Those Who Praise This Toy, Must Have Absolutely No Understanding of Music
I am extremely disappointed in this toy. I spent a few months trying to find it, and was so excited when my mother finally found it on eBay. I quickly paid slightly more than the going price for the cube, but I didn't care, since the outstanding reviews it received made it seem well worth it.
Unfortunately, the toy proved me wrong within 10 minutes of arriving at my house. I started by playing each instrument separately, going for the violin first. I quickly realized that the track was actually a horrible synthesized violin - EW. To add insult to injury, the track was flat in some places, sharp in others. My husband thought it would sound better with all of the instruments playing, and maybe it wouldn't sound flat relative to the other instruments, but no - we then discovered that the tempos are all completely off. The flute is too slow, the harp is too fast, and the piano track is about the only track that actually sounds somewhat correct, in terms of the intstrument it's supposed to be and the song it's supposed to be playing. To the reviewer who said the cube made him shudder everytime it turned on, I completely sympathize. It makes your skin crawl!
Right now, my husband is pulling the cube apart to see if maybe he can tweak it to make it play a little better, but I'm convinced this was a complete waste. It's a sin, because my son absolutely loves the flashing lights and the music, and hitting the different buttons to bring the different pieces of an ensemble together, but I refuse to let him play with a toy that encourages rushed tempos and flat notes. Save your money, and pick up one of Mozart's CDs. Better yet, pick up the Baby Einstein Mozart CD; the Baby Einstein Orchestra uses simple sounds to recreate Mozart's most popular movements that make it easier and more enjoyable on baby's ears. And, they're actually in tune!
To the lot of people who rated this toy with 5 stars, perhaps you need to head back to elementary music class. Don't waste your money, unless you want to teach your child about rushing tempos and flat notes with disgusting, synthetic sounds.
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great toy with musical influence...
my son, who is now almost 18 mos. old, loves his mozart cube. he has played with this toy since christmas when we got it for him. most days he'll play in the living room and he'll play his mozart cube then go on to explore other toys...when the music stops he comes back to his cube to play it again! we're hoping that musical influences like this cube will encourage him to want to learn music.
this cube is well constructed and lights up when the instrument blocks are playing. we liked the mozart cube enough to buy one for my sister and our best friend who are both pregnant!
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