This thread is a goldmine for me.
As a pro musician AND music teacher, it’s really cool to hear your feedback.
I’ve been trying many things with many kids (ranging from 6 months to 20 yo).
There are some surprises. Definitely.
Oddly enough, the « Hits » category is either Playtime Engineering, Dato or iPads. Big hit with the Dato (even tho it misses a battery, ffs). The BlipBloxes are really fun but a bit daunting.
I’m eyeing that Bullgfrog XL and the incoming Dato Drums and MyTracks offerings. Could cover a lot of grounds with these.
In the « Misses » category, tho, things get interesting.
I initially thought Teenage Engineering would prove to be a hit. And the POs and EP could have been. But the build quality is not a match for the destructive energy of kids. I discovered that teenagers are used to durable, sturdy game controllers and don’t quite understand that not everything is as sturdy as their consoles.
I also thought that some Korgs would prove useful at minimum. The Volcas, the microKorg and its vocoder, etc. But it was fun for about a minute. And that was it.
On a side note, the all-time hit are the guitars.
I think this stems in the fact that kids are allowed to play with electronics (depending on their parents, of course) but are almost always forbidden to touch real instruments.
Give them a guitar, and they go into concert mode, they try stuff. They mimic what they saw, they explore every aspect of the instrument like no other.
I thought the DatoDuos and Blipbloxes would be the stars. But it’s the guitars everytime…as long as they can touch them.
I learned that you can trust kids with guitars. With the exception of some violent kids that like to break things (and they are easily spotted), every kid takes care of the guitars.
Anyways.
Love all this feedback.
Very inspiring.
