What’s the best beginner drum set for your child? If you want to start your child off right, read our full guide on what to look for in children’s starter drum sets!
What’s the Best Beginner Drum Set for Children? Read This Before Buying
Top 3 Best Children’s Drum Sets Reviewed
1. Best Beginner Drum Set: Music Alley Kids 3 Piece Beginners Drum Kit
2. Best Full Kit: Mendini 16 inch 5-Piece Complete Kids / Junior Drum Set
3. Best for Younger Children: First Act Discovery Blue Swirls Stars Designer Drum Set
Compare these featured children’s drum sets
In Summary: Which Children’s Drum Set Offers the Best Value?
What’s the Best Beginner Drum Set for Children? Read This Before Buying
Great starter drum kits at a glance:
| Product | Feature Image | Editor’s Rating | Relative Price |
| #1 Best Beginner Drum Set |  |
4.5 / 5 |
$$
|
| #2 Best Full Kit | |
4.5 / 5 |
$$$
|
| #3 Best for Younger Children | |
4.2 / 5 |
$$
|
Do you have a child who wants to play the drums? Do they enjoy making rhythms on whatever objects come to hand? If so, you might have a budding musician on your hands! Learning musical skills early can be both an endless source of fun and a valuable enriching experience for them.
If you want to start them off right and give them an outlet for their creativity—or even just give them a toy that they will get hours of lively play from—you may be in the market for a child-sized set of drums. But there are a lot of options out there!
Whether you’re a musician yourself or new to the world of percussion instruments, you’ll want to know how they compare.
Here’s a look at the pros and cons of three different products designed for your child to safely learn, play, and play.
We certainly hope you benefit from the information we provide in this article! Just so you know, we may receive compensation if you use the links on this page. If you do, thank you so much!
Top 3 Best Children’s Drum Sets Reviewed
1. Best Beginner Drum Set: Music Alley Kids 3 Piece Beginners Drum Kit
- This three-piece kids drum set is a complete scaled-down, fully functional drum kit featuring...
- Far more than a toy, this is not a plastic toddler drum set, it is a real instrument. This drum...
- This mini drum set features a 14-inch bass drum, this drum is operated by the bass pedal...
Features:
Though it requires slightly more assembly, Music Alley’s kit is a similar design to the First Act Discovery set, with a 14.5-inch bass drum with pedal, an 8-inch tom and 8-inch snare, and a crash cymbal along with wooden drum sticks.
The snare is not designed to be readily transformed into a second tom, so this set is not quite as versatile as the other, but it features a sleek black look and real wooden drum shells.
It also comes with an adjustable padded seat, so that your child can sit down and start playing right away!
Music Alley Drum Kit Pros and Cons
Music Alley Kids 3 Piece Beginners Drum Kit Review
What We Like
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- Sleek black and chrome design with wooden drum shells
- Manufacturer’s warranty available on request
- Durable construction
- Seat included!
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What We Don’t Like
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- Some assembly required; the bass drum needs to be screwed together
- Does not come with a guide to help children learn
- Comes with California pedal instead of a chain-driven one
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Read the Latest Music Alley User Reviews >>
2. Best Full Kit: Mendini by Cecilio 16 inch 5-Piece Complete Kids / Junior Drum Set
- Great Kids Drum Sets: The 5-piece junior drum set is an 'all-in-one' fully functional drum kit...
- High Quality: This drum sets for kids ages 6-13 not only looks shiny, vibrant and glittery, but...
- Drum Set Includes: This kids drum set comes with 1 bass drum (16”x11”, 4 lugs, bass drum...
Features:
If your child is a little older and wants to take on a more complete drum set, you might start them on this Mendini Junior Drum Set, which is a five-piece set with more options for making music.
It comes with a 12-inch floor tom, the 16-inch bass drum and pedal, and also with both 8- and 10-inch toms and a matching 10-inch snare.
