Pros: great craftsmanship, cute, nice chimey sound, entertaining, good introduction to notes
Cons: not a true piano sound, won't create a concert pianist, no bench
The Bottom Line: Since I refused to give up my living room for a Baby Grand, I got my daughter this adorable, well-crafted Melissa & Doug creation. It's music to my ears!
jeavinl's Full Review: Melissa and Doug Melissa and Doug Learn To Play Pi...
My daughter loves music. She’s three years old and adores singing, dancing, and playing the many toy instruments we own. So when she told me shortly before her birthday that she needed a piano and even offered to make room by telling Daddy to move Mommy’s recliners out of the living room, I knew I had to buy her something a little more her size that she could keep in her room.
The basics
The Melissa & Doug Learn-to-Play Piano is a colorful 25-key toy piano. The keys are labeled with letter notes and an included songbook, which contains nine songs, allows kids to follow along with the color-coded and lettered notes for the sheet music. This piano is a sturdy instrument made of brightly painted, laminated wood. It has a hefty weight to it so don’t expect your preschooler to move it around. It weighs 13lbs. and measures 11.5 x 13 x 18.5 inches. This piano is intended for children ages 4 and up and retails for $49.99. On a sidenote, Melissa & Doug makes a Grand Piano, as well, which comes with a bench and retails for around $100.
My experience
Ever since discovering the Melissa & Doug puzzles that my local libraries stock, I’ve been a fan of that back-to-basics toy company. Their toys are generally made of wood, well crafted, highly educational, affordable, and fun. So they were the first place I turned to when looking for instruments. This $50 piano seemed right up my daughter’s alley.
We’ve had this piano for a month and a half and it’s a huge hit. My little girl plays with it every day and loves serenading guests. She prefers to make up her own songs rather than follow along with the songbook. Personally, I think that’s terrific. Her creativity is exploding. She comes up with lyrics (usually on the lines of “Daddy’s not home right now/He’s at work/He’ll be home soo-oon”) and uses all of her fingers to “play” her songs. She sometimes pretends to follow along with the sheet music. A couple of times I sat down with her to try to play a few of the songbook tunes (“Old MacDonald,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “I’m a Little Teapot,” etc.) but since she couldn’t follow along fast enough the songs didn’t sound true so she got discouraged. She is a little young for this toy so perhaps she’ll get more patient in the next year.
I love the craftsmanship of this piano. It’s very solid and the bright primary colors make it adorable. The glossy laminated finish makes it attractive as well. It’s a nice size for my little girl. She sits on the floor to play and the keys are at the right height. It’s too heavy for her to lift and transport, which is fine by me. I like the fact that this somewhat loud toy has to stay in her bedroom.
My musical education is limited to many years of school chorus, but I do appreciate the details included that make this toy more than just a toy. No, my little girl isn’t about to learn how to play piano on this scaled-down version, but it is a great way to introduce her to the concepts of keys, notes, octaves, and following sheet music. Instead of standard musical notes, the songbook tunes show lettered circles on the correct lines of the measures to illustrate the highs and lows of the song.
As far as the sound goes, this piano is a bit chimey. It’s definitely on the high end of the scale. Still, even though it’s a bit loud and isn’t a true piano sound (think more on the lines of a cross between a harpsichord and a xylophone), it’s far from the annoying sounds that come out of electronic keyboards made for children. I don’t know if it’s just my daughter’s innate talent or not, but this piano actually sounds melodious. True, she doesn’t hit the same key over and over, which probably would be headache inducing, but she manages to turn out some sweet sounds.
Before buying this piano I had considered buying the more expensive Grand Piano that Melissa & Doug makes. Since I’d heard good things about the Learn-to-Play from a friend, whose daughter received it as a gift from a music teacher, I was leaning toward it. At double the price of the Learn-to-Play, I couldn’t justify the Grand Piano. True, it looks more like a real instrument and it comes with a little bench, but this colorful version is nice enough for now. Who knows? Maybe in a few years I will take my daughter’s aggressive hint and rearrange my furniture to accommodate a real piano for her.
Overall
My musical ingénue is turning out some sweet tunes with this attractive, well-constructed piano. I’m glad I bought it and so is she.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 49.99 Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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