( west lothian & district area )

Basic guitar tuition by highly experienced guitar tutor Al reed who teaches both children and adults.(also songwriting tuition if requested )

Your son or daughter say to you one day "hey mum (or dad) i'd like
to learn to play the guitar" where do you go .

The first thing is to get a suitable guitar for the childs age.

Guitars come in three sizes -adult or full size
  intermediate or three quarter size
  and small or half size

there is no hard fast rule to which suits which age it depends on which guitar is the most comfortable to hold and if the fingers can span three frets on the fretboard.

I can help you with choosing a suitable size guitar. local guitar selling shops are argos .and d c music in whitburn.

If the child has an electric guitar with amplifier the rules are the
same although sometimes these guitars are quite heavy for younger children and always require the use of a strap.

there is no difference in teaching electric guitar or accoustic guitar.

other items to be considered are -

1/An electronic tuner .This is a must to enable correct tuning and therefore give confidence to the student. (i can provide these at a reduced student rate if required or if you wish any good music shop will have them but make sure they have a red/green light indicator , a boxed string indicator and possibly electronic pitch pipes incorporated in the design,
2/ a music stand (argos has them at around £10.00).
3/ a ring binder with poly pockets for all the guitar tuition notes i will give you.
and
4/ possibly a strap on accoustic guitars for those who have difficulty in holding the guitar while trying to play it.( i can provide a strap and fit it for around £16.00 with the materials costing around £11.00,I only charge £5.00 to fit a strap if required
or if you prefer to provide your own materials ie a strap and strap buttons i will attach it to the guitar for £5.00.

Guitar tuition should be educational but also fun to do....therefore
i will give the student a grounding in guitar playing , a chance to perform some of there favourite tunes,some theory tab and notation and most of all a great string to their bow and once learned a very relaxing way to unwind on their own or with friends.

If you wish to use my services I teach at my home or if you prefer i can teach you in your own home ( for a small extra fee)

I am based in stoneyburn, Central Scotland and offer extremely competitive rates.

NB - my own name by the way is al kerr and as is usual in the music business i had to change it for business reasons because there is another al kerr on the music scene fairly well known...hence the name al reed (stage name)
but all cheques should be made payable to Al Kerr.