Customer Reviews

Blue Man Group Keyboard

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 5 year old son loves music and this keyboard has many features compared to an ordinary piano..It simulates many types of instruments, has some pre programmed classical music, some rhythmic drumming sounds, and a place to jam with your mp3 player..Yes my son is only 5years old, but children of all ages will like this keyboard and what a wonderful present this was from my sister in law this holiday season..

I got this for my 11 year old son. It was one of this year's Chanukah presents. He is an aspiring guitarist who is also interested in keyboards/piano. He loves this and has played with it for a quite a few hours already even though he hasn't had much time yet.

It's a great concept. I'm not sure it's actually a great TOY or instrument, though, even though it actually can keep one's interest for quite a while.

The video shows the boys making music with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Actually, that's the most fun feature on there, yet it's not really making music-- it's using the sensors to create the preprogrammed music that is already on there. I think there are 10 demo songs and this is one of them. Demo mode is fun.

Using all the features together while trying to create your own music is definitely a little more difficult. I think the tools are there, though. It will just take a lot of practice.

The little iPod drawer is only big enough to hold iPods. Not zunes, for instance. And, the included speaker that plays your own music is not good. It can plug into another speaker source, though-- either your own headphones or some other speaker system, so this is a good option.

I think this is a great gift yet at the same time I have reservations about this. Since my son (who is 11 and hard to please) likes it and since it really can keep your interest for quite a while, I'm rating this four stars. Personally, I would rate it about 3 stars, but I see how much my son (and my other children) like it, so I'm giving it four stars.

This item was a very good purchase for our family.My son was asking for this for Christmas and I was having second thoughts because he seemed too young for an item like this.But let me tell you HE LOVES IT, and so do my other 3 kids.My kids are ages 6,8,12,and 14-(2 boys and 2 girls) so boy or girl doesn`t matter they will love it.It hooks to the kids mp3 players and they just love that idea!They play for a long time with this keyboard and always come back to it.It is a little heavy for the younger kids but that doesn`t seem to bother anyone.Oh and make sure you have lots of batteries because my kids play this so much I change the batteries like every week (but they play alot)and it`s because I have 4 of them taking turns playing this so batteries tend to go a little faster that way!But Overall I think it was well worth my money!Hope your kids have as much fun as mine do,Oh and it gets them away from the video games for awhile too.(which is really great!)

I can't really speak to this as a toy. I bought it on impulse (on eBay), and my intention was to hack it up and use the keyboard in another project. But I've been showing it off around work and to friends and people really, really have fun playing with it.

First off, it's very cool looking, and pretty solid. Second, the sensors are not easy to play properly, but they are a hoot to work with. Thirdly, the pre-programmed melodies are very amusing but only for a few minutes. After that, you are left with a clunky keyboard, average voices, and trying to play proper drums on the touchy sensors.

As a conversation piece or Christmas toy, great. As a functional musical instrument -- well, I'm finding it a good challenge to play the sensors properly, so there's some value there. Educational? Well, the pre-programmed stuff does let you switch in and out parts and I suppose that gives you some insight as to how a symphonic work is constructed. But that end would be better served with different software.

Summing up, it's really a grab-bag of ideas that was never properly target-tested. But it is geeky fun enough, for long enough, to be worth a few bucks.

I (santa claus) got it as a xmas present for my 7yr old daughter. She had been obsessed with getting it after seeing it at Cosco. I got it at amazon for a bargain. I couldn't believe the price and the quality of the keyboard when Alyssia opened it on xmas. It's great for kids and adults. Very entertaining it gives kids a creative outlet. It even came with headphones so she could put them on when we need quiet. Absolutely great! very happy to see my daughters reaction to it.

I don't have kids but wanted a toy keyboard to play around with, maybe record some goofy tunes. What I wanted was one of those 80s things with an octave and a half of plastic keys and 5 or 6 videogamey synth voices. I thought the motion sensing percussion tubes might be fun so I ordered it.

First of all it's a lot bigger than I had expected! It's bulky and tall and the tubes take up a lot of space. The whole structure creates a "stand" for the keyboard and the "drum kit". The drum sensors detect the change in light as you wave your hand over them, but the sensors are really sensitive, so you can get multiple beats if your fingers aren't glued to one another or trigger two drums if you wave slightly off center, and that's not uncommon since the sensors are awkwardly placed in relation to each other. Despite all the tubes and the overall 7 sensors there are only 3 or 4 drum sensors you can hit in any setting. The rest are volume controls and setting controls.

The keyboard part is also very sensitive, and really springey. It takes some pressure to depress a key, and if you let up at all you'll get multiple keystrokes rather than an extended or fading one. The piano voice is fine, but I had hoped for funner synthetic voices rather than traditional orchestral instruments, given that Blue Man Group was full of invented experimental instruments.

I can see how this could be a fun noise-making toy for kids, but even then I'd rather have funner voices and a better thought-out user interface. My sense is that this was designed at a marketing meeting to cover lots of bases but wasn't tested much. It's got classical instruments and melodies (educational), motion sensors (techy), and an iPod hookup (gadget-friendly), but put it all together and-? Overall I have to admit I was disappointed, but I do acknowledge that I may have been deceived as much by my expectations as by the product description.

This thing is just plain FUN. It looks weird (an asset for me), has speakers that play pretty loud on four AA batteries. No musical skills are required to get hours of entertainment. I love the motion sensor tubes activating various sounds.

Good for kids of all ages!

Be sure to budget some extra time to get it out of the box...

My 7 year-old daughter has been begging me for a keyboard for a couple aof months now in preparation for Christmas, which drives me crazy, because the truth is, she doesn't know how to play one. She has never had musical lessons and I have no idea why she would want a keyboard. But I had one as a kid (which I also could not play) and it was the most important thing on her list, so I picked this one. I have not been disappointed!

I think it is really important to insert here that this is more of a toy than a musical intrument in my opinion. That was just fine with me, but if you are looking for a serious keyboard for a child taking lessons, this may not be the best choice. The actual keys are small and it definitely has a toy appearance.

Now for the good stuff - this keyboard is a lot of fun. The tubes allow you to control things like volume, tempo, and background music by placing your hands over them. We have had no problems with sensitivity and it has worked exactly as the directions describe. It has some great background sounds, enough instruments to make it interesting but not confusing, and includes a DVD of the Blue Man Group for inspiration. My daughter's favorite feature is that she can plug her MP3 player into it and "play along" with her favorite songs. The sound is great and she absolutely loves it. This is the perfect choice for someone who is looking for a musical toy that lets their child play around with sound, mixing, and music. And lets be honest, I also love it (when she lets me play with it). I am very pleased with my purchase and am seriously looking at the percussion tubes for her birthday in the spring!

This keyboard will not disappoint! We have a seven year old boy and it's tough keeping him entertained, yet this one does it! And the i-pod connection capability-excellent idea.

Good quality,many sound effects and songs to play along with.
Great sound.The kids love it!! Ages 6 and 17