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If you have kid-friendly instruments around the house, it's easy to turn your ukulele practice into a family jam session! All of the instruments I'm recommending come from years of being tested in my own home. They've held up to years of use (and abuse) and still sound great!
My All-Time Favorites Kid Instruments
When you think of rhythm instruments, you might think of drums. But really, there's an array of instruments that fit this category that can add dynamic sound to your family jams at home. Rhythm instruments are great because there's no learning curve. Odds are, your kid already knows how to bang on things, so all of these options work for babies, toddlers, big kids, and even adults!
Tambourines
Tambourines are an easy way to add a friend in to the mix. I recommend buying a "real" one versus a kids' version. The sound will be much fuller and that alone will make it more fun to play. And if it's too big for your child's hand, don't let that stop them from playing! Set it on the floor and have them bang on it as if it was a drum!
Egg Shakers
Babies get pretty thrilled when they discover that they can make music on their own! These shakers are a great size for tiny hands, and they make a surprisingly nice sound. Babies love to mouth them, but there's no danger of choking with these perfect-sized shakers. We frequently bring these on road trips so we can rock out to the radio on long drives.
Jingle Bell Bracelets
These jingle bells are perfect for when you're singing holiday songs at home. They can be worn as bracelets or simply held in the hand to add a fun rhythmic element to your singalong at home.
Floor Drum:
Babies and toddlers have a great time banging on this durable drum, and it's a little easier to stomach one (relatively small) floor drum than a full drum kit! It includes two soft-head mallets for playing, but it's just as fun to tap out rhythms with your hands.
My Personal Favorite: Resonator Bells
These individual xylophone keys are fun to play all at once, sure, especially if you like to tap out melodies. But if you want your child to sound in tune with your ukulele, give them just the 1 and 5 tones for whatever key you're playing in (what I'm saying makes sense if you've gone through my beginner’s ukulele course!). For instance, if you're playing in the key of C, have them bang on the C and G bells; if you're playing in the key of G, give them the G and D notes to play.
Baby-proofing note: the black tips of the little mallets have repeatedly fallen off of our sticks, so please be careful if you have a child who likes to mouth objects.
Don't Forget About Hand-Me-Downs
I recommend you kickoff your ukulele adventure with an affordable instrument. In large part, this is because I want you to have an ukulele you can hand down to your children when you're ready to upgrade. You are their role model, and it's natural for them to want to play the same instrument you're playing.
Why I Advise Against Buying Instruments in Sets
A set like the Melissa and Doug Band in the Box is a fine shortcut to building your at-home instrument collection, and if you already have one, great! Play with what you have! But in general, I recommend buying instruments individually so that you'll have more control over your instruments as well as higher quality materials and better quality sound.
Ready to Jam?
Once you've assembled a few kid-friendly instruments, you'll need to find a good place to keep them! I recommend stashing them in a basket or bin in your living room or whichever room you're most likely to hang out in. When your kid instruments and ukulele are nearby and easy to pick up, it makes it that much easier to host impromptu family jam sessions! And that's kind of the point of all this, isn't it? :)
