I've got a 15-month old who just loves music and is always clapping her hands. The minute we opened this toy, she immediately took to the cymbals. My wife turned the sturdy box they came in upside down so that she could beat on the box if she wanted. My daughter had a better idea... she'd climb up on top of it like her little stage and crash her cymbals like some major domo, marching in step at that! We all love playing with these very durable toys.

This and things to draw with are the best toys, because kids don't seem to burn out with them the way they do with one-trick pony toys. Anyway, I'm very pleased with this and the great value it represents for the price. I'll be giving this as a gift to my friends' kids.

You can never have the perfect toy, but as long as they've come so close with this, I might as well ask Melissa and Doug if they would verify for us parents that the paint used in these does not contain lead -- they are from China and the bright yellows and reds are the ones that more often contain lead. The only other thing is to know whether the wood was sustainably harvested and did not come from clearcutting trees (in Borneo or something and sent to China for processing).

Fantastic product!!! We bought this for my daughter for Easter. However, the whole family plays with it. Great gift, good price, good quality for a children's musical toy.

This is a wonderful treasure for any budding musician. Very nice, wood crafted intruments that can stand a good pounding (and stomping, throwing, bending).
I only wish it came in a lidded box/container to make storage more efficient.

We had such great fun with our grandkids with this toy. All we added was an accordian! We played for hours. Very good quality. Like the real thing. We highly recommend it.

Great for kids to make some noise! Definitely use supervised. My son hit the tambourine with the wooden stick the very first day and tore a hole in it. Fixed with packing tape, but disappointed, expected a bit more durability from this company. As a whole, a worthwhile addition to the kitchen band!

We purchased this Melissa and Doug Band in a Box for our toddlers.
They LOVE IT!
All the pieces come in a sealed wooden crate storage box.
When the box arrived, we opened it and the children wanted to play with the instruments immediately.
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was on tv at the time, so we all got to chime in with the music.
Everything works terrific and is a terrific value for the price.
If purchased separately, the instruments are costly and we might not have been able to buy them all.
So thank you Melissa & Doug for making another excellent product!

I ordered this for a 4 year old who is showing interest in music and instruments, it was an absoulte excellent choice, it reminded me of my youth in pre-school. Highly recommend it.

These are well made just like all the other reviewers stated. I bought these to introduce my 18 month old to musical instruments and she has lots of fun with them. Highly recommended!!

I was very pleased with this product. It's got kid-appeal (fun colors and size is good for little fingers) Some of the instruments have been dropped a few times, and nothing broke. Find a good song to play along with (The Wheels on the Bus), and you got yourself some quality time with the kid(s).

This is worth triple the price. The instruments are extremely professional and well made. Adults and children alike can enjoy this. The triangle is amazing and you can feel the vibrations as soon as it is tapped as well as a beautiful clear ring. It's great for a family music fest. You will be instantly impressed as soon as you open the box. They are made to last for many, many years.

It's funny how kids gravitate to one item, and the cymbals always seem to lure visiting children. The cymbals are nice and small, and they easily fit in little hands, but we found the wood handles twisted, and turned a little more then my son likes. I guess the loose feeling gave him a weird sensation when banging them together, so he doesn't play with them much. It's strange to me that the most enjoyable instrument for my son is the wooden clacker, which is the loudest instrument in the box. He's hypersensitive to loud sounds, yet he bangs that instrument for minutes at a time. He also enjoys the maracas, but instead of shaking them like intended, he bangs them together. The banging makes a loud crashing sound, as well as a shaky bean sound. The problem with this is that he's banged them like that for so long, the seams on one of the maracas have split, and I've had to glue it together. The glue holds it well, but I'm afraid it will meet its demise sooner than later.

I'm fond of the tambourine myself, so when William decides to put on a concert he shakes it a few times, and then hands it to me. The tone block and mallet is second in line to the clacker for William. He bangs the two together, and then bangs the mallet and the clacker together, and so on.

Our only concern with this set was the metal striker that accompanies the triangle. My husband snagged it soon after it came into our house because he could see it was an accident waiting to happen. We just didn't feel comfortable having a 3-year old walking around the house with a 6" piece of steel. In addition, the storage box didn't really work for us either. William pinched his finger when closing the lid, which didn't hurt him; it only scared him. We eventually relegated the box to my husband storage shed, and placed his instruments in a bin, which worked much better for us.

Overall, the Band in a Box has been an enjoyable toy. The instruments are very durable, especially for the price, and although we've had some issues with the maracas, I can't hold Melissa & Doug responsible for my son's rough play.

