Buying a kids accordion is probably something your average parent wouldn’t even consider; most folks don’t like accordion music, and the idea of a kid squeezing and squeezing on one of these things is about as appealing as a hole in the head.

However, most people have misconstrued ideas about what this instrument would sound like. First of all, this is a diatonic accordion, meaning it’s tuned to only one key. The buttons make different sounds depending on whether you’re pushing or pulling on the bellows. Diatonic accordions are popular in Cajun and Zydeco, Irish Music, Tex-Mex and Conjunto, Gypsy Music, and various other forms of world music. They are not the accordions typically used in polka.

Because of the diatonic setup, your kid can’t play a sour note! It’s like giving them an 8-note wide section of a piano, with no black keys. Sure, if they try, they’ll still be able to drive you nuts with this thing, but most likely, they’ll enjoy trying to pick out songs. Buy them a Cajun or Zydeco CD to go along with it (try Buckwheat Zydeco’s kids album: Choo Choo Boogaloo) and hopefully they’ll be inspired and want to play real music on it.

I was very pleased with this item. I had not expected such a nice tone from it. My 6 year old grandson was giving "concerts" the same night he opened his present. Amazingly, his "music" is quite nice to hear. This is definitely not another "noise making" toy. You will like it very much.

I’ve had this accordion for about a year and a half, and every time I pull it out and play a tune, I have far too much fun. While I’d like to be able to play recognizable tunes other than the 3 that came with the accordion, improv is a buch o’ fun, and just about anything you do will sound good. I am 18 years old, and it still entertains me, so I’m sure it will be even more fun for younger kids.