Eight bars: D E F G A B C D. Tap the bars, or press 1–8 or A S D F G H J K on a keyboard.
I recorded every bar of my son’s toy xylophone and mapped each note’s real pitch, so this plays what his toy actually plays. We use it at home — his mum, his nanny and I — to learn a song before we sit down with the real bars, and to keep him playing along with us.
Dims bars 3 and 7, leaving D E G A B. These five notes sound nice in any order, so a toddler can't hit a sour note.
Listen to a short tune, then play it back. Each correct echo adds one note.
Plug in a USB piano keyboard and use Chrome or Edge. The white keys D E F G A B C D play bars 1–8. Any D at or above D5 plays bar 8.
These pitches were measured from recordings I made of my son’s own 8-bar toy xylophone. "Our toy's tuning" plays it exactly as measured, slightly flat in places. "Perfect tuning" plays every note exactly on pitch.
| Bar | Colour | Measured | Note | Off by |
|---|
100 cents (¢) is one semitone. Bar 8 rings faintly on the real toy, so tap it firmly in the middle. Bars 5 and 6 are almost perfectly in tune.