[QUOTE=Doctor Who]
Guitar Center carries the Baby Taylors for $299. You can’t go wrong there. They also carry Yamahas. Yamaha (as previously recommended) makes some great guitars — I don’t remember the model, but they did make one with a thinner neck that would be better for your son’s hands.
Here’s how I would do it:
(1) Look at the good brands — Taylor, Martin, Takamine, Gibson, Yamaha, Seagull, etc. Stay away from generic guitars.
(2) See which one sounds good when you hit an E chord (arbitrary, but I like the E chord). If it sounds like shit, don’t buy it. On an acoustic, you really want the guitar to sound good, resonate, and feel sweet when you play it. If your son doesn’t like playing it, he won’t practice.
(3) See which one your son likes out of the ones that pass the first two tests. Things for him to consider: comfort (most important), appearance, and coolness.
(4) Buy it.
(5) Sign him up for lessons. I never took them, but I always envied the kids that did. Why? They got better than I did really quickly. They learned things that I never got a foundation in (like soloing). And finally, where else do you meet your eventual band?
If he never plays it, oh well. You’re out 200-500 bucks. But if he plays it, you will not have paid nearly enough for the amount of enjoyment and fun he will have with that acoustic.
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I have to also “ditto” on these points. In my own experience (my father played and I started at age 8 on one of his old, beat-up acoustics, then started my own son at age 9 on a much better quality 3/4 size), and from observations of a number of other kids starting on guitar in that age range, the most common mistake parents make is buying a cheap instrument, thinking “Well, if he doesn’t like it, I’m not out much money.” The problem with the logic is that it’s usually self-fulfilling: a cheap instrument is always harder to play and doesn’t sound as good, so it discourages kids who might otherwise have stuck with it. Then the kid gives up and figures, “I guess I just can’t play the guitar,” when the truth might only be he can’t play a crappy guitar that even an experienced player would have hated playing. You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars, but do get a decent quality instrument.
Also, be prepared for the probability that your son will dabble with it on-and-off, rather than being dedicated and really into it from the get-go. If he messes with it (and takes lessons, another suggestion I heartily agree with), and then loses interest, it’s entirely possible (even likely) that he’ll come back to it again later. So don’t pack up the guitar and sell it the first time he goes a couple months without playing it. At that age, most kids have very wandering interests. (Of course, there are some who just plain have a drive for it, and focus on it right from the beginning, and never let up. But at age 9, they’re pretty rare.) Since you play, that’s a great bonus. I found it to be a pretty good father-son thing, both as the son, and as the father. We’d sit and play together, and share some time, and talk music. Good times. We still do it (my father, me, my brothers and uncles, and my son all play) and it’s wonderful family time.
As for music to begin with, I’ve always been fond of starting kids out with Buddy Holly. His stuff is mostly easy, basic, open chords; mostly bouncy, fun songs. Once a beginner has A, D and E, he’s ready to play a good portion of the Buddy Holly songbook. As others have said, the early Beatles songs are a good reference, too, but then, when they were starting out, they learned by copying Buddy Holly, too.
Good luck, and have fun with your son.
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