All 3 of my kids love these instruments. They are ages 7, 5, and 1 and all of them find interesting uses for them. We memorize scripture, poems, and other things while playing a beat. We march around the house making music along with our CDs. The best part is that they are so sturdy. They have held up under some severe use and abuse by our 1 year old. He loves the triangle best. I do wish it had a drum or some finger symbals in the box, but other than that, I really like it.

My eighteen-month old daughter received this set this past Christmas. Although below the recommended age, she loves the instruments and has a great time playing with them. We did put away the triangle until later since it is made of a heavier metal--a head injury in the making. They seem well-made, however, while playing with the maraca, she was able to unscrew the handle and the beans spilled out. A major choking hazard. It was easily fixed with a little super glue, but be watchful with little ones.

My 2-year-old son received this set this past Christmas and he loves it! Easily one of his favorite toys now. We've even added a few more musical additions to the box and we enjoy being a band as a family with everyone playing their own instrument. My only gripe is that my son decided to play the triangle with a maraca one day and after a few hits, the maraca split right down the center. I took it away for fear that the contents would spill out or he would get cut. I would also recommend that you make sure the ties on the flapper toy (I don't know what it's called!) because ours came untied when my son was playing with it and one of the pieces flew off. Your child could easily get hurt if they are playing with this vigorously and a hard wooden piece flies off. It was easy to put back together but I made sure to tie it extra tight so it did not happen again. Not for children who like to throw things as all pieces are very hard and heavy. Overall, I'd recommend it for hours of play at a good price.

This little kit was a HUGE hit with my son... not so much with my wife!

The individual elements are good quality. The sounds they produce are quite good.

My children are not the type to break their toys because they are too rough with them. That is why I was surprised when after only a week of owning the music instruments there are several instruments that are already broken and can no longer be used to make music. The tambourine (drum part)ripped right away, and the hollow wood instrument cracked and split in two. I would not recommend this product.

My grandson, the budding music genius, cannot get enough of this music kit. I love to hear him bang away and play - at our daughter's house, of course. Great toy, looks good, terrific play value.

As a grandmother I enjoy giving christmas presents each year to keep in own home for the grandchildren to play with when they come and visit. For years I have wanted to have a rhythm band. This was the introduction to a fun evening which ended up with not only each grandchild choosing an instrument from this collection, but Grandpa pulling out his banjo, saxaphone and guitar that had been collecting dust. Each child ages 2 to 13 enjoyed playing along with their chosen instruments. The Grand Finale was Grandpa, again, playing ragtime at the piano. Each instrument is well made and sturdy. It was a great addition to the holidays with all family members present. I would highly recommend this product to anyone wanting to get their children or grandchildren involved in music. They enjoyed taking turns and trading instruments. There were no favorites. Each was a fun and unique experience for each child

I was quite impressed with the variety and quality of the musical instruments. It was a great buy!

My 2 year old and 4 year old daughters love these instruments. The clapper is hard for them, but the rest are great. We put on some music, and they play along. It's fun!

My grandchildren (ages 3 and 20 months) went nuts over this. The instruments are very well made, and the sounds they make are melodious and pleasant--loud enough to be fun, but not so loud as to be annoying. All of us, children and grownups alike, enjoyed playing with them and having our very own marching band!

My 2 1/2 year-old twins each received one of these toys for Christmas. They LOVE it. Both girls love the triangle and the wooden noisemakers. The maracas could be a little "noisier" and the cymbals are kind of tiny.

I bought this gift for my granddaughter who loves music in any form and I want to tell you this is a very nice product. The instruments are made extremely well and they appear to be very durable and colorful. The sounds that they make are not cheap or tiney but realistic, and having a box to put them neatly away in is a big plus. My granddaughter really loved the pair of colorful maracus. I found the price to be extremely reasonable as well, as in the past I have spent twice the cost of this entire set for one pair of maracus. All in all a very nice product that your children will enjoy hours upon hours.

My son got this for Christmas when he was 3- it was a huge hit! Now, at 5 and a half, he still plays with this regularly, and has recruited his 1-yr old sister to "play band" with him. I agree with the other reviewer who mentioned the triangle stick could be dangerous for the younger set, but my one-yr old prefers the cymbals anyway. Yes its loud, but great fun and great for teaching rhythms and developing musical interest. The clacker instrument did break from being smacked against the concrete outside, but everything else has held up for 2 years now. As usual I'm very impressed with Melissa & Doug's products!

I got this for my son for his 3rd birthday. He absolutely loves it. All of the instruments are so easy to play and they are really well made. I also like having a box to store the instruments in when he is not using them. This was his favorite toy out of all of his birthday presants.

