Child’s Play Music is permanently closed due to ill health, and we are no longer able to take bookings. We thank our many former clients for their support over the last 25 years.

Child’s Play Music – providing Perth’s best music incursions for schools, child care centres and more since 1998

Child’s Play Music is the brainchild of Alec Duncan, a qualified early childhood educator.  While working in child care he began building musical instruments from recycled materials for children to use – instruments that were simple to play, safe, almost unbreakable and which sounded great.

Alec knew that children learn best through hands-on, self-directed play, yet most instruments are delicate and expensive.  Young children simply couldn’t play with them without close supervision and adult tuition.  Alec’s instruments solved that problem, and made it possible for children to learn about music and musical instruments the natural way – through free, self-initiated hands-on play.

Alec saw how much the children enjoyed playing his instruments and how much they were learning.  And gradually, as he made more and more instruments, he developed an idea: wouldn’t it be great if all children could learn about music this way?  If every child got the opportunity to release their inner musician?  If every child could have this much fun?

The rest is history: in 1998 Alec started Child’s Play Music to bring the joy of music to children all over the Perth and Mandurah area.  Alec is proud to be known as “The Music Man” by tens of thousands of children who have experienced the delight of exploring music and musical instruments through play in Child’s Play Music’s hands-on incursions.

Your children can also experience that delight!  Contact us to book Child’s Play Music now!

About Alec Duncan

Alec Duncan – he IS the music man!

Alec Duncan is a qualified early childhood educator (B. Soc. Sci. Children Studies). He worked in child care centres and OSHC programs between 1988 and 1998, where he worked with children aged zero to 12 years, before starting Child’s Play Music in 1998.

He is passionate about all things to do with early childhood education, but has a particular interest in outdoor play, natural playgrounds, loose parts play programs, supporting challenge in children’s play, and (of course) music play.

As a musician Alec played professionally in rock, folk and world music bands.  A multi-instrumentalist, Alec specialises in electric bass and flatpicking acoustic guitar, but he also plays electric guitar, mandolin, dobro, keyboards and drums.  Nowadays he mainly plays jazz bass, bluegrass and traditional music, and spends hours at the computer making very strange electronic drone music that he likes a lot, and everybody else calls noise.

When he’s not working or building musical instruments Alec likes fishing from his Hobie kayak, getting out into nature, reading, writing poetry, and arguing about politics.

He lives by a simple maxim: “find a job you love and you will never have to work another day in your life”.  He says he plans to keep going with Child’s Play Music until they nail the lid down.