Instead of just the one cymbal that the other kits are provided with, this one also comes equipped with both a crash cymbal and a chain-driven high hat for those higher-pitched accents.
Finally, with a 16-inch instead of 14-inch bass drum and 10- and 12-inch as well as 8-inch toms, your child won’t grow out of this drum set as quickly; children up to 10 or even 11 can use them.
Like the Music Alley set, it also comes equipped with drumsticks and a ready-to-use adjustable padded seat.
Mendini Drum Kit Pros and Cons
Mendini 5-Piece Complete Junior Drum Set Review
What We Like
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- Flashy, colorful metallic paint and appealing design
- Comes in six different color options: Black, Blue, Red, Green, Silver, and White
- With 5 drums and 2 cymbals, this set gives a realistic rock-star experience
- The drums are larger than in the other kits, so they can be used longer
- 1-year manufacturer’s warranty included
- Durable construction
- Comes with seat
- More durable chain-drive pedal
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What We Don’t Like
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- Some assembly required (half an hour to an hour)
- Some of the drums need to be screwed together
- More complex instrument may not be as suitable for the youngest children
- No instructions on how to tune the drums
- With a larger footprint, will take up more living space
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What Do Mendini 5-Piece Kids Drum Set Customers Think? >>
3. Best for Younger Children: First Act Discovery Blue Swirls Stars Designer Drum Set
- First Act Discovery Blue Swirls Drum Set
- Bass drum with California foot pedal
- Tom drum and Snare Drum
Features:
This brightly-colored First Act Discovery three-piece drum set comes 90% pre-assembled, and the drums snap together using a patented pin mounting system designed to make setup easy.
It has a 13.5-inch bass drum with California foot pedal, a tom, and a snare which can be adjusted to make it into a second tom, as well as a crash cymbal.
The set comes with wooden drum sticks, a tuning key, and instructions to help you tune the drums, as well as a learning kit with color-and-shape-coded stickers that will help younger children get started playing.
It will probably be suitable for children aged 4-8 years.
First Act Drum Kit Pros and Cons
First Act Discovery Drum Set Review
What We Like
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- Simple design with easy snap-together assembly
- Colorful sticker system to help your child start learning to play
- Adjustable on/off snare mechanism
- Manufacturer’s warranty available on request
- Colorful, fun blue star pattern designed by a professional music educator
- Small drums work well for very young children
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What We Don’t Like
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- Does not come with a drum throne or seat
- Seems to be slightly less durable than similar products
- California pedal may not be as durable as the more common chain-driven kinds
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What are Customers Saying About the First Act Drum Set? >>
Compare these featured children’s drum sets:
In Summary: Which Children’s Drum Set Offers the Best Value?
As parents, we all have to consider the balance of our child’s willingness to learn, stick with it, and how much a good beginner drum set will cost.
This is why we think the best choice is the Music Ally Set. If you want your child to be able to do more with their drum set, instead of banging on a toy, invest a little extra time to get a more durable and slightly larger kit.
if you feel your child is a little more serious, you might even go all the way and get the full range of drums with the Mendini 5-piece set.
The Mendini 5-piece kit in particular, will let your child pursue their musical education quite a bit longer before you need to buy them a larger kit, making it ideal for parents who are more serious about getting their child started on their musical education.
Though they may require somewhat more work, either of these options should provide you and your child with a bit fuller and longer-lasting drumming experience.
For the youngest of new percussionists, the First Act Discovery kit will make this process as simple as possible, for both you and your child, and thus it seems to be one of the best options for the very youngest beginners.
Don’t forget to buy a seat, though, or you might not be able to get your child started right away!
Simply put, each of these products are designed for learning and play. They are not high-end, professional musical instruments by any means, and you will have to do a little work figuring out how to tune them and set them up.
Our #1 Pick!
Are Music Alley Drum Set Buyers Happy? >>
Editor’s Rating:
4.5
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