Resources

Starter Guitars For Beginners

Smaller scale classical guitars are often good for small children as they are fairly easy to play. The guitars are designed to be adequate for a beginner to learn on and are priced accordingly. Normally the best prices can be found online.

Good Starter Guitar For Beginners Aged 5-6:

Yamaha GL1 Guitalele (Micro Guitar)

Budget Starter Guitars For Beginners Aged 7-11:

1) On Amazon: Childrens Classical Spanish Guitar Kids Pack 1/2 Size by Tiger Guitars
2) On Amazon: 3rd Avenue 1/2 Size Kids Classical Guitar Spanish Nylon String Beginner Pack Bundle
3) On Gear4music: Junior 1/2 Classical Guitar by Gear4music

Good Starter Electro Acoustic Guitar For Beginners Aged 12 And Over/Adults:

1) On Gear4music (steel strings): Deluxe Roundback Electro Acoustic Guitar by Gear4music (Natural Finish)
2) On Thomann (nylon strings): Harley Benton CG-400CE Thinline BK

Other Essential Items You Will Need:

Don’t forget to also get the following essentials (best prices online):
1) A clip on guitar tuner (best for children). I personally use this (on Amazon): BOSS TU-02 Chromatic Clip-On Tuner for Guitar
Adults may prefer the phone app SimplyTuner by Simply Ltd (Android and iPhone).
2) Some plectrums (guitar picks). I personally use this make (on Amazon): Jim Dunlop 47R3S Nylon Jazz III, Black, 1.38mm

Other Optional Items You May Want:

Don’t forget to also consider getting the following items (best prices online):
1) Talking Metronome (on Amazon): Sondery Digital Metronome (English Vocal Counting)
2) Backing track app (intermediate/advanced students): iReal Pro (https://www.irealpro.com/)

Is There a Neck Problem With Valencia Guitars?

One of the most popular beginner guitars found online is the 1/2 & 3/4 sized Valencia guitars. However, there may possibly be design issues with the Valencia range of classical guitars, as I have now had 6 students report problems with the headstock breaking away from the neck. The necks on these guitars are relatively thin, which is a bonus for playability, but may make the join of the neck to the headstock more prone to failure. It is obviously possible other factors could have contributed to the failure, but this is the only problem my students have had with this guitar. This specific headstock failure has not happened to any of my other students who own different brands. Unfortunately, the problem is compounded in some cases where online sellers have decided not to exchange or repair the broken guitars, as they have insisted their customers must have caused the damage themselves (some of the guitars have been only a few months old). I have reported this issue twice to Valencia and also to the UK distributor but have not heard anything back about my observations sadly. Consequently, until Valencia confirm whether this issue has been looked into or addressed, I do not recommend purchasing this guitar. Pictures of my student’s guitars are attached below:

Guitar 1:

Guitar 2:

Guitar 3:

Guitar 4:

Guitar 5:

Guitar 6:

Music Shops in Reading:

Hickies Music Shop, 153 Friar Street, Reading, RG1 1HE (They don’t tend to stock competitively priced budget beginner classical guitars for children)

Other Notable Nearby Music Shops:

guitarguitar Epsom, 6, Capitol Square, Church St, Epsom KT17 4NY
Andertons Music Co, St Vincent House, 58-59 Woodbridge Rd, Guildford GU1 4RF

Guitar Repairs:

Richard Pilkington, Reading Guitar Repairs, Unit 9A Manor Farm, Rotherfield-Peppard, Henley-on Thames, Berkshire, RG9 5LA. Phone: 01491 629028, Mobile: 07933503812, Email: info@readingguitarrepairs.com, www.readingguitarrepairs.com

Useful Music Books (not for complete beginners):

Rockschool Guitar Grades 1-8

Rockschool provide an excellent examination syllabus for any aspiring rock & acoustic guitarist. This series will include performance pieces, technical exercises and in-depth guidance for the examinations.

AB Guide to Music Theory Part 1 by Eric Taylor

A really useful resource for students looking to learn how to read or transcribe music, it clearly lays out all the rudiments of music in a very succinct and easy to understand manner.

Modern Reading Text in 4/4 by Louise Bellson

Hundreds of rhythm examples that progress from simple to advanced which assist the student in being able to read music notation.

The Real Book (Sixth Edition) Published by Hal Leonard

An essential resource of hundreds of jazz standards for any aspiring jazz musician/ improvisor.

Chord Chemistry by Ted Greene

Modern Chord Progressions by Ted Greene

These two books provide the jazz guitarist of any ability level with a comprehensive analysis of chord progressions and their application.