3/4 Size Guitars
Usually recommended for kids but some people also use these for practice guitars because they are a little smaller and easier to take with them traveling. Guitar can be a difficult instrument to start on as holding it and getting a good sound out of the strings are challenges in the beginning. It’s important not to give a child an instrument that is too big for them or it can make it even more difficult to get started.
Yamaha APX 3/4 Acoustic-Electric
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Little Martin
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Taylor GS Mini
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Electric Guitars
Electric guitars are great for certain styles of music and are very versatile in the sounds they can make by using different effects and amps. They do need to be plugged in in order to make sound so they do require buying an amplifier. Electric guitars can be an easier way to step into playing as their bodies are a little smaller and easier to hold and the strings are a little easier to press down.
Fender Squire Electric
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Full size Acoustic Guitars
These are some of the most affordable options and are a great choice to start with if you know you will primarily play acoustic styles. They don’t require an amp and are nice to be able to pick up and play with out having to find a cable or plug in. They are also nice to bring to other places because you don’t need to bring anything additional. The downsides are that the body of the guitar is larger and a little more difficult to hold and the strings require more pressure to push down than the electric. If the person playing the guitar is on the smaller side, a full size guitar may not be the best option to start with. The acoustic guitar also only does make one sound and can’t be amplified to be any louder than it naturally goes without using additional equipment. There are some slimline options that have a narrower body which make them easier or more comfortable to hold. However, they will also be a little quieter since the size of the body is smaller and the hollow part of the body is what creates the natural amplification.
Yamaha FD01S
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Fender Acoustic Bundle
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Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Acoustic-Electric Guitars can be a great option that gives you the versatility of both an acoustic guitar and an electric. fThe acoustic feature makes practicing easy since you can just pick it up and play while the electric gives the versatility to amplify or play with different sounds.
Talman Acoustic-Electric: This guitar has a slim body and cut-away so is comfortable to hold.
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Fender Acoustic-Electric
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Yamaha Apx Slimline Acoustic-Electric
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Left-handed Guitars
We don’t recommend buying left-handed guitars. Dexterity is required in both hands so there is no advantage to having a left handed guitar. The fretwork is normally done by the left hand anyway on a right handed guitar so it’s actually an advantage. The other hand will either do strumming which doesn’t require as much fine-tune finger coordination or finger picking/plucking which does. Both hands will need to train on dexterity skills in order to play the guitar. Buying a left-handed guitar just adds an extra expense and inconvenience as it will also mean the player can not pick up and play any right-handed guitar and will have to bring their own.
Amplifiers
You will need an amplifier if you get an electric guitar or would like to use the electric feature of an acoustic-electric guitar. There are small ones that are meant to be portable and not take up a lot of space. There are also bigger ones that have the capacity to be louder and have a different tone to them. Most Amplifiers have basic adjustment knobs to effect the sound and some have effects or settings that give them a specific sound.
Roland Micro-cube: Small and portable with either a battery option or power supply. It also has a handful of different settings that are fun to play with to instantly give your guitar some different sounds.
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Additional things you might need
Case
If you are taking your guitar anywhere you will need a case to protect it from the weather and getting banged up. One that has padding is preferable. Thin vinyl ones do protect it from rain but don’t offer any protection from getting banged up.
Picks
There are many different kinds of picks. Some are thicker and give a harder, louder sound when you use them and are good for making melodies stand out. Others are thinner and more flexible and work better for strumming patterns.
There are also finger picks which you can bend and attach to your fingers to use with finger picking instead of growing the fingernails out.
Another kind of pick is a thumb pick which slides onto your thumb. You hold onto it and can use it to pick single notes or strum with either the pick or the rest of your fingers. It also had the additional advantage for beginners of not allowing them to drop their pick in the sound hole and have to keep fishing it out. This is a common beginner problem.
Capo
This is a something that you put on your frets to press down all of the strings in that fret. It’s purpose is to raise the pitch of the strings so you can play simpler chord shapes in a different key. It’s also useful if you want to change the key but already know it in another key. Every fret you go up raises the key by a half step. Chord shapes are played above the capo as if it is the beginning of the neck.
Guitar Strap
A guitar strap can help keep your guitar in position but isn’t really necessary if you are playing in a sitting position. You will definitely need one if you play to stand and play.
Tuner
There are so many great tuning applications for phones now that there really is no need to buy a tuner. They tend to be more expensive than an app and aren’t as easy to use. Guitar Tuna is my favorite tuning app because it won’t allow you to tune to the wrong octave which can result in broken strings. It also has a grid that tells you and allows you to see if you are going too high or too low which makes it easier to learn how to tune and know exactly what you are doing to the pitch when you turn the pin.
Guitar Footrest
They have ones specifically designed to prop your foot on so that you one leg is higher creating a shelf to set your guitar on when in sitting position. Although it’s nice to have, you can also just use any children’s step stool. Some people choose to not use a foot rest and cross their leg instead.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purhase. We do get a small commission from Amazon for recommendations but are not sponsored by any brand so make our own choices on things we’ve used ourselves or feel will be the most affordable and functional for our students.