Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Brian, how right you are! My son is nine and he begs me to play bass or guitar along with him. He began one day at a rehearsal by taking over the drums & he showed an uncanny ability to keep time. From there he's migrated to piano. He doesn't play any guitar at all! Lately we've been doing Let it be on Hammond & Piano. Just great.

...my kid's eight but she already knows Am, C, G, Dm and E... not quite enough for her to play "Needles&Pins", though, as she says...

The first four will get her into any hootenanny!

Hee Haw!

Never played any of that hootenanny stuff but it sounds like fun.

My nearly 3 y.o. dances to my CD and likes the Beatles (esp. Strawberry Field). She beats on a pair of bongos when I go into the music room to practice. I have to wait for her to leave so I can turn it up. We sing the theme to Spongebob Squarepants together, and it's on 93 times a day.

When my Gina was 12 she wanted a guitar. I let her mess with an old epiphone. I told her I'd buy her a guitar of her own when she learned C, Am, F, G. The next day she sat me down played "Teenager In Love," and I was forced to get her the strat she wanted -I was lighter in the wallet, but very proud.

She's now 21 and a metal queen (she also teaches guitar and vocals), and the music still provides a strong bond for us.

Joeyr - very cool story. Wasn't lucky enough to have kids myself, but that's the way I always imagined it'd be for me too.

...F is impossible for us at the moment, a barre now seems impossible for our little 'Mousie'...
Great story Joe!

I had the same situation with my son a couple of years later. Just one day, and he knew the progression. He has since forsaken the guitar and has become (gasp) a drummer. Now I'm ashamed to go out in public.

LOL! Could be worse........

Back in the 70s I lived next door to an 80 year old guy (fantastic fella) who took up the violin. Whilst I had the utmost respect for him for having a go at his age, sheesh!!! Our cats kept committing suicide by running out on to the road!!

Hope your cat got used to it however, Howard...

We became sick of losing our loved kitty-cats, Sheena, so we took the easy option - we moved house!!

My eldest daughter ,at 10,(now 20) wanted to learn piano and after a few months she showed enormous potential! Lessons were around $60hr for her classical tuition!!!!she completed 3 years.
Her younger sister,then 8, decided that she shouldn't miss out,so wanted to learn guitar! But not from me!It wouldn't be fair,she thought, that i didn't have to pay for lessons!A good teacher was found & cost $15per1/2hr.
Both girls played their instruments so well, that at the next Christmas, I bought a strat copy & amp and an electric keyboard for them.
Within a month ,BOTH girls gave up playing!!!!
Hope i have better luck with my 2 boys!

I've translated your story to my kid Howard, and that's what she said: "If his neighbour were you mum and you did your usual singsong every morning, the cats wouldn't have to commit suicide - they'd just die from the very sound!"
We won however! She finally did it (the barre)! (after 3 years of tryin'...)

Congratulations to both of you, Sheena. Do you really have a lousy voice, or is she just teasing you?

Similar thing here, Greg. My daughter took up tenor saxophone in year 9 and pleaded with me for 2 years to buy her one - the school ones were pretty average, and you had no idea who had last blown into the thing!! $2500 later, she's got her own sax! 12 months later she's traded it in as part payment for a ****** Barina for $300!!

That hurt!!