We have a 6-year-old who has a real violin. Our toddler is a big fan of her sister and her big sister's violin. One of our toddler's first words was "violin" (and even before she was talking, she developed a sign for violin by waving her hand in the motion of moving a bow). We don't allow our toddler to play with her big sister's real $350 instrument. However, our toddler has clearly shown us that she is hungry for an opportunity to be a violinist, too. Recently, our toddler has been intent on making mad dashes into her sister's room so she can grab a wooden toy instrument out of the room she positions the fragile wooden toy (shaped somewhat like a violin) under her chin as if it were a violin. We decided it was time for her to have her "own" violin well, at least a toy version.
As we looked for toy violins for our toddler, we wanted something that seemed "realistic" not only in appearance, but also in function. As we searched, we found most of the ones we saw through Amazon were the kind that were battery operated and would play "pre-programmed songs." We wanted something that our daughter could actually use to "create" her own music. This one seemed like the best option.
When this toy violin came in the mail, our toddler imitated what she had seen her sister do countless times she placed the toy violin under her chin and moved the bow across the strings. She played with it for 2 hours straight the first day.
We were pleased to find that the toy looks a lot like a real violin. It is made of plastic that looks like wood. It also has strings and a bow like a real violin. It is as real as it gets without being real.
We have only had it about a week, but it has survived being played quite roughly by our toddler (sometimes she moves the bow across the strings, but sometimes she bangs on the strings with the bow); it has also survived having our toddler use it as a stepping stool to look out the window; our toddler also used the bow to wack various things around the house, apparently testing to to see what noises would result. We can see a couple of places where the plastic has been damaged by our daughter, but overall, I would say that's not bad for what it has been through all ready. I think the price was around $30, so I would say we've just about got $30 worth of good out of it already.
Our older daughter, who actually plays violin, demonstrated to me how the toy can really be played it is just slightly bigger than her real 1/10th size violin. After hearing our 6-year-old violinist play one song on it, her dad (who does Suzuki violin with her) insisted she stick to her real violin for playing songs the strings are not "tuned" like those on a real violin and he did not want using the toy to interfere with her developing her sensitivity for tone, pitch (I am not a musician but hopefully you get what I mean).
With that said, remember that this is a TOY violin, and is not intended to substitute for a real one. As far as toys go, it is a great toy!
If you, like us have an active toddler who wants to be a violinist like big sister or brother, this is a great TOY that can help him/her feel special! Note, the description of the violin indicates that it would be a great gift for a child aged 5 or older. I am a little surprised by that as it is commonly recommended for children to start learning how to play violin around the ages of 3 to 5. Our oldest daughter started taking violin lessons and playing a real violin shortly after she turned 4. If you are serious about having your child play violin and are looking to buy this TOY as a cheap alternative to a "real instrument," we don't recommend going that route! Once our toddler is responsible enough to handle a real instrument/ grasp the concepts required for starting to learn to play violin, we will put this toy away (assuming it survives that long) and give her a real instrument.
This toy shipped from China free of charge. It said it could take up to a month or so, but came in a couple of weeks.
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we bought this item for our 2 year old boy. This is great and attends all the expectations. As our kid is 2 years old, and he's crazy by music, we wanted something that really could make some violin like sound, and di'n't cost hundred dollars like those tuition expensive violins. We really liked it!Best Deals for Kids Toy Mini Music Violin + Worldwide free shiping
I don't get where the great reviews are coming from. I bought this for my three year old daughter's birthday and it showed up from China packed in nothing but thin bubble wrap. The box was flattened! And of course it was damaged, but beyond that, it doesn't appear that you can adjust the pegs to tighten the strings (they are too loose as is). The feel is VERY cheap. I had a super cheap one in the 70s that had adjustable pegs. Overall, I'd give it two, maybe three stars if it arrived safely and well packed but as is I would love to give it zero stars accounting for the absurdly poor packing job. So disappointing.Update: I increased my review to three stars because of the prompt help of the people who sell this violin to resolve the situation. I'm still not impressed with it but if you get an undamaged one you may be satisfied.
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