Musical toys and instruments for children are a great way to encourage a lifelong love of music and the arts.
As well as being hugely interactive and entertaining for your child, there is nothing more rewarding than watching them learn to tap out a rhythm, follow a tune, put on a performance and finally find their voice.
There are huge educational benefits for children learning a musical instrument. For younger children, musical toys can help teach about cause and effect as well as enhance their motor skills and build colour recognition.
For older children. musical instruments can not only improve their ability, but they can also build upon key life skills such as patience, perseverance, memory and concentration.
Whether you’re looking for a first musical toy for your baby or toddler or a more realistic musical instrument for those taking their tune-making a little more seriously, we’ve rounded up the best music products for kids and beginners you can buy today.
Things to consider when buying musical instruments for kids:
- Age - How old is your child? It’s important to match the product to their stage of development and ensure that it’s age appropriate. If your child is under 3 years of age, a toy with musical elements can offer a great introduction to rhythm, pace and songs. Once your child starts school, they may be ready to take things a little more seriously. For older children, opting for a more realistic design can be preferable.
- Grow with your child? - How quickly will your child outgrow the instrument? When buying items such as keyboards and pianos, you may wish to go for larger options with more keys to enable longevity as your child grows. If they already have some musical knowledge, it’s important to opt for a product that won’t limit their creativity.
- How much do you want to spend? - Like with many things in life, the more you’re willing to pay the more additional features you tend to find, such as recording and playback options, the ability to sync with a laptop, larger speakers and improved sound quality. That said, you don’t need to spend a fortune to get started, with some great starter instruments at a budget-friendly price.
- Entertainment value - How engaging and fun is the design? For younger children, bright colours and lights can make a musical toy far more appealing. Some musical toys also offer several play modes, with a varied range of experiences whilst your child is learning to play.
- Sound quality - Does it sound like a real musical instrument or is it electronic and tinny? We’ve looked for products with volume settings where possible, not only to protect young ears, but also to save parents’ sanity too. Other sound options to look out for include the addition of an audio headphone jack, allowing your child to practice to their heart’s content without disturbing the whole house.
- Quality - What’s is the instrument made from? How durable is it? Will it withstand the overzealous bashing of a toddler or younger user who won’t always handle it with care?
- Portability - How big is it? Does it require significant space for your child to play or can it be moved around the home? Musical instruments for kids tend to be relatively small and lightweight, but some are more portable than others. Some even offer handy carry cases to safely store your child’s instrument when not in use.
With these things in mind, here’s the ES Best verdict on the best musical instruments for kids you can buy in 2023.
Halilit Baby’s First Birthday Band Musical Instrument Set
Best for: babies from 12 months
For babies and toddlers, musical toys can provide a wonderful sensory experience, helping build motor skills, teach about cause and effect and introduce the concept of rhythm. Toddlers can be encouraged to follow a pattern, tap out the beats or simply enjoy the freedom of making fun sounds independently.
This bright and colourful set from Halilit includes everything they need to get started. including maracas, a drum, bells, a rattle and a shaker. Babies and toddlers will love watching the rainbow beads whirl around inside the ocean-themed drum, before dancing along to their favourite songs with their bells in tow.
With robust, chunky designs that are easy for small hands to hold, these safe and durable designs can withstand even the most enthusiastic of playing - offering a great first introduction to music.
Buy now £23.49, John Lewis
Jabadabado Tambourine Drum
Best for: traditional design
Montessori fans will love the simplicity of this musical toy. Available in a choice of pink or blue, this retro-style classic toy provides two musical instruments in one - a soft-skinned drum in the centre of a large jingle bell tambourine.
Robust and hard-wearing, we love the traditional design with a large star in the centre.
Recommended for children aged 3 years and above; this toy is super simple to use and great fun for tapping along with the rhythm - encouraging movement, self-expression and creativity.
Buy now £15.00, Kidly
Baby Einstein Magic Touch Piano
Best for: toddlers
This clever wooden piano works via ‘magic touch’ technology - flat keys that appear to play like magic and respond to your child’s touch without any actual buttons or keys.
With realistic piano sounds (and a range of volume settings), toddlers will love having the freedom to play and create their own music. Alternatively, they can follow the three included cards to create one of six classic tunes, matching the notes on the playlist to the coloured piano keys.
