Why guitar maker Brian Calhoun created TinkerTar, a one-string instrument for kids
At what age do most kids start learning how to play guitar?
If you ask guitar maker Brian Calhoun, based on conversations he’s had with early music educators, it’s “very rare” to see kids pick up the instrument before the age of 9, due to the complexity of the instrument and the coordination required to master it.
Calhoun, co-founder of Rockbridge Guitar, is hoping to change that with TinkerTar, a new, scaled-down version of the instrument that has only one string instead of six to make it more accessible for little hands and fingers. They also come in kid-friendly designs, shapes and patterns, like a pepperoni pizza slice and a rainbow heart with a smiley face.
“I’ve been wanting to build guitars for kids, and there’s this question that I’ve always wondered: 'Why do kids start guitar so late?'” Calhoun said in an interview with "GMA3."
“I just had this thought, well, if it was just one string, there’d be nothing to do but play a melody. So that’s what kind of set me down the path of making TinkerTars,” he added.
Calhoun has been making guitars for more than 20 years. His past clients include an impressive roster of music superstars, including Dave Matthews, Brandi Carlile, Keith Urban and Zac Brown.
Now that list has expanded to include musicians of the future, which Calhoun couldn’t be more excited about.
“To see a kid pick up this instrument and play their first song and to see how proud they are, somewhere inside I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, this kid might become some guitar player and this will be their first instrument,’” Calhoun said.
When he initially created TinkerTar, Calhoun says his goal was to gear them toward kids ages 3 to 5.
“But the age of like, 5 [or] 6, just before they would start playing ukulele, that age is where you really see it shine. Even if the kid was older, you know, like a 9-year-old that’s never picked up that ukulele still might not be able to make sense of [the ukulele] when they pick it up. But a 9-year-old could shred on a TinkerTar,” Calhoun said.
What’s more, Calhoun says the skills and coordination learned on the TinkerTar are easily carried over to the guitar. He hopes that will entice kids to keep on playing instead of quitting.
“I hope what TinkerTar does is get a lot more kids into music. I’ve read that the majority of children that pick up instruments quit. And I wonder if part of that it is because it’s so hard and they don’t get to see they’re able to do it. But here’s this whole new instrument that fills a gap and opens the door, and I just hope it can really make a difference in early music education,” Calhoun said.
