# Instrument you like the least **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847 "2011-05-23T02:28:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/41 "2011-05-23T15:01:24Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I owe you a beer for that. I’d be delighted to accept, should the occasion ever arise. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/42 "2011-05-23T15:17:38Z")
My cousin’s husband (I am currently staying with them) recently acquired a banjolin. I combines all the musical limitations of a mandolin with those of a banjo. (Actually, having just had a look at the thing, I see it has 8 paired strings, so, if Wiki is to be trusted on this subject, technically it may really be a [mandolin-banjo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjolin). That doesn’t really help. :() ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/43 "2011-05-23T15:22:20Z")
Electronic drums…except for The Cars, who somehow knew how to incorporate them fairly well. The autoharp and the pan flute aren’t big favorites either. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/44 "2011-05-23T15:47:46Z")
Soprano saxophone. The shrieking of the banshees and the wailing of the harpies cannot approximate the ear-grating noodling of someone on the soprano sax. Yeah, I’m lookin’ at YOU, Branford Marsalis. Oh, and the rest of you are just plain nuts. Except for the bagpipe haters; I can see that. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/45 "2011-05-23T15:54:36Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I was in a band that had a banjo, a saxophone, an accordion, and ::shudder:: a harmonica… Sounds like one of the Far Side Cartoons showing how Hell actually works. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/46 "2011-05-23T16:06:13Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Guitar Yup, in that it’s the instrument I like the _least_. I like it a lot sometimes, but most of the time it’s better being replaced by some other instrument. Bagpipes are usually horrible on recordings. In real life they can be awesome in the old sense of the word. There was even a piper in Oxford St - a hardly conducive setting for any musical instrument - who I loved as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/47 "2011-05-23T16:07:20Z")
I’ve never heard harp music which I’ve enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![Flip\_Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@Flip\_Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flip_Pancake)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/48 "2011-05-23T16:18:02Z")
The recorder. Only because I was forced to play one in school. Not a fun time for my parents. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/49 "2011-05-23T16:20:13Z")
I can’t think of any instruments I actually hate, but there are some for which a little goes a long way, and I don’t want to hear them every day. Among such instruments would be the harpsichord, the sound of which Sir Thomas Beecham famously described as “two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm.” As a solo instrument or an accompaniment to early classical music, it’s easy to OD on its jangly tinkliness. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/50 "2011-05-23T16:26:03Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > No, it is a real instrument, [played by real musicians](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSzTPGlNa5U), and written for by real composers. > > You may not like it, but it is definitely real. Also, the instrument on Good Vibrations wasn’t exactly a standard theramin. It was a an instrument called the [Electro-Theramin](http://www.electrotheremin.com/ET.html) or the Tannerin. The difference isn’t just hair-splitting; the way you interact with these two instruments is different. For example, [Here’s a theramin and a Tannerin](http://www.tompolk.com/Tannerin/Tannerin.html) side by side. The tannerin works with a slider to control the pitch and a knob to control the volume rather than requiring you to wave your hands around in empty space. ETA: Better yet, here’s a video of the [electro-theramin/tannerin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CelV7EbuV-A&feature=related) in action. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/51 "2011-05-23T16:29:40Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > The electrical component of the vibes is a motor which turns a shaft. Attached to the shaft are blades in parallel with one another which will cover and uncover the acoustic resonators beneath the metal plates. The motor can be sped up, slowed down or turned off altogether. This gives a shimmering effect as both the tone colour and the volume are affected. It isn’t a true vibrato - the pitch doesn’t change; and it isn’t a true tremolo - the tone colour is altered along with the volume. When played with the motor off, the blades are usually set so that the resonators are as open as possible. Classical composers often use vibes with the motor off in orchestral works. I apologize. I’d still say it’s still somewhat similar to a fan, but I was stupid to say it amplifies anything. My point was yours: that it can be used without the motor. I don’t think I ever thought of it as an electric instrument. If I was thinking of electric vibes, there would be electricity flowing through the bars to be amplified by a speaker.. (Electronic would, of course, be like electronic drums, with the bars making no sound at all.) ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/52 "2011-05-23T16:51:59Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I apologize. I’d still say it’s still somewhat similar to a fan, but I was stupid to say it amplifies anything. My point was yours: that it can be used without the motor. I don’t think I ever thought of it as an electric instrument. > > If I was thinking of electric vibes, there would be electricity flowing through the bars to be amplified by a speaker.. (Electronic would, of course, be like electronic drums, with the bars making no sound at all.) Good Heavens, no need to apologize - I’m just a pedantic old git who likes to ramble on about instruments and their specifics. And there _are_ purely electronic mallet instruments - they are MIDI controllers shaped like vibes/xylophone/marimba. [MalletKAT](http://www.alternatemode.com/malletkat_grand.shtml) is but one example… ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/53 "2011-05-23T16:53:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I can’t think of any instruments I actually hate, but there are some for which a little goes a long way, and I don’t want to hear them every day. Among such instruments would be the harpsichord, the sound of which Sir Thomas Beecham famously described as “two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm.” As a solo instrument or an accompaniment to early classical music, it’s easy to OD on its jangly tinkliness. Ooh, that’s a good one. Horrible sound. Not me, but I once read that the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams couldn’t stand the sound of the piano. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/54 "2011-05-23T16:54:40Z")
They gave away kazoos in cereal when I was a kid. Never heard a kazoo I liked. Or that whistle thing with the stick in it. Can’t recall what it’s called. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/55 "2011-05-23T17:06:28Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > They gave away kazoos in cereal when I was a kid. Never heard a kazoo I liked. > > Or that whistle thing with the stick in it. Can’t recall what it’s called. Slide whistle. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/56 "2011-05-23T19:40:08Z")
That high-pitched clarinet-horn-ish thing that Kenny G plays. Ugh. Painful to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/57 "2011-05-23T19:54:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That high-pitched clarinet-horn-ish thing that Kenny G plays. Ugh. Painful to listen to. Soprano Sax. Listen to it when played by a better player, like Coltrane or Branford Marsalis… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/58 "2011-05-23T20:56:39Z")
Although I already answered “bagpipes,” I have to mention something else. It’s classical music played on “original” instruments or string instruments played without vibrato. I shouldn’t have to point out that there were good reasons why these instruments and techniques were replaced. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/59 "2011-05-23T21:09:38Z")
I may have heard a song featuring a clarinet that I liked but I don’t recall. I’m sure someone out there can coax a pleasing sound from one. I guess for some reason I associate them with Dixieland which is one of my least favorite genres. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/60 "2011-05-23T21:36:19Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Soprano Sax. Listen to it when played by a better player, like Coltrane or Branford Marsalis… See post #44. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847.md?page=4)