An exotic and beautiful mini aluminium wind chime, which has a gentle wavy movement and produces the most pleasant and calming sounds. Thanks to these qualities, it is the first musical instrument that should be presented to a newborn baby. Its contribution to the listening skills of toddlers and young children is significant.

Placing the wind chime close to the baby’s face and hands and gently stroking it will support the development of the baby’s listening skills. To extend the length of the listening span we move the instrument slowly and attentively from side to side and up and down, while constantly keeping it within the baby’s sight. It is important to remember that babies need to watch the source of the sound to build up their listening skills. You can brush the aluminium chime bars gently with a stick, blow on them or leave them to tinkle in the breeze. Can also be hung behind a door to give a tinkle when the door moves.

The origin of today's wind chimes is from ancient Indian wind bells. By the second century AD, these wind bells were hung from the largest palaces in order to drive away evil spirits. Later on they were introduced to the people of China and Japan where they were used for decorating temples, pagodas and homes. In the past, it may also be used to observe changes in wind direction, depending on where they are hung, when they commence to sound. Wind chimes are thought to bring good luck in some parts of Asia and are widely utilised in the Japanese Feng Shui philosophy.

Babies from the age of 5 weeks and toddlers up to the age of 3 years old explore this instrument by touching, grasping, pulling and swaying its rods - something that's best done when it is hung safely at a comfortable height or held by an adult. The inharmonic high pitched sound makes the mini windchime the best musical accompaniment when singing the well-known nursery rhyme:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky!

Sing softly and stroke the chimes very slowly. Stroke once on each line of the lyrics and stop playing at the end of the song. Sing and play simultaneously 3 times in a sequence, so as to allow the young audiences to observe, listen and enjoy.

Wind chimes can be made of materials other than metal or wood and in shapes other than tubes or rods. Other wind chimes materials include glass, bamboo, shell, stone and porcelain. More exotic items, such as silverware or cookie cutters, can also be recycled to create wind chimes. The selected material can have a large impact on the sound a wind chime produces. The sounds produced are not tunable to specific notes and range from pleasant tinkling to dull thuds.

The tone will depend on factors such as the material, the exact alloy, and heat treatment and the use of a solid cylinder or a tube. If a tube is used, the wall thickness also has an impact on the tone. Tone may also depend on the hanging method. The tone quality will also depend on the material of the object that is used to hit the chimes.