Introducing
Guitar for Children
A Group Course for
Beginners Aged 6-8
Next course starts 1 February 2025.
‘[My son] really loved the class, and the teacher was able to channel his enthusiasm and encourage it.’
– J. Donnelly
‘An excellent music course for children. I’m delighted at the progress [my daughter] has made – as is she!’
– S. Murphy
Course Description
Guitar is an excellent starter instrument for children. Melodic, harmonic and percussive, it is satisfying to play in itself and can also serve as a ‘gateway’ musical experience for other instrumental study. It’s easy to carry, simple to store and affordable. Best of all, children want to play it! Designed for absolute beginners, Waltons New School of Music’s Introducing Guitar for Children course enables young students aged 6-8 to experience early success (learning to play well-known tunes and songs in a short space of time) and have fun, while the curriculum guides them to broader musical development. The course includes melody playing, chord accompaniment, note reading skills and basic two-part solo playing.
Group learning has long been recognised as one of the most effective ways to teach children about music and instil positive lifetime attitudes towards both music and learning. A group environment provides children with the opportunity to make music together with friends and classmates, sharing common goals and skill. The interaction between students also encourages and promotes understanding, and children learn to assess their peers positively.
Requirements
Course participants will need to have their own nylon-string (‘classical’) guitars, to bring to classes and practice with at home. 1/2- or 3/4-size instruments are generally best for this age group. (See the Recommended Instruments tab on this page for the guitars we recommend for this course, which are available from Waltons Music at a discount for students enrolled in this course.) Participants will also need a copy of The Guitarist’s Way, Book 1 by Peter Nuttall and John Whitworth, available from most music shops, as well as online.
Enrol your child in this course.
Questions about the course?
or call us on (01) 478 1884.
Child Safety & COVID-19
The health and safety of children attending lessons and courses at the New School is of the utmost importance to us.
First, the New School has a comprehensive Child Protection Policy in place, and all teachers are Garda vetted.
And second, although the COVID-19 pandemic is thankfully behind us, the disease remains a threat. So with the health and safety of both students and staff at the New School in mind, we have retained some of the equipment and policies we put in place during the pandemic to make in-school tuition safe. See our COVID-19 Safety Policy page for more information.
Introducing Guitar for Children is one of the New School’s group courses. We also offer private guitar lessons in a range of genres for students of all ages and skill levels. See Guitar • Bass • Ukulele Tuition for more information.
Conal Rae
Conal received a Diploma in Music Performance from the DIT College of Music (now the TU Dublin Conservatoire), before going on to NUI Maynooth, where he received a BA in Music, majoring in performance. He continued as a postgraduate student at Maynooth, where he also received an MA in Music. As a teacher, he initially focused on classical, flamenco, jazz and electric guitar, as these were his main areas of interest, but over the course of over 25 years as a music educator he has incorporated piano, bass guitar, banjo and ukulele into his teaching practise. Conal has taught both privately and with several prominent schools. He is the author of the Leinster School of Music’s Classical Guitar exam syllabus and was a member of the steering group developing the school’s Piano exam syllabus. His own musical interests are very wide and include classical music, rock, jazz, blues, flamenco and Irish traditional. In addition to guitar, Conal also teaches bass guitar, Irish banjo, piano and ukulele with the New School.
‘Making a positive and lasting contribution to my students’ personal and social development through music is my objective. I enjoy helping people to learn new skills, hear new music, and enjoy the experience of performing – and then sharing these experiences with others.’
Reviews • Testimonials
‘My son loves the course and looks forward to each week’s class. He really enjoys practicing his pieces and songs and playing them for family members. Thank you for offering such a great course!’
– S. Bakunin
‘My daughter attended Waltons for the introductory guitar course and has continued with an improvers course for almost two years. She really enjoys it. Her teacher is great – very calm, encouraging and patient, and he doesn’t talk down to them. Every week I see progress and her personal pride in playing a little more accurately and fluidly each time. The atmosphere in the building from all staff is one of professionalism, kindness and welcome.’
