since she knows it can only pay the bills in rare occasions.:)
You need to talk to "Music To My Ears".....
Band geeks have more rythem.....I loved band....(played drums till high school) teaches more then just music...

[Jetaholic]

Anyone have input on the Fender combo they're selling at Costco. My kid thinks he wants a guitar. He's had drum lessons and picked it up pretty good.
80% of CEO, CFO etc. play an instrument. I had piano lessons and wish now I'd kept it up.
I honestly couldn't tell you about that particular combo, but it is my belief that musical equipment should be left to music stores, not department stores/warehouse type stores. The music stores have staff readily available to answer any and all questions you have and are musicians themselves...and they possess a mass amount of knowledge about the instruments and gear they sell.
On top of which, if you have a problem with your product, you can always take it to them and they'll know how to further assist you. Think about it...would you go to Costco or Wal-Mart to buy a boat?
If you have a Guitar Center in your area, that's where you'll get the best deal IMHO.

[Trailer Park Casanova]

My 14 year old daughter has some unbelievable musical talent. Started out with the piano at age 4, mastered that and switched to the trumpet at 9. She's been in the All State concert band and the All Southern band the last few years. Luckily she attends one of the schools with the best known music program around. Through her music, she has gotten to travel all over the US. She's been offered a full ride scholarship to Northwestern University and is only a freshman. She is up in the air as whether to pursue a career in music, since she knows it can only pay the bills in rare occasions.:)
Wow, that is great!!:D :D :D

[DaddyMack]

My 13 y/o son plays Sax... picked up on old Beuscher on ebay... he loves it.. now teaching himself bass to play in a band with a few buddies... my youngest daughter sings... my oldest daughter yells...lol...thats about it... :D

[The Doctor]

Music is awesome at rounding a kid''s development.
All six of my kids play or sing. Two of the daughters play the piano quite well and one is now her Church organist (against her wishes.)
The three boys all play guitar and one has an 11 piece Tama drum set as well. He played drums all the way through elementary school and two years in High School until his Football precluded any more marching band.
They are all grown up now and the oldest son has a complete recording studio in his home with all his own equipment and a band that practices/records one night every week.
Mama played the French horn into college and I was a rock band drummer. They left the equipment at my home and I preferred to play the keyboard than practice drums so now I have a grand piano in the living room with Mama's full approval. (It's cherry wood like everything else)
We all played sports forever but nobody wants us on their teams any more as we age but we can still play music every day!
Music is simply awesome!

[Jetaholic]

My 13 y/o son plays Sax... picked up on old Beuscher on ebay... he loves it.. now teaching himself bass to play in a band with a few buddies... my youngest daughter sings... my oldest daughter yells...lol...thats about it... :D
Out of curiosity, how old is that Beuscher?

[Trailer Park Casanova]

Music is awesome at rounding a kid''s development.
All six of my kids play or sing. Two of the daughters play the piano quite well and one is now her Church organist (against her wishes.)
The three boys all play guitar and one has an 11 piece Tama drum set as well. He played drums all the way through elementary school and two years in High School until his Football precluded any more marching band.
They are all grown up now and the oldest son has a complete recording studio in his home with all his own equipment and a band that practices/records one night every week.
Music is simply awesome!
Music sure exercises the kids minds doesn't it?
Amazing how the pulse and the mood of the house takes on a focused character when the kids are all jiving their studies and practicing too.

[v-drive]

Actually my son Joe is a very accomplished violinist. Oh yeah he calls himself BowTieOmega now, and he is going to kick my ass when he sees this.
:D v-drive