Hape Pound & Tap Bench / Educo Early Melodies Pound and Tap Bench

My granddaughter loves this toy. When she first got it, she loved just playing with the balls, now she is older she enjoys all the elements; from pounding the balls with the hammer, to playing music. This toy has grown with her and will always be a staple for me when I buy gifts for children.

Educational? Maybe for an infant to learn cause & effect, but don't expect to be able play any eight-note tunes on the glockenspiel part of the toy. They advertise two toys in one, but if your ears are offended at all by off tune scales, there goes the second toy, because it's unbearable! I got this toy about six months in advance of our 2nd boy's 1st birthday & couldn't wait for him to open it. I can't describe the disappointment I felt. The orange rung & the two purple rungs at the end are totally out of sinc with the others as far as a scale. It wouldn't have been so bad had the xylophone in the Melissa & Doug's instruments in a box been just as out of tune!

I just don't understand why they'd bother making an eight note glockenspiel if it's not going to be in tune! The toy seems to be made fairly well otherwise, all the more reason it makes no sense why the glockenspiel wouldn't be in tune. I wish I could send the thing back to the manufacturer & demand I get one that's in tune. They advertise that you can plunk out a tune--only if you have a song that requires only about 5 notes & can figure out which rungs are in the scale, or if you want the tune to be totally unrecognizable!

We are only keeping it because our son likes to pound the balls through, but I would not recommend this product to anyone.

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We bought this toy for my daughter's 1st birthday. She loved it from the moment she unwrapped it. The construction is super sturdy and it seems like it will last a long time. I read the reviews before purchasing this toy that complained about the xylophone being out of tune and thought that they were being a little bit picky. It is a children's toy after all, not a real musical instrument. After playing with the toy for a bit I get where they're coming from. It's not so much that it's out of tune as there is no tune at all. Some of the keys just make a dull metal plunking sound when you strike them. I would have given this toy all the stars if it wasn't for this small defect.

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I only gave it 4 stars because it was much smaller than expected, but other than that the toy is good quality and very cute. My daughter loves playing with the xylophone and hammering down the little balls. Would recommend if looking for a small but fun instrumental/pounding toy.

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I just don't understand how someone could make a "musical" toy that is so unmusical. Horrifically out of tune and painful to listen to, with no way to adjust it. It's like a first-reader book with words spelled wrong or letters written backwards. And my daughter doesn't respond much to the other aspects of the toy. So overall, a dud.

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