Gift List for Young Guitarists and Beginners

by Justin Reamer

Musical Instruments

Fender Squier "Stop Dreaming, Start Playing" Starter Kit w/ G-DEC Junior Amp - $349.00 This deluxe package from Fender comes with everything your child needs to plug in and start playing: Squier Affinity Strat guitar, G-DEC Junior amp, guitar strap, guitar cable, gig bag, and picks. What sets this kit above all the rest is the amp: equipped with built-in play-along patterns with full band accompaniment, the G-DEC allows your young guitarist to feel as if he's jamming with other musicians right from the get-go. Available in Black, Metallic Blue and Metallic Red. Full-size guitar for ages 11 and up. Item Options Metallic Blue - $349.00 Black - $349.00 Metallic Red - $349.00

Fender Squier SE Special Starter Kit w/ 10W Amp - $199.00 Although similar to the "Stop Dreaming, Start Playing" package above, there is one main difference: Instead of the sophisticated G-DEC Amp, this kit includes a slightly less versatile amplifier. Nonetheless, this package has everything you need to get started on guitar in style - even stereo headphones, an instructional DVD and a chromatic tuner. Best of all, it's made by Fender, the world's #1 guitar maker! Available in Black, White and Sunburst. Full-size guitar for ages 11 and up. Item Options Sunburst - $199.00 White - $199.00

Daisy Rock Pixie Acoustic Guitar Pack - $229.00 Bring out the folk musician in your little girl with this brightly colored Pixie Purple acoustic starter kit from Daisy Rock. Comes with a 48-page girl's guitar method book and enhanced CD with computer tuner, gig bag with zippered pockets and backpack straps, guitar strap, picks, string winder and polishing cloth, as well as two pages filled with butterfly and daisy decals to customize your guitar. Full-size acoustic guitar with small folk-size body for ages 10 and up.

Dean Tradition Acoustic-Electric Guitar Package w/DA20 Acoustic Amp - $229.99 Can your young guitarist not decide if he wants to be Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix? Give him the best of both worlds with this Dean Acoustic-Electric package. Play acoustic to bring out the singer-songwriter, or plug in to bring out the rocker. Comes with amp, gig bag and guitar cords. Full-size acoustic guitar for ages 11 and up.

Fender DG-8 S Solid-Top Acoustic Guitar Package - $199.00 From one of the most trusted names in the industry comes the DG-8S Solid Top Acoustic Guitar Package. Includes guitar, gig bag, Multi-Language Instructional DVD, strings, tuner, and picks. Full-size acoustic guitar for ages 11 and up.

Fender Squier Mini 3/4-size Electric Guitar and Guitar Package - $99.00 Not sure if you need all the extras included in those more expensive packages? Well Fender gives you a choice with these fantastic beginner guitars: If you already own all the equipment, then simply pick up the guitar by itself, or if you are truly a beginner, go for the whole package! Either way you'll be getting the superior quality of a Fender product! 3/4-size electric guitar for ages 7-11 or older players who prefer smaller guitars.

Lauren 30" Student Acoustic Guitar Package - $45.99 These half size guitars are perfect for even the youngest students. At such an affordable price, these Lauren Student models are great learning guitars. This package comes with guitar bag, pitch pipe, picks, steel strings and strap button. 1/2-size guitar for ages 4-7. Item Options Black - $45.99 Metallic Blue - $45.99 Metallic Red - $45.99 Metallic Silver - $45.99

Guitar Amplifiers

Fender Frontman 10G 10-watt Practice Guitar Amplifier - $59.00 What do you get when you combine the quality and reliability of a Fender product with an affordable price tag and portability? The Fender Frontman 10-watt practice amp! This convenient little guy is perfect for practicing around your house.

RMS 12-watt Guitar Practice Amplifier - $59.99 This RMS 12-watt Practice amp is small and light enough to drag around anywhere. Controls include: Drive, Input, Gain, Tone and Volume. Comes with headphone jack.

Marshall Mini Amp - $45.99 Last year, little Johnny was ecstatic over the brand new electric guitar and amp that you bought him. But a year later, is the constant stream of loud, distorted rock music driving you crazy? The Marshall Mini Amp is the perfect solution. Providing the industry standard sound that Marshall is famous for at only 1 Watt, allow your son or daughter to rock out without driving your whole family deaf!

