Have you ever sat around a campfire, singing songs while someone played a guitar and wished you were the one playing the guitar?

Dan Cross, Guide of Guitar at About has a passion for the guitar and here's why.

"Well, first of all, because it's a lot of fun." says Dan. "You can start playing easy songs almost immediately, and you'll find yourself getting better quickly."

"Also, you'll find people look up to you when you can play the guitar well. When I was a teenager, I'd get asked to come to parties and play my guitar all the time."

"Lastly, if you show an interest in learning guitar, your parents probably won't make you take those accordion lessons they've been discussing!"

As a guitar teacher Dan has had students as young as seven years of age - even the younger ones who enjoy learning guitar. For younger students, he teaches a half hour weekly lesson, and asks them to practice for at least 15 minutes at a time, four times throughout the week.

He explains to parents that as soon as you think your child is able to sit through a half hour lesson, guitar lessons would be beneficial. They make small guitars for smaller hands, which will make learning much easier.

He says not to expect great progress for the first year or so - but your child will learn to be comfortable with the instrument, which is extremely important.

For young children, consider buying a small guitar, and forsake lessons for a while, instead just leaving the instrument in the child's room.

He adds that you should try and get someone to tune it occasionally, though.

If you want to learn to play the guitar or have just started, the first thing you need is the basic equipment to get started.

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