Kids class online?

Hello, my 7 y.o. daughter is set on learning shamisen. I know it’s a challenge at this age, but we used to live in Japan and I’m keen on supporting her for the music but also to keep that connection.
Do you offer classes/material for kids that age?
Thank you!
Julien

It’s always best to ask @Kyle_Abbott direct. :slightly_smiling_face:

Why not check out Crash Course 1 & 2 (available for free in the schoolhouse) and see if it’s something your daughter can follow?

Thank you, I will do that!

Thanks for tagging me, Marilyn!
Hi Julien! That’s wonderful your 7 year old daughter is already wanting to learn shamisen! I am the strongest advocate of getting kids playing music as early as possible. I started learning mandolin at age 7 too, but playing around with various musical instruments before then (banging on bongos, harmonicas, etc). Like learning languages, nothing beats starting at an early age.

As Marilyn said, the crash course might be the best bet. However, I wouldn’t worry too much about instruction. In my own experience with learning instruments at that age, I got the most out of watching players play, observing what they did and imitated. With the infinite library of shamisen players available on youtube, she can observe technique from so many players (I did a lot of that when starting)

The most important thing is she already has a self-motivated interest in shamisen. The crash course will be useful for the absolute basics of how to hold the instrument, and there are other lessons in the Schoolhouse for learning specific songs, but only speaking from my experience of starting that young, kids pick up music the same way as learning their first language(s). Without the learned “fear” of making mistakes, having the space and time to just experiment/play and observe other players helped me excel much faster than focusing on specific learning material.

Hope that wasn’t too preachy! :stuck_out_tongue: I’ve just seen how fast kids can pick up music when they have room to experiment and observe, and also seen how the interest is lost if learning gets too focused/structured too soon. If she’s interested, has a shamisen to hold, some players to watch, and freedom to explore/play, nothing will hold her back. :slight_smile: (Although at 100cm, it might be a wee bit uncomfortably long for that age, it’s still worth a try)