Tell Us About Your Instruments.

[Meredith Pizzi]

What kind and brand of instruments are you using in your groups with children of this developmental level?

[Lauren Roberts]

Unfortunately, I currently am not, nor have I ever, worked with children this age and developmental level. In fact, I’ve skipped right over it; I have NICU experience and preschool experience! Therefore, I absolutely love having the information about appropriate instruments as part of the course. It also makes me question the choices of at least one other early childhood education curriculum that I’ve come to find out more information about, because it is the one my boyfriend’s son attends with his babysitter.

First, the class he most recently finished was for 0-18 months. I know having such a wide age range has already been addressed for a number of reasons, but I don’t think I thought about this in terms of the instruments that would be needed for a class such as this, with children at multiple developmental levels (and look forward to this when Family Sprouts is discussed!) Well, a few weeks ago my boyfriend’s son got to bring his instruments home with him after the final course of the semester – rhythm sticks and a wooden shaker with no handle! He wanted to play them, so I sat with him but within 5 seconds he had smashed his own finger with the sticks. And he’s finished the course, meaning he’s now older than he was when taking the class and using these instruments! Now, at 19 months he can get his hand around the wooden shaker to use it, but I wonder at what age he was able to do that? What instruments are the children playing who CAN’T yet grasp their hand around the entire shaker? Anything? I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with any other early childhood music programs you may be familiar with? I am just completely flabbergasted!

All that having been said, though I feel those instrument choices are inappropriate, I can appreciate that they aren’t baby-ish. That is why I also love the fact that the videos are showing use of Remo hand drums, nesting drums, and jumbo chiquitas. They’re “real” (i.e. not baby-ish) instruments, yet still developmentally appropriate.

[Barb Blackburn]

Honestly, I’m not sure of the brand names for the instruments that we bought. We plan on starting our Sprouting Melodies program in September and so we’ve been purchasing some instruments for our groups. We currently don’t have any clients under the age of five, so we were pretty limited on children’s instruments. We already had animal and fruit/vegetable shakers, animal tambourines, shape drums, lollipop drums, also a children’s percussion kit as well, and stuffed animals. We just recently purchased “baby” bells and “baby” shakers, “baby” tambourines (baby meaning that the bells and jingles are encased withing the plastic so that it doesn’t pinch or cut anyone), and Basic Beat egg shakers with handles.

[Kristina Rio]

In Sprouting Melodies, I use maracas that have a handle small enough for the children to grasp. If you rub the handle on their palm, their instinct is to grasp or hold what is there. If they are not able to hold the instrument or are not actively playing it, I sometimes have the parent or caregiver play a frame drum with the baby’s feet or hands touching it to feel the vibrations. When the music stops, they usually initiate playing by tapping or moving their legs. These are all ways to get the responses you are looking for from various age and developmental levels in one group but with different instruments. Let me know if you have more questions!

[Kristen Crouch]

I use the small maracas that are easy to hold and sound nice. I think they are called chiquitas. I also have set of four baby instruments: Hohner Kids Baby Band. LP RhythMix Animal Shaker Set, Hohner Kids Single Baby Maraca, Remo drums, etc

[Ann Dardis]

Some of the instruments I use are as follows:
Nino Rattan Caxixi
Nino Cabasa
Remo Kids Make Music Baby Bell
Remo Kids Make Music Baby Drum
Remo Baby Drum Mallet (although I must admit that on the first day of class one of my little ones tried to take a bite out of it and left teeth marks with her 2 lower front teeth – the only teeth she had!)
Basic Beat Finger Castanets
Hohner Kids Guiro
LP Rhythmix Rhythm Stix
Remo Lynn Kleiner Triangle with Beater
Honer Kids Clatterpillar
Rhythm Band Jingle Sticks
Trophy Clave Pair
Remo Lollipop Drum Mallets – I have one little girl that just likes to collect all the mallets!
Remo Rhythm Club Frame Drums
and my favorite: Peripole Tymptone Tom Tom Drum which has a mellow sound no matter how hard it gets hit.

Keep in mind that I have a mixed ages class with kids from 1 -5.

[Lauren Caso]

I also use many of the Remo and LP products: maracas, fruit and vegetable shakers, jingle bells that you can Velcro to hands, wrists and ankles, Lynn Kleiner baby Drums, etc. Larger frame drums or even the buffalo drum can offer the child a visceral feeling from the vibrations, produced by use of gross motor movement with hands or feet on the drum. I also use other props such as scarves, stuffed animals and other visual aides/props.

[Bernadette Skodack]

Right now, I have several sets of the Basic Beat chiquitas, some world percussion from LP and Basic Beat, some drums of various sizes from Remo and Basic Beat, and the small colored tambourines that I get from the Lyon booth at national conference each year. I also have one of the clear rain sticks and several pairs of castanets (one set is mounted, and the rest are for hands). I’m sure there are some others that I’m forgetting!

[Ann Dardis]

I am wondering what you use to disinfect your instruments? I’ve been using some Lysol type wipes, but I am concerned that this is not okay for little ones who mouth the instruments. Is there something better?

[Amy Dunlap]

Currently, I work with children in this developmental stage for one hour/month and am co-treating with SLPs in an outpatient hospital setting. In that group, I use the Remo gathering drum and the babies have small maracas and even a small guiro that they receive as part of a sensory kit from the SLPs. I bring along a few Hohner Kids Baby Band kits and my baby Taylor guitar.

[Caitlin Kauffman]

I don’t have a lot of specific knowledge about this as far as brands go, other than what I have read here in the comments and instruments I have used – such as Remo drums and small maracas. With young children, it is important to use maracas with handles that are easy enough to grasp, as well as instruments with bright colors for visual stimulation and interest. Instruments that make sound easily, and of course instruments that can be disinfected!

[Brandy Jenkins]

**Late Entry as I am Catching Up on Posting**

I use various drums with different pitches and timbres. I use shakers and bells with a variety of adapted grips and shapes. I have a mix of colorful and non colorful instruments. The brand I use most is Remo.

[Sarah Gagnon]

I have various small rhythm and percussion instruments including:

Bells, small cymbals, small tambourine, egg shakers, konga-remo, alphabet blocks, ocean drum (because it provides a space for play, the kids and sit on it and it won’t break!!) maracas and soft mallets.

Fender guitar

Cedar flute

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