It seems like every year, our daughter has a different set of things she wants for Christmas. This time around, she has found a number of distinct musical instruments that should like to have.
Bass Guitar
One of the most endearing things our daughter has ever done is to strum at my bass guitar every time I have it out. While I have purchased a number of hooks to have it hanging on my wall, it usually ends up leaning against a wall. From her vantage point, the neck and strings of the bass are at a perfect height. From there, she’s able to give me a rendition of her latest music replete with some tremendous lyrical content. As we get closer to the holiday season, we may need to put in an order to buy pedalboards and effects pedals and get an axe of her own.
Synthesizer
One of the first toys that Olivia played with when she was an infant was a Fischer-Price manual piano. We purchased it for her from a Goodwill in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and even three years later, it still gets a tremendous amount of play. The only thing bad about this toy is that the striker hits metal bars to create the piano’s music. When we’re wanting a bit of silence for the day, this toy has to be put up. I always feel bad that we have to stifle her musical energy for a moment by doing this. We may also pick up an electronic keyboard for her as we would be able to keep the volume low. This may just be one of the smarter gifts we purchase as she’s getting to the cognitive level that she understand how to operate simple devices as well as to move to the activity room whenever we ask her to.
Drums
One of the Black Friday gifts we purchased for our daughter last year was a 5-piece drum kit from Target. While the price was right ($20 or so), the product was chintzy as all get out. About a week after purchasing the drum set, she had broken one of the mounting clips. If we are able to move into a bigger house any time soon, we may look into getting a more professional drum set or music lessons. There would be a little less atonal noise here as she’s starting to weave together melodies and can use repeated notes for tremendous impact.
Conclusion
If you have a child that you’re shopping for this holiday season, make it a point to talk to them to see the type of musical instruments that they like. If they have not given you an idea about this previously, surprise them with something that you think that they will get into. Even if it’s not an instrument that gets a lot of play before the child gets into the next new thing, most well-made guitar products and basses will maintain a good portion of their value for the resale market.