My daughter, 11 years old, wants to play the guitar. We got her one for Christmas. Next Monday she starts weekly lessons at a place nearby.

I know that practice in-between those lessons will be key. And I assume watching YouTube would be a good place to start? Does anyone have recommendations of particular people to watch on YouTube for a young girl with no musical experience?

I would recommend searching for a song with the words lesson and guitar in it. I have been playing guitar since 1992 and I wish YouTube was around back when I started playing. Another site you might be interested in is Ultimate-Guitar for tabs.

My guitar teacher recommended that I use this app to further help me with my guitar playing.

Amazing Slow Downer. This app has been a great help to me, taking lessons is just as important as individual practicing. Best of luck to your daughter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ZpDWGaNqI

Been playing since 1985. I can't imagine getting very far without having someone personally show you a few things you simply have to learn. But once you have that down, Youtube and songsterr.com can show you the rest. Pick all the songs you ever wanted to learn on songsterr.com and most of them are there and it's pretty accurate. I'm working on Siberian Khatru for a band project and it's kicking my ass.

quote:

Siberian Khatru

? Holy shit! Good luck!

https://guitarzero2hero.com

I've been playing for over 20 years and love this guy.

My advice to a new guitar player is to stick with it. She will find it very difficult at first. Her fingers won't conform to the shapes she needs to make at first. It will feel like it's impossible and she'll never get it. Strum patterns will be hard or almost impossible in the beginning.

...but then it will suddenly click. I was self taught, so it was probably slower than normal for me, but it took me at least a month or more until it finally came into focus for me. Once it clicks, it stops being frustrating and becomes fun.

There are loads upon loads of useful YouTube videos for learning guitar, though I'm not familiar with ones aimed at or best suited to beginners - much less younger beginners.

Paul Davids has a popular channel, and his stuff covers quite a range. IIRC, he's been playing since he was a kid. I'm 30+ years deep, myself, so what I seek out is super specific.

Best of luck. Sticking with it, "time in the saddle", is the biggest thing. It takes a while to trains ones mind and muscles do work right in this way, but it does come, and is lots of fun.

One suggestion I can make is that she practice daily....even if for a short while. Makes more difference than trying to make up for lost time practicing weekly. To make this easier, keep the guitar on a stand and accessible.

Some here will surely recommend Justin. For some reason, I just have never warmed up to the guy or felt that he helped me along at all.

I really like Jerry's Guitar Bar. You do have to pay for a lot of his lessons (it's not much), but some of his song offerings are free. I've found him to be very good.

Mahalo on YouTube is also pretty good.

The best thing for her to do would be to just cruise around YouTube until she finds something that works for her. If she's unable to find a good lesson for the song she wants, then try the above.

Also, Ultimate Guitar is a great place for chords and tabs.

I'll also echo what another poster mentioned - finding someone who really knows how to play guitar well to learn from in invaluable. They'll be able to teach her all the little tricks to sounding good.

At one point, I thought that I was getting pretty good and I visited my aunt/uncle in Chicago. He (my uncle) used to earn his living playing dive bars in IL/MI/WI/MN. He actually went to the Old Town School of Folk Music back in the early 70s and played with Prine, Goodman, and many others who went on to be famous. The guy can do things with a guitar that you wouldn't think possible. I learned so much from him just playing together for a few evenings. It made me realize how bad I suck.

You and your daughter will probably have to watch a few different folks to see who you like. I often recommend Justin https://www.justinguitar.com/

but he doesn't work for Gustofer for example. And then, I have never warmed up to the Mahalo videos. So it can kind of come down to personal taste.

When I want to learn a simple song quickly I have found Marty Schwartz helpful.

I would ask the teacher as well.

I just started learning guitar again and signed up for guitartricks.com . Highly recommended for $19 per month lessons or $140 prepaid for 1 year. Very organized lessons and tips. Likely would be a great supplement to lessons in person.

I use two fee-based online instructors, Ross Campbell and Brian’s Active Melody. I guess I would say, give her teacher a chance to set her practice routine for awhile; that’s what you’re paying him/her for.

IMO, the mechanics of guitar playing is secondary to understanding music, and this is where I struggle the most. It’s also where your daughter can benefit the most from a good teacher.

I’m excited for her and hope she really enjoys it.

I like Active Melody, Robert Renman, Claus Levin, and Jens Larsen.

But my caution is that the key to good youtube learning would be to find someone who is AT THE LEVEL YOU ARE AT AND CAN COMPREHEND at the time.
We all want to be "good" and have "good teachers", but if your daughter wants to play "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and she can find someone to teach that, and she will actually practice and play that, then that is the "best" instruction for her at the time.

GuitarJamz is my favorite. He does super easy versions of popular songs as well as the full versions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...-Avv5BxWD0a&index=19