Roland Micro-Cube Portable 2-watt Guitar Amp with Effects - $125.00 This handy little amp is the first Cube Amp to run on battery power. Due to its compact size, this amp is perfect for remote locations such as camping or an outdoor music festival, but an AC adaptor is included for indoor use as well. With 7 different amp models and a slew of built-in Boss effects, the Roland Micro-Cube is a great gift for the guitarist on the move.

Guitar Accessories

Guitar Chords Diagram Poster - $7.95 Do you keep on forgetting the chords that you learned in your last lesson? This 2'x3' poster is a great gift for a young guitarist. Features diagrams of 120 chords, from the standard majors and minors to jazz chords such as major sevenths and minor ninths.

Korg MA30 Digital Metronome - $29.99 Unless you're a born percussionist, it is only natural to struggle with timing and rhythm. Perfect your groove using this digital metronome. Features include: 13 built-in rhythms so you can practice to more than a click track, reference pitches to tune to, adjustable volume and an earphone jack.

Qwik Time QT-5 Credit Card Metronome - $13.99 This affordable metronome is small enough to fit in your pocket. Keep perfect time no matter where you are!

Korg GA-30 Tuner - $19.99 Everyone who has ever heard beginning guitarist play knows that a tuner is quite possibly the most essential tool in a student's gig bag. Tune quickly and easily with Korg, the most trusted name in tuners.

Korg TM-40 Digital Tuner/Metronome - $35.00 Save money with this combination Tuner/Metronome. Korg tuners and metronomes are acclaimed around the world for their extremely high accuracy and superb features, and only one use will show you why.

Shubb Deluxe X Series Capo - $25.99 Play any song in the key that suits your voice with this Shubb capo. This stainless-steel capo is durable enough to withstand even the most accident prone young guitarist.

Fender Deluxe Wide Padded Leather Guitar Strap - $39.99 The extra width on this 3-1/4" strap helps to spread your instrument's weight over a larger area, meaning less stress on your shoulder and back. Available in Black and walnut.

Planet Waves Classic Leather Guitar Strap - Black - $19.99 With a length 4" longer than most, this adjustable strap is great for all guitarists!

Fender 351-style Picks (Box of 144 Picks) - $30.99 Tired of losing picks? With this bag of 144 you'll never be searching the sofa cushions for a pick again. Item Options Extra Heavy - $30.99 Heavy - $30.99 Medium - $30.99 Thin - $30.99

D'Addario Acoustic Guitar Strings - $14.99 - $24.99 D'Addario is one of the most trusted string makers in the business. Many acoustic guitarists choose a heavier gauge of string, as they usually last longer and have a stronger sound, but try out all gauges to find out what works best for your style. D'Addario Phosphor Bronze strings are durable, long-lasting, bright sounding, and retain their brilliance longer than other bronze and brass alloys. Comes in packs of 3. Item Options Light, Phosphor Bronze Wound - $14.99 Medium, Phosphor Bronze Wound - $17.99 Heavy, Phosphor Bronze Wound - $24.99

D'Addario XL Electric Guitar Strings - $12.99 - $31.99 Light strings are oftentimes the choice of electric guitarists, as they allow you to bend and wail like the guitar heroes you hear on the radio. Try out the Nickel Round Wound or Chrome Flat Wound in various gauges, from Extra Super Light to Medium. Comes in packs of 3. Item Options Extra Super Light, Nickel Round Wound - $20.99 Regular Light, Nickel Round Wound - $12.99 Jazz Light, Chrome Flat Wound - $31.99 Medium, Chrome Flat Wound - $31.99

Martin Acoustic Guitar Kit - $25.99 This useful kit comes with a bottle of Martin guitar polish, a polishing cloth, a string winder, a 1 pitch pipe, 1 set of Martin SP3100 light gauge strings, Martin nylon guitar strap and 6 Martin tortoise #1 picks. Keep your guitar looking and sounding brand new!

Stageline Guitar Stand - $12.99 So after strumming on his new guitar for a while, your son lays it on the floor next to the sofa. Two minutes later, he and his brother begin their daily wrestling match, and the only thing to break the fall from that body slam is a brand-new guitar. Avoid damage to your instrument by placing it out of the way on this stand from Stageline.

