A peek at our new music shelves + Decor Glockenspiel review, giveaway, and discount code

I have to admit that until recently, Frida didn’t really have any instruments. Her “baby” instruments such as shakers were passed on to her cousin long ago as she stopped showing any interest in them, and I longed to introduce some well-made and beautiful instruments into her life but couldn’t decide where to start.

So when the lovely Melody at Little Acorns to Mighty Oaks asked me if we wanted to review a Decor Rainbow Glockenspiel I leapt at the opportunity, as I had already been eyeing up the selection of beautiful glockenspiels on her website.

We really, REALLY love this Glockenspiel. It is unspeakably beautiful in real life – photos don’t do it justice! – and it makes the most beautiful sound. From the moment we took it out of its box Frida has not stopped using it.

The keys are removable, which adds another wonderful dimension to the instrument as you can create smaller collections of keys to play with – great if two children both want to play. The colours make it easier for young children to learn to play simple tunes by score, and the glockenspiel comes with a booklet which includes some songs. You could also make your own colour coded music guides, something I will do when Frida is older.

The glockenspiel itself is stunning and obviously well made. For those of you familiar with Grimms wooden toys I would say the colour and quality of the wood is similar. It has a lovely unvarnished texture, and feels warm and inviting to touch.

It comes with two beaters, one hard and one soft, which really change the sound of the instrument depending on which is chosen. The hard beater produces a clear, crisp note, whereas the soft beater creates a dreamy, echoing sound.

Decor instruments (Decor is the brand name – it doesn’t mean they are for decoration only!) are made in Germany by a community for adults with special needs, so the glockenspiel hits the ethical note for me too, something which I try to consider when making purchasing decisions.

When Melody asked me if I wanted to review the glockenspiel, I expected that we would love it. However I wasn’t expecting to love it so much that I immediately ordered another glockenspiel from the same brand to give Frida for her birthday (this time in the pentatonic scale rather than the diatonic – each have a distinctive sound). High praise indeed, especially as I thought I was done with buying gifts for this year.

It has also been the inspiration I needed to set up some simple music shelves in our sitting room, which have been a real success. I added a ukelele and a drum (both have been a big success) alongside a basket of sound blocks and a croaking frog guiro. After Frida’s birthday we will be able to add the pentatonic glockenspiel to her shelves.

GIVEAWAY

I am absolutely delighted to be giving away one of these stunning diatonic Decor glockenspiels over on Instagram. Come and join in the competition – entering couldn’t be easier.

DISCOUNT CODE 

If you can’t wait to get your hands on one of these gorgeous instruments, you can get 15% off the entire Decor Glockenspiel range at Little Acorns to Mighty Oaks with code FRIDA.

Disclaimer: I received the Glockenspiel as a gift to review, but all thoughts and words are my own. As you can tell, I was a big fan and needed no convincing!