Kids are easily fascinated by the guitar. It’s common for them to wish for a guitar as a birthday present. It’s even more interesting when your kid is crazy about music.
So, are you a parent of a 7-year-old child wishing for a guitar?
The perfect guitar size for your 7-year-old child would be the ½ guitar. It’s the perfect fit for kids between the ages of 5 to 8 years.
The ½ guitar is small enough for your young child, and it’s also less expensive. Read on to know more about guitar sizes and the best option for your 7-year-old child.
Guitar Measurements and Sizes
Guitars generally are designed to be carried in between the right arm and armpit, with the left hand cradling the guitar neck. It often proves uncomfortable when you factor in the weight.
Guitars vary in size, and each size has a unique measurement and weight. For instance, a full-size guitar measures around 38 to 40 inches in total length.
Full-size guitars weigh around 2.2kg. This would be too heavy for a child of 7 years, given how a guitar should be carried.
Guitar sizes range from; 4/4 or full size, ¾, ½, and ¼.
So, which of these sizes are for kids?
What Are The Guitar Sizes For Kids?
It’s a common theory that people often pick their lifelong hobbies as kids. One such hobby is playing the guitar.
But kids cannot play all kinds of a guitar due to their little frames – even though they’d try.
To not mess with kids’ happiness, guitar manufacturers came up with smaller guitar sizes just for kids.
These guitars are small enough to be carried by kids easily and short enough for their arms to play across the guitar neck.
The guitar sizes for kids start from ¼ (being the smallest), ½ (being the middle-sized), and the small body size ¾ (being the biggest size that’s made for kids).
The ¼ guitar has a total measurement of 31 inches, while the ½ guitar measures up to 34 inches. The ¾ guitar has a total measurement of 36 inches.
These guitar sizes weigh between 0.9kg to 1.17kg.
A general arrangement of guitar sizes for kids according to their age includes:
- ¼ guitar for kids under 5 years old
- ½ guitar for kids between 5 to 8 years old.
- ¾ guitar for kids between 8 to 12 years old.
While it’s a pretty simple guide, you have to remember that kids grow fast. So when you’re doubting between two sizes, I’d recommend going for the bigger one.
How To Choose A Guitar Size For Your Child
Just as kids quickly outgrow a pair of fitting shoes, your child can outgrow a particular guitar size. But there’s a hack.
Parents often buy a pair of shoes that’s one size larger than the perfect fit for their kids. You can do the same for the varying guitar sizes.
So, rather than buying a ½ guitar for a 7-year-old child, buy a ¾ guitar. It’ll only take a couple of months for your child to reach 8, so it’s better to start with a size higher.
The chances are that your child may not actively start learning to play the guitar until a few months later.
Even if you hire a private guitar lessons teacher immediately, it’ll take a while before your child starts playing actively.
A common theory is that learning with a higher guitar size helps with adaptation. Your 7-year-old child learning to play with a wider guitar early has two benefits:
It’ll be easy to play with a smaller size guitar. Secondly, your child’s arm will easily adapt to the wide length of the guitar.
Conclusion
A 7-year-old child has a relatively small frame; hence the child will need a small guitar. A ½ guitar may be the perfect fit for a 7-year-old child, but you have to factor in growth.
A ¾ guitar may be a size higher; it may be a better option for a 7-year-old child. It’ll take longer for the 7-year-old to outgrow a ¾ guitar compared to a ½ guitar.
