The latest DVD to hit the shelves from The Baby Einstein Company is “Meet The Orchestra: First Instruments.” This introduction to some musical instruments and their sounds is one way for your child to learn about instruments. Four orchestral sections plus the guitar and piano are featured on this DVD. “Meet the Orchestra” will help your child identify different instruments and the sounds they make.
Each segment has a different orchestral section and instruments featured in it. The names of each instrument are displayed and said as the view zooms in on the instrument. Here are some of the instruments that are featured in this video.
The Brass Section — French horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, bugle
The Woodwind Section — Clarinet, flute, recorder, piccolo, bassoon
The String Section — Violin, viola, cello, bass, harp
Percussion — Drums, timpani, cymbals, tambourine
Piano and Guitar
During each segment, children are shown holding instruments. The puppets are shown attempting to play the instruments, as well. There are also some segments taken from orchestra performances in order to help give your child an idea of what the different sections look like all together. After each segment, animation with different animals playing all of the described instruments shows a Baby Einstein orchestral performance.
Having described the DVD, there are many disappointments which I must address. First of all, it seems that most, if not all, of the sounds that are provided to convey how each instrument sounds are synthetic. They are not the actual instruments being played, but some facsimile created by a machine. I think that this can be misleading, especially if you don’t already know what the instrument sounds like. Also, as far as the Woodwind section is concerned, I don’t remember ever seeing a recorder played in an orchestra AND they left out the oboe, which is one of the more prominent instruments in the Woodwind section. A guitar is also not considered an orchestral instrument. I think perhaps they should have reconsidered the title to this DVD.
Setting aside the fact that there is a little bit of misinformation as far as the orchestra is concerned, this video is at least a good way to introduce instruments to your child.
“Meet the Orchestra: First Instruments” is available for purchase from The Baby Einstein Company, Amazon, Wal-Mart, and other retailers.