Customer Reviews

Hohner Kids Colorful Glokenspiel with Mallets One Octave

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this for my 18 month old daughter to play with supervised. This is meant for an older child. Still, I believe with supervision, it is okay for a younger child to experiment with. This instrument was expensive, but I believe well worth it. The bars are made of metal, which differs from a traditional xylophone, which is usually wood. As a result, the sound is much higher, and very crisp. The bars are colorfully painted and have the note etched on each bar.

The instrument comes with two mallets, which are plastic and have a round ball at the end. They are made from a single piece, so the ball probably will not detach from the stick.

The sounds are wonderfully in tune and carry nicely. They are attached to the support by some rubbery nubs. As such, you can remove the bars by simply pulling them off. My daughter did that the first day she played with it, but now she leaves them on and strikes them with the mallets. The edges of each bar are a little sharp, but not so much that you'd cut yourself. You might get a scratch though.

The entire thing is less than a foot long and at the widest end is no more than 5 inches. The small size allows for storage.

Overall I love this instrument. I am lucky that my husband is musically gifted so he is able to play simple songs on it for my daughter. She really enjoys listening and also trying to play herself. I believe this enhances her musical education greatly.

Update: Since having bought this a while ago, I am updating it to give comments on the paint. My daughter really likes this instrument, but her banging on it with practically anything that's around, has led to the paint chipping off. I have found paint pieces stuck to her hands and luckily removed them before she could have ingested them. The paint is rather glossy. With the many recalls from lead in paint, you can't be too careful. This probably wouldn't happen if she only used the mallets that came with it.

Again, I still like this product, but you have to supervise at all times. I keep all her musical things stored in a covered plastic container, so when she wants to play with them, she lugs over the container and asks me to "open please".

We have a nice collection of instruments for my kids. I normally am okay with them making noise thinking they are learning about rhythm etc.. BUT this toy is ear peircing. I make them go into a room by themselves and play it. If they can restrain themselves and just lightly hit it the noise is okay. Also, my kids (3 and 5 years) are able to take the metal pieces off.

I purchased this for my five year old for Christmas. I was looking for a metal xylophone, because the wooden ones I have experienced did not make a vibrant sound like the metal xylophones. After searching for a xylophone, most of the metal ones were infant/toddler toys that had one mallet that was generally short and always attached with a string. I saw this xylophone and was pleased with the appearance and colors. I liked that it comes with two mallets and that they are not attached leading me to believe it was for an older child. After receiving, I am very pleased with the sound of the xylophone, but disappointed in the size. It appears to be more for a toddler. I was not expecting a full size xylophone, but for what it cost including shipping, I did expect it to be bigger. Also, the keys are metal and the sound is great, but the base is actually plastic. I really do not understand that considering again the price of this item. There is no where on the product to store the mallets which again for the price range I would expect. Another small complaint is the color of the mallets I received. I received yellow, and unfortunately was really looking forward to the purple pictured. The item is packaged in a clear plastic bag with a cardboard hanger at the top like the toys you would purchase at a "dollar" store. Please note that this states it comes with age appropiate songs and activities. It really just comes with one piece of cardboard that has two songs on it. I now wish I would have just bought a baby toy and cut the mallets off. They are bigger & cost the same amount. Very disappointed in this product and would suggest that you continue looking.

A little on the small side (a foot long or so), but the sound is great. My son (age 3) stopped banging long enough to appreciate the resonant "ring" of each bar. Yes, the bars are removable; he was enjoying this feature and liked putting them back in the right order. Includes a card with just a few songs. My son is learning notes on the staff (and we use the corresponding colors from this instrument) and I can't wait to see him put it all together and play some songs on his own!

The metal bars come off the pins very easily and can easily be lost! I'm afraid the plastic buttons that the metal notes attach to will easily become loose and break off. Would not purchase again!