Wind chimes for babies

October 26, 2015 3:53 PM

I’ve been hunting around for a present for my sister’s new-born boy (1 month old). No success, but I’m now really excited about the wind chime suggestions in this question (thanks to the asker and the posters!). I’m thinking of getting him some. Top price cca $100. Questions below the fold.

Sister is a music teacher and plays classical music to him (has since she found out she is pregnant), so in principle she would be good with the noise.

Questions:

1. Is there any way to make the wind chimes sound if they are indoors, i.e. if there is no wind?

2. Do babies prefer deep tones, medium tones, or should I get for a tinkling, high pitch chime?

3. Bonus question: if you were a baby, which would you prefer (each link has a ‘Listen to me’ option):

Chimes of Westminster (deep)
Chimes of Mozart (medium)
Dragonfly (high)
Fire (high)
Water (high)
Mystery (medium)
Baja (deep)

They are all Woodstock chimes, if you have another favourite from them that would be great for a baby, please let me know.

Anything else I should know about wind chimes and babies? Or specifically about Woodstock chimes?

Thanks!

PS Baby is in Switzerland, so I am buying through this shop, in case that makes a difference.

posted by miorita to Shopping (8 answers total)

Best answer: I like the Chimes of Mozart, Mystery and Baja. The high chimes end up with something that sounds to me like squeaking and it kind of bothers my years. I don't know what kind of home baby lives in, but if the chimes might be outdoors, consider that low-pitched sounds travel farther than high-pitched, so if there are neighbours who might be annoyed, then high-pitched might be better on that front, though they do sound kind of awful nearby IMO. Maybe get one of the medium as a compromise.

If it's going to be inside, hang it near a heating vent. You might experiment with altering the weight and shape of the weight that hangs from the centre. You want it light enough to move in a soft wind, but heavy enough to swing with enough force to ring the chimes. I would expect you want to maximize the surface area:weight ratio -- make it a thin large sheet.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:26 PM on October 26, 2015

Best answer: I don't know if your shop has it, or if they could special order it for you since they carry that brand, but I really like this, which A) gives the sound of chimes B) Gives the sound of water, which is a great white noise for sleeping C) Solves the problem of making sound indoors and D) Can be easily turned off if the need for actual silence should arise.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:31 PM on October 26, 2015

Best answer: My baby is currently sleeping, but I'll see what she thinks of your clips tomorrow. My sense is that the higher-pitched ones will be most popular; certainly all of the most attention-getting baby toys are quite high-pitched. That said, Chimes of Mozart sounds quite a bit like the clips her mobile plays, and that's been excellent for keeping her quietly entertained in the mornings, so I guess it depends on what role you envision for the windchime.
posted by teremala at 7:37 PM on October 26, 2015

Best answer: 1. Is there any way to make the wind chimes sound if they are indoors, i.e. if there is no wind?

Indoor chimes, if they are light enough, will usually sound when doors nearby are opened or shut, due to changes in air pressure. And if they are in Switzerland, they probably open the windows to air the house every day (or at least, my Swiss friends are all obsessive about doing so), so the chimes will ring then.
posted by lollusc at 7:41 PM on October 26, 2015

Best answer: my husband built some (in a medium range) for our son when our son was about 6 or 7 months, and we had them indoors, mounted securly so he could reach them and "ring" them (but so the chimes themselves could not be reached - the string was quite a bit longer than on the ones you linked to). He loved ringing them, and they continued to emit sound for a very long time which he enjoyed. So depending on your sister's house and inclinations that could be an option (but only works if they are like really very safely mounted, and don't come apart from very hard tugs).
posted by 15L06 at 3:24 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Initial results of highly unscientific test: almost-four-month-old baby stops playing to listen attentively to the deep-toned options, largely ignores most of the others, and babbles at Fire.
posted by teremala at 9:36 AM on October 27, 2015

Response by poster: Thank you so much everybody!

If I had a penguin, I really love the waterklangspiel you linked to - I've not managed to find it in a German/ Swiss shop though (discovered that I don't need to ferry them from the US, since they are stocked locally as well, so will go with one of the options available in Europe).

Teremala, thank you for sharing baby's opinion! Did baby like the Westminster or Baja best?
posted by miorita at 11:50 AM on October 27, 2015

Best answer: Westminster is much more riveting; Baja she still stops playing for but goes back to waving her limbs around partway through. (With only two options, this test was about as scientific as it could be given n=1 and it's a baby.)
posted by teremala at 6:21 AM on October 28, 2015