Such an unusual question. I, like some others chose guitar. I played for several years before finding myself a part of a trio that had a smokin hot guitarist and acid fiddler. My finger style guitar picking didn't work for the trio. They wanted me because I had just began to play washboard. I wasn't very good at it but I enjoyed finding and adding weird sound effects into the mix of the things that I banged on. It soon became quite a visually stimulating design.

About five years ago, decades after I began this exploration of the zany side of washboard percussion, I discovered how attractive my washboard was to children. I left it unattended near a friend's booth, at a festival. When I returned, there was a line of children waiting their turn to blow in all of my whistles and bang on all of my bells, wood blocks, cymbal... My first thought was to save my instrument from such uninvited exploration. But instead, I pulled out my camera and began recording images and video clips of how much fun they were having. After reviewing what I had captured, it occurred to me that I had a box or two of spare parts in the basement. I wondered about the notion of making similar loony laundries just for children to enjoy exploring. The idea wasn't to teach music but merely allow them the freedom to explore sound, as they did while exploring my washboard. The idea was a sound one. After all, the children had already demonstrated their interest.

In creating them, I didn't want them to look like a children's toy. I wanted them to be a genuine adult level zany percussion instrument, like my own board. After years of building and rebuilding my own board, I had already acquired the ability to build with durability in mind. I used the same lessons learned to craft each one and they've handled thousands of interactions with children of all ages.

I call them Gadgets. I provide mallets for children to use to explore the percussive elements with. Even before the pandemic, I had begun making the transformation away from orally operated sounds, to all squeeze bulb operated sound-effects. This whole project has become a sweet mix of both my interest in music and art. As, each one that I've made is a uniquely different design from the rest and are as much art and they are musical in nature.

So, if your goal is to teach "music" to little ones, I can't say that I have an acceptable answer as to "What is the best first instrument?" But if your goal is to share the free exploration of unstructured sound, what I call Kidcophony, which is what I find most children who've encountered my Gadgets love to do, I'd say that simple percussion instrumentation, with a few weird sounds thrown in just for the fun of it, might be the way to go. Thousands of children have enjoyed my Another Road-Side Gadget Attraction. They can't all be wrong.

I say, at that age range, let kids be kids. Give them something to engage their boundless curiosity and desire for fun. I mean, besides staring into a cell phone and wiggling their thumbs. The sounds I've included can be struck with a mallet, spring triggered, foot and bulb operated.

I've collected sounds from cultures all over the world. Some are sounds used in spiritual ceremonies. Most have their unique designs rooted in specific cultures. I also include common items that were never intended to be musical in nature, which is part of the long tradition of washboard design. Will any of those who've encountered my Gadgets ever grow up to be percussionist or washboard players? Will any of those thousands be moved to discover music in any more in depth manner? Who can say for certain? But what I've done is create and introduction to concept of playing with sound and isn't that where this musical path starts?