Our experiences:
I had been looking for a good piano-type keyboard for my little boy for a while. My husband and I are both musically inclined, so we wanted to encourage musically-educational play with our 1 year old son, and the keyboard we were going to purchase needed to have some features that are somewhat hard to find. Fortunately for us, the Blue's Clues Play 'n Learn Keyboard met all of our needs plus more!

One thing that was important to us was having the actual note's letter on the key. There are plenty of keyboards out there that have the ABC's on the keys (in an effort to teach the alphabet), however the letters typically don't correspond with the note itself (in an effort to teach music). Some studies have led researches to believe that people with "perfect pitch" acquired the skill at an early age due to play with appropriately-labeled musical toys. The Blue's Clues keyboard's keys are indeed labeled according to the notes they play.

We knew that our little guy liked keyboards because he has one already on his VTech "Land & Sea Jamboree" toy -- however that toy sometimes frustrates him because it won't allow him to press multiple keys at the same time (if he's holding one key down, the other keys won't play a note). On the Blue's Clues keyboard each note only lasts a few seconds (even if you continue to hold a key down), thus it will play other notes even if my boy continues to hold down a key.

Not only did the Blue's Clues keyboard have all the features we were looking for, it had even more cool-stuff packed into a relatively tiny package! My boy loves the sound of Blue's "bow-bow" voice, so the fact that this is a Blue's Clues keyboard was an extra plus. Add to that a little LCD screen which actually shows the notes on the music staff as they are played, and this toy seemed absolutely perfect!

We presented the keyboard to my son on his first birthday (just a few weeks ago), and he has been thrilled with it so far. Of course there are a few things I might change (more on that below), but I'm really looking forward to him growing into the more advanced features this toy offers. As a toddler-toy for the very young, we're extremely pleased with this keyboard!!

Product Description:
The keyboard itself is rather small (approx. 12 inches wide, 5 inches deep, & just over 1 inch tall) and is light and easy for toddlers to carry. It is red (blue underneath) with a large yellow handle built in to one side. The speaker is yellow and a raised image of Blue peeks over it. Each key of the keyboard is a different color. The "black keys" are actually blue, and although they are in the right place scale-wise they do not play notes. The keys themselves go from "F" to "F" (so the order is F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F). The music-sound that accompanies the keys is a fairly accurate piano-like tone.

The LCD screen is on a raised blue panel, with Tickety off to one side. Tickety's face is also a button to be used in a few of the play-modes. A colored bar below the LCD screen contains pictures representing the pre-programmed songs the keyboard can play (more on that below). On the screen is a cute treble clef wearing sunglasses (as music plays tiny notes appear to dance around it) with the 5 lines representing the music staff to its right. As music plays notes appear in the proper position on the staff, and the correct letter appears above the note. Only 8 notes can appear on the staff at a time -- after which it clears itself to allow more note to be displayed.

This toy takes 3 "AA" batteries. We've cleaned the toy a few times with a damp paper towel. The age-range is stated to be from 2 to 5 years (however my 1 year old adores it currently). This toy was a 2001 NAPPA Gold Award Winner (Pre-School Division).

-- The Modes of Play --
The various modes are controlled by a green crayon-shaped switch to the right of the keys. The first setting is "off", however the keyboard will turn itself off, no matter what the setting, if the toy is inactive for 10-20 seconds. Blue will bark "bye-bye" before it turns itself off. Pressing any key will re-activate it.

Mode 1: Pre-Programmed Songs
When turned to Mode 1, Blue will bark "Hello" and Tickety asks your child to press a key to pick a song. Images above the keys help your child to remember which key will play which song. The pre-programmed songs are as follows:

Red G (and light-green F) - Blue's Clues Theme Song
Yellow A - Mary Had a Little Lamb
Orange B - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Blue C - London Bridges
Pink D - Old Mac Donald
Purple E (and dark-green F)- If You're Happy And You Know It

After your child presses a key, Tickety announces the name of the song, and then the song plays. As the song plays, the notes appear on the staff on the LCD screen above.

Mode 2: Free-Play
This is the mode we tend to leave our keyboard on. After Blue barks a "Hello", Tickety prompts your child to play a tune. As your child presses keys, the notes they are playing appear on the LCD screen on the music staff.

If your child pauses for a few seconds, or after they press approximately 32 notes, Tickety announces "Now press my face to hear your tune!". If you press Tickety's face, the "song" previously played by your child will be repeated, along with the notes appearing on the LCD screen. Tickety will then ask your child to play another song.

While there are many aspects of this mode that we love, we do get annoyed by Tickety's constant interruption, always asking us to press his/her face. I do think that it is really neat that it can play your child's tune, but I often wish that it would give more time before it interrupts (it only allows approximately 32 notes to be stored before it speaks up). I understand why -- I realize that it can't store a vast amount of music in its memory. While I think that adding a start/stop recording button might have been a nice addition, I realize that they were probably trying to keep the toy simple and non-confusing by making it the way it is.

Mode 3 - Play a song with Tickety
We haven't played with this mode much yet, as my child is a bit too young. In this mode, Tickety asks your child to choose a song to learn to play. After your child selects a song, Tickety announces it and Blue bow-bow's a bit. Then Tickety will start telling your child which notes to press (for example, "Press the purple E key"). When your child presses the correct key, the note will appear on the LCD screen and Tickety will move to the next note. If an incorrect note is pressed, Blue will bark a bit then Tickety will repeat which key to press. After the song is complete, Tickety says "You just learned the -whatever- song. Now press my face to hear your song." After Tickety's face is pressed and the song is played, Tickety asks your child to select another song to learn.

Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Very cute & colorful toy
+) Excellent toddler-keyboard -- not too simple or too complex
+) 3 modes of play, so this toy can grow with your child
+) Letters on the keys correspond with the musical note played
+) 6 pre-programmed songs that you child can learn to play
+) LCD screen teaches your child how to read music!
+) Very good, piano-like quality to the notes
+) Recognizable characters from the Blue's Clues television show interact with your child
+) It has an off switch -- always a plus
+) 2001 NAPPA Gold Award Winner (Pre-School Division)
Cons:
-) On the "free play" mode, I wish more notes could be played before Tickety interrupts
-) The "black keys" aren't actually keys and do not play
-) Two notes cannot be played at the same time (thus harmonies cannot be taught with this keyboard)
-) Although I'm glad the keys are properly labeled from a low-F to a high-F, the keys when played in order do NOT play a regular scale (although you can start at C and loop around to end at C and play a scale).
-) There is no volume key -- although this really isn't a problem because the volume is at a pleasant level.

Final thoughts:
We really do love this keyboard as a "baby's first piano" type-toy. It has many of the musical concepts we'd like to teach him, but without being too complex. I'm really looking forward to watching him explore music with this toy.


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Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years