Learning to play a musical instrument has been proven to exercise multiple intersecting life skills: mathematics, motor coordination, diligence, expressiveness, and creativity. Unfortunately, most musical instruments make a bad combination of being both very expensive and too delicate for most young children to handle without breaking the instrument.
Musical toys provide an alternative that is cheaper, hardier, and appropriate to the child’s size. Resorting to sturdy metal and plastic does sacrifice sound quality in acoustic instruments, so many music toys incorporate microchips that produce electronic sounds. The keys on a toy piano become more like buttons, when pushed they sound out the appropriate note.
Music boxes can play several bars of music, once activated. Old music boxes used to play when the top of the box would be opened, unsticking a clockwork wheel patterned with embossed points. These studs would activate the keys or the teeth of a tuned metal comb, in a pattern that would play out the melody.
From an mp3-playing mock music box, to a simple baby’s rattle, there are several ways to include music in your child’s life.
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