Summary
Music is an excellent stimulus for children, combining many benefits. When they are small, toddlers are often attracted to instruments, curious about the sounds they can make by tapping a crate or vibrating a string. If you can see that your child has a particular interest in a particular instrument, it may be worth encouraging him or her, especially if he or she is learning to play at an early age.
If you realize that you have a little rocker at home, but don’t know which children’s guitar to choose, what criteria to consider or how to choose, you’ll find the answers to your questions in this comparison of the best children’s guitars.
🏆 The best guitars for children from 2 to 6 years old
🏆 The best guitars for children aged 8 to 13 years old
Why give a guitar to a child?
Generally speaking, a musical instrument is a very good gift for children’s development. Music is very beneficial, and mastery of an instrument brings concentration, coordination, listening, sense of rhythm, patience, dexterity..
The advantage of a guitar is that your toddler can carry it around with him. Even if he can’t play it, he can easily have fun making a lot of sounds by feeling the strings. Your little one will discover the joys of music in a simple way, and will then be able to deepen his knowledge to really play if he wishes.
Our favorite
What size of guitar should a child choose?
The size of the guitar depends on the age and height of your toddler. Overall, there are 6 different sizes of children’s guitars, with different sizes of body and neck. Your child needs to be comfortable to play, the guitar should not take up too much room on his lap, and he should be able to access the end of the neck to play without too many problems.
How to choose a children’s guitar?
Before you start looking for the ideal guitar for your little musician, there are a few questions to ask yourself and some criteria to consider for a successful purchase.
-
The type of guitar
There are various types of guitars to choose from according to your toddler’s tastes: acoustic, classical, electric, toy, ukulele. If your goal is to learn guitar, a classical, folk or electric guitar is a good option, to be chosen according to the tones and style your little one wants to play. If the guitar is going to be used more as a fun and leisure activity to discover music, especially if it is a young child, a toy guitar or a ukulele will be enough.
-
Guitar size
As explained above, it is important that your little guitarist is comfortable playing. Therefore, the sizes indicated in the table should be followed to ensure comfortable practice.
-
The design
You can find all types of designs, from the shape of the guitar, but especially in the colors, the material and the customization. Disney themes, bright colours, raw wood, plastic… there’s something for everyone!
-
The rigidity of the strings
Depending on the model of children’s guitar you choose, the strings are made of different materials. On a classical guitar, the strings are made of nylon, and are rather soft, without hurting your fingertips. Conversely, a folk guitar has steel strings, which are much stiffer and tighter, and difficult to make sound. The electric guitar also has steel strings, but they are less taut, so they are already more practicable. If this is your toddler’s first guitar experience, choose a classical acoustic guitar, with strings that are pleasant to the touch, he’ll be able to play much more easily and then switch to harder strings more easily.
-
Strength and quality
The idea is that your musician can keep his guitar for a little while. If he is young (or not very careful), choose a solid, quality guitar with a resistant varnish. Check the quality of the materials used to maximize the strength and therefore the durability of the instrument. The paints applied to decorate the guitar are often of poor quality, and end up flaking quite quickly.
-
The quality of sound
The principle of an instrument is to make beautiful music. Be alert! Some children’s guitars really provide very average sounds, which are not motivating to practice. If you can, try out the instrument before you buy it so that you can evaluate the sound quality.
-
Accessories
Even if you can buy them on the side, it’s always a plus if the guitar is sold with its cover, capo, strap, or even the tuner. It will save you from having to look for them somewhere else.
What are the best guitars for children? Our comparison
-
Children’s 6-string guitar – Vilac
This little colourful guitar will delight your budding musicians. Suitable for children from 2 years to 4-5 years, the sound produced is surprisingly good, and the strings are easy to tune. The strings are strong and the guitar is light: a very handy instrument for small hands. It’s more of a toy than a real guitar for making music, but it allows toddlers to become familiar with the instrument, practice and sounds before investing a little more in a learning guitar if they like it. You can choose from 3 different colours and designs, each as cute as the next! Rather solid with strong ropes, it will stay in time.
The sound is really good for a toy. My little girl (4) is thrilled!
-
Wooden confetti ukulele – Janod
Designed to awaken toddlers to music, this children’s ukulele is easy to handle with its small size and its 4 strings in soft Nylon. Rather solid and resistant, it remains a toy that makes sounds, with difficulty in tuning the instrument. However, this is not disturbing as 3 year olds can’t play, so it’s still a great toy to play with at a very reasonable price!
-
Children’s acoustic guitar – Lexibook
Guitar Queen of the Snows, Avengers or Me, Ugly and Mean, your budding rocker will be able to play in the universe of his favorite heroes among 10 different designs. Thought for older children from 6 years old, it allows toddlers to really start learning the guitar. The sound is rather good, with a very good price-quality ratio. The strings are of poorer quality, you just have to replace them if it hinders the learning or the good practice of your musician. Rather solid, the negative points are the paint that flakes off quite quickly, and the strings a bit hard to tune.
-
Musical toy guitar – Small foot company
This red toy guitar has something to seduce our little rockers. Of course, for its price, you can’t expect great music and great sound, but it’s an accessory that allows you to have a first contact with the guitar and a first approach to the music. The instrument remains quite gadget-like, and is not very solid. This product is recommended for children between 2 and 4 years old who want to have fun and make the strings vibrate without paying attention.
-
Mahogany Ukulele – Actutech
This small mahogany ukulele child seduces us at a glance with its pure design of quality. For 5-7 year olds, your toddlers can really learn to play the guitar (with 2 strings less), with a clear and soft sound. A “real” instrument with a very good value for money to enchant your little musicians.
Where to find guitars for children?
Depending on the guitar you are looking for, you will have different choices of shops.
If you want a “real” children’s guitar to teach your toddler how to play, you can go to music stores, or hobby shops such as Nature et Découverte, Cultura or Oxybul.
For toy-type guitars, opt for children’s leisure stores, or game stores such as Toys’R’Us or La Grande Récré.
Of course, whatever model you are looking for, you will find what you are looking for among the wide online selection without any worries.
Best guitars for kids: why trust us?
Thank you for reading this article! Because we know that it is not always easy to make the best choice without trying, each of our recommendations is the result of a long work of analysis of consumer opinions on flagship and little-known products on the market, of comparison of prices and technical characteristics, but also and above all of tests by a team of men and women constantly renewed in order to keep a real objectivity to help you in your purchasing process.
All the purchasing criteria are scrutinized for the realization of our comparative guides: budget, level of range, functional and practical aspects, design, pack and accessories, safety… All this in order to help you choose the products best suited to your needs, desires and constraints on a daily basis, at the best price!
