Best Musical Instruments for Toddlers and Young Children

Musical instruments allow for exploration and self-expression. We can introduce children to the world of music at a young age through musical instruments. In this blog post, I want to share some of the best musical instruments for toddlers or young children as they start their musical journey. Music is a great way for young kids to express themselves and see their impact on the world around them. My twin toddlers have been having a blast exploring with all of these instruments and I know yours will too!

The Importance of Music in Early Childhood

There are many cognitive and emotional benefits of exposure to music in childhood. Music enhances memory and language processing. It also supports attention and the executive functions of the brain. Musical instruments allow opportunities for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination by playing the instrument. Instruments like the piano, xylophone, and bells will have sounds of the different notes, which will enhance auditory discrimination. Children will be exposed to a variety of pitches, tempos, rhythms, and movement patterns as they explore music with real musical instruments. 

Montessori Principles and Music

Music is a huge part of Montessori education. Music is a language in and of itself. Individuals can learn to read, write, and create music. Music in our homes and Montessori classrooms can offer younger children musical experiences that are so valuable to their lives and wellbeing.

Criteria for Choosing Musical Instruments for Toddlers

When considering what kinds of musical instruments to choose for our toddlers, we can choose from various instruments. We can offer instruments to shake, like tambourines, maracas, egg shakers and gourds. Additionally, a great choice is instruments the child can strike with a mallet. These include a drum, xylophone, or tone block. We can offer woodwind instruments like a harmonica or recorder for a child to blow into. Small music boxes that you turn to make a tune can be another great option for bringing music into your environment. 

Ensure there are no small parts when you are considering the actual brand and item you are purchasing. Find products that are made of non-toxic materials. Wood and metal are going to be the best options in this regard. Read reviews and look for musical instruments that can withstand rough handling. Remember that toddlers will be banging on and exploring these musical toys, so we want them to last. Buy child-size instruments when it makes sense to do so. We want them to fit into their little hands and for them to be able to use them appropriately.  Since musical instruments are naturally very sensorially engaging we can find different instruments that play pleasing sounds. I find the harmonica to be a very pleasant instrument for my toddler to use in the home.

Recommended Musical Instruments

Here are some of the best instruments to introduce to toddlers and younger children. Even babies will like to explore the different sounds these instruments make. I wanted to get a variety of musical instruments for my twin boys, so I decided to get this set of instruments. It includes a tambourine, maraca, castanet, hand drum, handbells, flute, wooden block with a mallet, a wood sounder with a mallet, and a chime bar with a mallet.

Musical Instruments to Shake

Maracas

Children will have a great time shaking maracas. They are simple to use and have a very engaging sound. In the fall, you can keep some gourds in a cool, dry space and dry them out to turn them into shakers. 

Egg Shakers

Egg shakers are a good choice to have available for those tiny hands. The egg fits right in their hands and makes a simple yet great first instrument.

Handbells

Children love to see their effect on the world. Offering an instrument like handbells is a great addition to your musical instrument collection. I have seen two styles of handbells that would be great at this age. Both are easy to grip and make pleasant sounds. One style is having a bell for each note within an octave. With the different notes for each handbell, this instrument promotes auditory discrimination. With this style of handbell, there is a plastic ball attached to a spring inside the bell. My twins quickly discovered this and pulled on the ball and stretched out the wire. So, potentially it is not the most durable option.

A great alternative is pat bells, which I will talk about in a later section. The other style is a wooden handle with a leather band that has jingle bells sewn on, as you see my son using in this picture. Both are perfect instruments for a child to shake and explore different sounds with. 

Tambourines

Tambourines are a fun rhythm instrument that may even promote some movement. Naturally, we want to move when we start to hear music. Younger kids often love to move to the music, which is one of the best ways to support that engagement and sensory stimulation.  

Whirling Drum

This is probably one of my favorite instruments in the collection we got. It makes a fun sound when the balls strike the drum. It also requires some coordination from the child to get it to hit the drum precisely which is a good level of challenge but is the perfect size for a child’s hands.

Musical Instruments to Strike

It seems that most toddlers go through a hitting phase. This is the perfect time to pull out musical instruments they can strike. I love redirecting my children to purposeful and engaging tasks, such as hitting a drum rather than their brother. These are some of the easiest instruments to introduce and will surely pique a child’s interest!

Xylophones

Xylophones introduce melody and pitch to a child. Both of these musical skills are important in early development. As a child becomes older, they can learn the musical notes on the xylophone and start to understand this universal language of music.

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Drums and Percussion Instruments

Drums and other percussion instruments are great for offering children active play opportunities and even building gross motor into their play. These instruments enhance rhythm and motor skills. You could get a toy drum, but I would actually recommend getting a durable drum that produces a strong sound. This is the one we got, and the boys love it. This style of drum comes in different sizes.

We want to offer the best toys and materials to our children. Another high-quality wooden handheld drum is from Plan Toys. This drum has also been on my list to add to our music collection. I have seen it in many Montessori homes over the years. Rather than getting plastic play instruments that fail to create beautiful music, look for quality pieces that create beautiful, rich sounds.

Chime Bar

A chime bar is a unique addition to your home music collection. I had a chime bar in my Montessori classroom as a way to get the attention of the children at the end of the work cycle. In your home, you could use it in that way, or offer it to your child to strike with a mallet. 

Pat Bells

A set of pat bells is perfect for toddlers and young children. Each bell is a different note and they produce beautiful sounds. An aspect of the pat bells that may easily be overlooked is the feedback a child gets when they play them. Depending on how hard they pat the bell, will determine the sound. This is a great material for indirectly teaching force modulation.

Instruments to Blow Into 

We can offer instruments that require the child’s breath to create sound. These simple beginner woodwind instruments are a great introduction to more advanced woodwind instruments later on. My boys had so much fun exploring musical pitches with their breath using a harmonica and a recorder.

Harmonicas

Harmonicas foster musical creativity and experimentation. They can be an introduction to using your breath to create sound. I find the sound of a harmonica very beautiful and peaceful, which is not the effect all instruments have on your environment.

Recorder or Flute

A wooden recorder came in our musical instrument set. It was so fun to watch my sons figure out how to create sound by blowing into it. They would both erupt in laughter when they did make a sound from the flute.

How to Integrate Music into Daily Activities

Music can be integrated in many ways throughout the day. We can offer musical instruments, like the ones mentioned in this blog post. By having a bakset or designated area we keep musical instruments we are encouraging free exploration and spontaneous music creation. We can sing throughout the day. I also like to play music in our home. There are some songs and artists my twins particularly enjoy. When I want to create a more calm atmosphere in our home, I will turn on some quiet classical music in the background. Music can also lead to movement. Take those moments when your toddler starts to move to the music and do it with them. You could take them to a concert hall or outdoor concert as well! These are all great ways to integrate music into your daily activities. 

Creating a Musical Environment at Home

You can create a musical environment by keeping musical instruments accessible. I went over a large variety of instruments in this blog post, but you don’t need to have all of these accessible at once. Rotate instruments to maintain interest and engagement. Maybe choose 1-2 from each category I mentioned. Offer instruments to shake, strike, and blow into. You can even bring music into your family routines and rituals. 

Incorporating musical instruments like drums, bells, and maracas into a toddler’s life offers so many benefits. Music enhances cognitive development and improves fine motor skills, fostering creativity and building confidence. By introducing your child to music early on, you’re enriching their sensory experiences and laying the groundwork for a lifelong appreciation of music. Through exploration with instruments like those in this blog post, you are giving opportunities for exploration and self-expression. Our Montessori homes can support and nurture a child’s love of music through the musically prepared environment we create in our homes.