Instrumental Classmates: 5 DVDs

Engaging and accessible. Host P.J. guides students through practical, easy-to-follow demonstrations while on-screen graphics reinforce what they're hearing and seeing. The series balances historical context with real-world instrument function, keeping younger viewers curious rather than passive.

General music teachers, music appreciation classes, and school librarians introducing students to orchestral and ensemble instruments. This works equally well in elementary music programs and as a starting point for middle schoolers considering which instruments to explore.

• Preview the relevant DVD before your unit on that instrument family so you can anticipate student questions and highlight connections to pieces they're learning in rehearsal.
• Pause the demonstrations frequently and ask students to predict what will happen next or describe what they're hearing before P.J. explains it.
• Use the supplemental PDFs as springboards for follow-up activities; have students sketch the instruments they see or write about which one they'd most want to learn.

Use individual DVDs as unit launches when your class is studying a particular instrument family, or run the series sequentially as a semester-long introduction to the orchestra. The 30-minute length fits a standard class period, and the included supplemental materials support follow-up discussions and assignments.

• Identifying instruments by sight and sound across five major families
• Understanding how instruments produce sound and the mechanics behind each family
• Recognizing the roles of different instruments in orchestras, bands, jazz ensembles, and rock bands
• Building vocabulary for discussing instrumental timbre and function