The deluxe band-in-a-box set is by far the greatest... Although hope you have enough people available because everyone has their own instrument... We had a blast with this set, the kids love it, and even the adults had some good laughs.. very sturdy and holds up against the worst wear and tear.. Highly recommend for your young child...

My daughter got this music set for her birthday when she turned 3. She will now be 4 in a couple months, and she still gets the music set out every couple days and plays with it, usually declaring loudly that it's "music time". My only complaint is with the moroccas - they are not exactly kid proof for preschoolers to work with. My daughter banged them together a few times, which resulted in the one breaking altogether. The other one, although still usable, has a small crack in it. I think hard plastic moroccas would be better - or thicker wooden ones as used in public school music classes.

I bought this item for my two daughters, ages 3 and 21 months. They just love it! They have a great time marching around the house playing music for me. Even my 10 year old son has picked up an instrument now and again. I think it was well worth the money spent and it gives my children a nice way to be creative and express themselves. The favorite instruments are the triangle and the cymbals.

My 2 year old received these instruments for Christmas this year. She absolutely loves them! The instruments are durable and well-made. As with any toy, as long as your child doesn't abuse them they will last for years and years! Our family is comprised of professional musicians and even we are impressed. She is learning the fundamentals of rhythm by playing the instruments along with her favorite music. A wonderful toy, highly reccommended!

We recently bought this item for our two year old, but on the way home from the store, he managed to tear the tamborine top. Now, two days later, the paper has huge gaping holes in it. I guess I read the reviews too late, but maybe I can call the company, get a replacement, and immediately put the packing tape over it. It's a shame the company doesn't read these posts, though, since they should change their product. Another problem I had with it was the weak sound of the maracas. One has no beans in it at all, apparently! My husband thought that maybe we could drill a hole in it and put some rice inside. We already had a storage bin for musical toys, but we are using the crate for plastic food storage.

Anyway, this is my first time writing a review about a product, since I don't like registering my name with internet companies to do so, but this toy motivated me to complain in a public forum!

My 4 year old loves music, always has. For his birthday, we decided to buy him some instruments. I chose this set because I trust the brand (have a few other products from this company) and because of the quality and construction of the instruments...bottom line, they are wood and metal and not plastic which could crack. I think this was a good choice. The pieces are well made and seem durable so far. Some instruments designed for children have an "off" sound quality. This set is not so. The sounds produced are good quality.

My son opened this at his (small) birthday party. His first choice was the triangle (which still remains his favorite). He started playing it once we showed him that you have to hold it by the string and not the triangle itself, and party guests automatically picked up the other pieces and started playing them too. Everyone at the party--both children and adults--ended up participating in the music in some way. It was a fun time!

The only negatives I have are that the strings holding the clacker together are very tight, making it hard to operate (takes some amount of force). It is difficult for my son to use this piece. Perhaps over time and with use, the strings will loosen a bit. I also wish the set indicated the proper names of each instrument. I'm not sure if "clacker" is the correct name. I also do not know the name for another piece in the set (the one that is hollowed out--when you hit it with a stick it produces sound).

This is a nice set and comes in a great wooden box.
My only complaint is that some of the pieces (the cymbals) had discolored and a little rust on them. Not sure why, but other than that, everything was in good condition and great for little kids to play.

Kids always seem to be fascinated by "noisy toys", but usually those things are cheap, plastic and easily breakable... not to mention fairly one-dimensional in the obnoxious noises that they make.

Why not buy them a set of neat musical instruments instead of a typical "noisy toy"? This set, made of wood and metal, is a great place to start. Children love to make music, and these instruments are of very high quality and will get them started right. Pop in a CD while you're making dinner and let them play along.

Studies show that kids who begin playing and appreciating music at a young age tend to be more advanced in school (particularly in Math) than children who do not. Get your kid started right, the price can't be beat for what you're getting!

We love this product! My 1 year old loves to shake the maracas, and the clacker....and even the tambourine! We thought she'd like it, but did not think she'd be REALLY into it until a few months down the line. But she is. This company really makes quality products. My daughter recieved several gifts made by Melissa and Doug. She really loves them all...and we love them because they aren't just for the first 2 years....she will be using them and enjoying them for years to come.

Triangle & cymbals are the big hit with my 12 month old, but the other instruments are great too. The only thing I'm not impressed with is the tamborine since the "skin" part is not made with leather but with a synthetic material that I don't think will be long-lasting. Still, a great price for a good variety of instruments.