Kaces Grafix Express Guitar Gig Bag - Electric Guitar - $27.99 Carry your electric guitar around in style with these hot gig bags from Kaces. Comes in Hot Rod, Skull Meteorite, Radiance, Scimitar and other designs. Item Options Hot Rod Flame Design - $27.99 Skull Meteorite Design - $27.99 Radiance Design - $27.99 Scimitar Design - $27.99

Rockson 20' Guitar Cable - $6.95 This 20' guitar cable allows you a large amount of mobility while playing your electric.

RMS 10' Shielded Guitar Cable - $6.95 At 10', this RMS Shielded Cable gives you both mobility and durability.

Guitar Instructional Materials

Hal Leonard Beginner Guitar Method Beginner's Pack - $24.95 Now learning the guitar is even easier, thanks to this great new method pack, with book, CD and DVD! Designed for anyone just learning to play electric or acoustic guitar, it covers: tuning up, parts of the guitar, reading both standard notation and tablature, playing chords, strumming and picking, improvising basic rock solos and lots more, with helpful on-screen music, guitar diagrams, and hand-position close-ups. Tons of great songs and riffs!

Beginning Rock Guitar for Kids - $14.95 This fun, easy rock guitar method was designed specifically for kids, featuring cool riffs and licks in the style of some of today's hottest rock stars. It covers the fundamentals needed to get started - how to hold the guitar, basic left- and right-hand technique, tuning the guitar, music notation - and gets you jamming on simple rhythm and lead patterns.

Kid's Guitar Course Complete Book & 2 CDs - $24.95 This fun, easy rock guitar method was designed specifically for kids, featuring cool riffs and licks in the style of some of today's hottest rock stars. It covers the fundamentals needed to get started - how to hold the guitar, basic left- and right-hand technique, tuning the guitar, music notation - and gets you jamming on simple rhythm and lead patterns.

12-Bar Blues - $17.95 The blues is the basis for an incredible body of jazz, rock 'n' roll, and other forms of popular music. This book/CD pack is devoted to providing guitarists with all the technical tools necessary for playing 12-bar blue, the basic underlying concept of blues music. The CD covers boogie, shuffle, swing, riff, and jazzy blues progressions, soloing, intros, turnarounds, accompanying keyboards and more. In standard notation and tablature.

Fretboard Roadmaps - $9.95 This book will show you how to play lead and rhythm anywhere on the fretboard, in any key; play a variety of lead guitar styles; play chords and progressions anywhere on the fretboard; expand your chord vocabulary; and learn to think musically the way the pros do.

Girls Guitar Method 1 Book & Enhanced CD - $14.95 Finally - the first complete guitar method written especially for girls! This is instruction that promises a sure start down a lifelong path of musical enjoyment, approached from a girl's perspective, with a style and design addressing interests of today's young women. An enhanced CD is included, with a dictionary of 96 chords and a guitar tuner. Students can see the music, adjust the tempo of songs, and even record themselves playing with a band!

Kid's Guitar DVD - $24.95 This Parent's Choice Award winning DVD is a lively, fun-filled way for a child to learn to sing and play the guitar! The easy lessons on these DVDs can be used at home or in the classroom, either by a child alone or with the aid of a parent or teacher. The emphasis is on singing and accompanying favorite children's folk songs, learning basic chords and rhythmic strumming, how to play in several keys, and nearly 20 all-time favorite kids' songs. These lessons do more than simply teach guitar; they help the child develop a musical ear, good hand coordination, solid work habits and a love of music.

Learn to Play the Songs of Bob Dylan - $24.95 Learn the guitar styles and techniques of the legendary Bob Dylan! Each guitar part is played up to speed and then broken down note by note. Nate LaPointe provides in-depth analysis of 8 songs: Buckets of Rain, Corrina, Corrina, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, Girl from the North Country, I Shall Be Released, Just like a Woman, Like a Rolling Stone, The Times They Are A-Changin'.

50 Licks Blues Style - $14.95 Unlock the secrets of blues guitar! Ace session guitarist Mat Gurman teaches budding bluesmasters 50 terrific licks. He also shows players the classic techniques used in blues guitar, such as bends, pull-offs, hammer-ons, slides, slurs, vibrato, muted string raking and more! Each lick is played in context, then demonstrated slowly with full explanations of every technique used. Includes an instructional booklet.