[Cathy]

jj, a lot of the kids I've taught over the years, especially the younger ones, I've started out using a capo on the second or third fret. For one thing, the frets are closer, and they have less of a struggle reaching the fingerings. And if you get a kid who just won't press on the strings hard enough because it hurts his fingers too much, a capo can really work wonders. Right now, I'm trying to teach my 7 year old neice. I bought her a little guitar with silk strings last Christmas, and she didn't learn a chord until I donated an old capo. Now she doesn't have any problem playing basic, open chords.