– A. Campbell
‘My daughter looks forward to her class each week. She learned so quickly how to read music. The teacher is very good with kids.’
– A. Niklas
Has your child taken – or is he/she taking – this course? We would appreciate it if you could take a few moments to give us your feedback in a brief online questionnaire about it.
2024-2025 Second Term
Course Schedule & Fee
10 weeks, 1 February – 12 April 2025
(No class on 22 February – Mid-Term Break)
Saturdays 10.30 – 11.30 am
Course Type: In-School
Tuition Fee: €220
Enrolment
Enrolment for this course requires a completed Enrolment Form and full payment of the tuition fee. Places are limited to eight and are available on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the date of enrolment. Many of our group courses fill in advance of their start dates, and early enrolment is recommended.
Purchasing this course as a gift?
Please complete a Gift Certificate Booking Form.
Questions about the course?
or call us on (01) 478 1884.
Recommended Instruments
We recommend the following guitars, both available from Waltons Music, for the Introducing Guitar for Children course.
- 1/2-Size Valencia VC102K Classical Guitar Pack • €110
- 3/4-Size Valencia VC103K Classical Guitar Pack • €129
Both of these guitars can be purchased from Waltons at a 5% discount for students enrolled in the course. If you would like to obtain a discount, please contact Waltons and include a scan or photo of your course payment receipt.
What happens after the course?
Two weeks before the end of each Introducing course, parents will be given options for continuing their children’s tuition with the New School if they would like to do so. Although an ‘improvers’ or continuation course cannot be scheduled on the same day/time as the Introducing course, one can be arranged if enough students would like to continue and the teacher has timetable availability or there is timetable availability with another teacher. Students can also continue their tuition with private (one-to-one) lessons or ‘partner’ lessons with another class member. (See Tuition Options – Private • Partner • Small Group Lessons.) We are happy to discuss these options with you.
Tuning Your Child’s Guitar
Tuning your child’s guitar – and keeping it in tune – is essential to his/her progress in the course. Here are some simple instructions for tuning a guitar, as well as guitar tuning apps.
Strings
The strings of a guitar, from thickest/lowest to thinnest/highest, are:
- E, the sixth, thickest and lowest sounding string
- A, the fifth string
- D, the fourth string
- G, the third string
- B, the second string
- E, the first, thinnest and highest sounding string
Tuning
- The E string. Tune the bottom E string as accurately as you can. Chances are it’s already in tune; being the thickest string it is less likely to ‘detune’ itself than any of the others. If you have another instrument such as a piano or keyboard, you can tune it to the second E below middle C. If you have no device or instrument handy, just try to get it as accurate as possible; what really counts when you are playing is that the guitar is in tune with itself.
- The A string. Place the first finger of your left hand (or right hand if you’re playing a left-handed guitar) just behind the fifth fret on the bottom E string. That’s an A note. Keep your finger on that fret. Now pick the fifth and sixth strings in turn, gently adjusting the fifth string tuning peg until the two notes are the same.
- The D string. Place the first finger of your left hand just behind the fifth fret on the A string. That’s a D note. Tune the fourth string (the D note) to that.
- The G string. Place the first finger of your left hand just behind the fifth fret on the D string. That’s a G note. Tune your G string to that.
- The B string. Place the first finger of your left hand just behind the fourth fret. Note that the B string is the only one that comes from a different position, the fourth fret; the rest are from the fifth fret.
- The E string. Place the first finger of your left hand just behind the fifth fret on the B string. That’s an E note.
Tuning Apps
There are a number of free smartphone guitar tuning apps available. Here are two of the most popular:
GuitarTuna
Android:
iOS:
Fender Tune
Android:
iOS:
A wide range of clip-on electronic tuners, which are inexpensive and easy to use, are also available.