Robust and hard-wearing, this wooden toy looks great out on display and offers the perfect balance of education and fun. If all else fails, the auto mode is great for pretend play, where your toddler can delight an audience with their impressive musical performance.
Buy now £22.99, Amazon
John Lewis Roll-up Piano
Best for: simple storage
If you’d love to introduce your child to the joy of playing a piano but don’t have space for a full sized piano or keyboard in your home, this roll up piano makes a great space saving alternative.
With 49 soft touch keys, this battery powered roll out piano is quick to set up and ready to play in seconds, simply rolling out on to a table top before packing away into a compact space when it’s time for the music to stop.
There’s seven instrument sounds, 14 different demos and it even has a record function, allowing children to capture their performances and play back to family and friends.
A great introduction to piano and keyboard for children aged 5 and above without being limited to just a handful of keys; we love the inclusion of a headphone audio jack; allowing childre to practice to their heart’s content without inflicting the entire house to Frère Jacques on repeat.
Buy now £35.00, John Lewis
Little Tikes My Real Jam Electric Guitar
Best for: realistic pretend play
With a realistic design, the Real Jam Electric Guitar is a musical toy that will have children aged 3 and above embracing their inner Kiss and ditching their air guitar in no time.
It has four unique play modes including ‘free play’, ‘solo jam’, ‘play with the band’ and ‘play any song’, the latter of which syncs via Bluetooth to a smart device or mobile phone. It offers the perfect combination of pretend play and music and rest assured - there’s a volume control to protect their ear drums (and yours).
We love the clever packaging on this one, which doubles up as a handy carry case should they wish to take their guitar with them on their travels.
Buy now £39.99, Very
Music Alley ½ Size Junior classic guitar pack
Best for: beginner musicians
We can’t even look at this junior-size guitar without wanting to break out into Coco’s Un Poco Loco. With a bright blue classic guitar design, this junior-sized wooden guitar stands at around 76.5 centimetres tall, making it the ideal first guitar for children aged 3-7 years.
Unlike metal strings on adult sized guitars, this Music Alley guitar features super soft nylon strings that are kinder on small hands. It even comes with two months of free access to expert-led online lessons, making it a great transition from toy to a ‘grown up’ musical instrument.
Buy now £30.00, Selfridges
Yamaha PSS-A50 - Portable, Digital Keyboard
Best for: juniors
This adorable lightweight and portable digital keyboard is ideal for beginners and offers surprisingly good sound quality despite its compact size.
With 37 touch-sensitive mini keys, children can master their favourite songs using one of 42 instrument sounds and even record their creations to playback to friends and family.
The built in USB-MIDI-Connector means they’ll be able to save tracks to their PC and integrate it with editing software and vocals if they’re a little more digital savvy. It runs on either battery or USB but the batteries aren’t included, so you’ll need to stock up on those AAAs.
Buy now £77.60, Amazon
RockJam Table-top Electronic MIDI Drum Kit
Best for: beginner drummers
As a general rule. welcoming a drum kit into your home is not a decision that can be taken lightly - needing plenty of space, bucket fulls of patience and (ideally) a detached home or sound proofed room.
The RockJam Table Top Electromic Drum Kit turns tackles all of these challenges, with a wireless and unrestricted drum kit that can be played anywhere at any time. It sounds and performs just like an actual drum kit, but at a fraction of the size. Whist the two five watt speakers can help children put on a performance, it also has an inbuilt headphone jack - so you won’t have to worry about complaints from the neighbours!
Recommended for children aged 8 and above, this portable table top drum kit features seven velocity pads and two foot pedals and offers four hours of play per charge. It also works with Mac, PC, iPhone and Android with Bluetooth connectivity, allowing children to play along to their favourite songs or simply record their own beats.
Buy now £140.00, Selfridges
Verdict
From musical toys to beginner musical instruments, there are a wide range of music-making products targeted specifically at children. With huge entertainment value and a whole host of educational benefits too, it’s never too soon to introduce your child to the magic of music - if you can bear the noise whilst they learn!
Find out which instrument appeals to your child the most, before allowing them to explore and express themselves - you’re never too young to embrace a love of music.
