Kids lose interest fast in toy instruments that sound wrong. A small real instrument that stays in tune, or a keyboard with songs to play along with, keeps them coming back. Size matters most: our child's guitar size guide has the measurements. Every pick comes from our rankings, with tonight's Thomann price.
For the youngest (about 3 to 6)
JVC HA-KD5, $18
Children's headphones with an 85 dB volume limiter, sized for ages 4 and up, for tablets and keyboards. #1 of 2 children's headphones.
Casio SA-51, $58
A 32-key mini keyboard with 100 sounds, 50 rhythms and 10 songs, running on batteries. #1 of 10 children's keyboards.
Startone Mat Drum, $61
A battery-powered drum mat with pads for kick, snare, three toms, hi-hat and cymbals, plus a headphone output, so parents get a break. #87 of 87 electronic drumkits.
Startone CG851 1/4, $42
A quarter-size classical guitar with soft nylon strings, for about ages 4 to 6: the cheapest way to see if a young child sticks with guitar. #2 of 8 1/4 size classical guitars.
Ortega R121-1/4, $195
A quarter-size classical guitar with a spruce top, mahogany body and a deluxe gig bag, a real instrument that sounds good, for about ages 4 to 6. #1 of 8 1/4 size classical guitars.
For school-age kids (about 6 to 10)
Yamaha PSS-F30, $65
A 37-key mini keyboard with 120 sounds, 114 backing styles, Smart Chord and a free digital songbook. The highest-ranked children's keyboard we track: #2 of 10 children's keyboards.
Nuvo jSAX, $101
A light plastic saxophone in C with saxophone fingering, made for children starting out. #6 of 27 other saxophones.
pBone music pBone Mini, $137
A small, colorful plastic Eb alto trombone, light enough for young arms. #3 of 10 alto trombones.
Questions
What is a good first instrument for a child?
A mini keyboard like the Yamaha PSS-F30 ($65) for the youngest; a quarter-size classical guitar from about age 4.
What size guitar does a 6-year-old need?
Between sizes: a 1/4 fits most children from 4 to 6, a 1/2 from about 6 to 8. Height decides, so check the table in our guide to guitar sizes for children.
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand; specs from Thomann's product data. Ages are rough guides. Prices are converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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