Musical Instruments Sound Puzzle by Melissa and Doug

I was really disappointed by the quality of this puzzle. The concept is great what a great way to reinforce what I'm teaching my 17-month-old about different musical instruments! Too bad it's so poorly executed. As with other M&D sound puzzles (we also have the zoo animal one), the instrument sounds aren't always accurate. They actually all sound the same which is nothing remotely like a piano, violin, guitar, or harmonica. It is teaching my daughter that all instruments sound like cheap synthesizers. I am not a toy maker myself, but I would think that with modern digital technology, it would have been easy enough to sample actual instrumental sounds, which would have made this an excellent teaching toy.

Another bad feature is the inconsistency of the sounds working. Sometimes we can't get certain instruments to sound at all, no matter how we put the piece in. Other times, the wrong piece will make a sound in a mismatching hole, or even your finger will make the sound. The other day, the puzzle sounds went off when nobody was even near it! I would also love it if the puzzle had an "off" button. If my daughter is playing with it for a long time, I don't necessarily want to hear the sounds over and over. The only way to turn off the sound would be to unscrew the battery compartment and take out the battery. I may do this, actually, because the sounds are so annoying and inaccurate. It is a sturdy puzzle and my daughter really enjoys matching the pieces. She also has the zoo animal puzzle and likes to work on them both at once.

The sound only transmits if the puzzles are placed on a hard surface thus kids cannot play with them on a carpet.

This was very disappointing to me since most small children sit on the carpeted floor and play.

Buy Musical Instruments Sound Puzzle by Melissa and Doug Now