# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/81 "2011-05-24T18:20:55Z")
> [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](#): > > _Removes gloves_ _Got your back_ ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/82 "2011-05-24T18:48:09Z")
Classic definition of a gentleman: “One who can play the saxaphone, but doesn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/83 "2011-05-24T19:46:14Z")
The horrible contraption called a steel drum has already been indicted upthread, so I will nominate the [del]doorbells[/del] [Fender-Rhodes piano](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUOubWQFsDI&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/84 "2011-05-24T19:52:55Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Proctoscope. To be honest, we don’t know the full range of the instrument–most people find it a pain in the ass to learn. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/85 "2011-05-24T20:12:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@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. [Swanee whistle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swanee_whistle) where I come from. You guys would just love the game [Swanee Kazoo](http://www.mp3s.pl/mp3/I%27m_Sorry_I_Haven%27t_A_Clue/Barry_Cryer,_Graeme_Garden,_Wi/205140) on _[I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Sorry_I_Haven%27t_a_Clue)_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/86 "2011-05-24T20:12:55Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I hate rock saxophone. Jazz, fine. But it ruins almost all rock, Springsteen included. > > Joe Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/87 "2011-05-24T20:20:09Z")
I’ll third or fourth rock saxophone, and third steel drums, probably the all-around worst instrument ever. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/88 "2011-05-24T20:28:16Z")
Gosh I’ve never heard such dissing of the saxophone. It’s the first instrument you hear when it’s time to get intimate, and secondly it’s the feature instrument in one of the [greatest Rock n Roll songs ever composed!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYHaCVB9koI&feature=fvst) ---
**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 24, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/89 "2011-05-24T22:37:15Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Rock saxophone - As the above poster noted, it always, always, ALWAYS sounds cheesy. I dunno. The punk saxophone in X-Ray Spex was such a signature of their sound, that I couldn’t live without it. ---
**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 24, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/90 "2011-05-24T22:50:52Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The horrible contraption called a steel drum has already been indicted upthread, so I will nominate the [del]doorbells[/del] [Fender-Rhodes piano](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUOubWQFsDI&feature=related). Oh, man, you’re going on my shit list. 😉 The Rhodes electric pianos have some of the warmest, most classic [funky-ass](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLcQBAwxQTg) keyboard sounds. That thing has _balls_. Funk grooves sound awesome on that thing. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/91 "2011-05-24T23:12:46Z")
> [@Apollon](#): > > I must be the most musically intolerant person around. Here’s what I hate: > > Accordion. > Harmonica. > Harp, when not part of an orchestra. > Any instrument, when a child plays it (even if it’s a prodigy). > Saxophone, when playing something other than jazz. > Zurnai and shawm. > Sitar . > Acoustic guitar. > Trumpet, when played with vibrato. > Actually, any instrument (including voice), when it’s played with vibrato. > Didgeridoo. > Melodica. > Flexatone. > Temple block. > Clarinet in E-flat. > Piccolo trumpet. > Steel drums. > Hawaii guitar. > Jew’s harp. > Xylo-, vibra- and marimbaphone. > > And to think that I’m a musician… So it’s safe for me to get out my solid body electric baritone ukulele? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/92 "2011-05-25T00:44:18Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Definitely bagpipes. Not a musical instrument, but an instrument of torture. Not sure I agree. Dropkick Murphys have been able to incorporate bagpipes into their music with pretty decent results. ---
**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 25, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/93 "2011-05-25T00:45:53Z")
> [@Apollon](#): > > And to think that I’m a musician… What, exactly, do you play (or sing) with a list like that? ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/94 "2011-05-25T03:47:05Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Saxophone unless: > > For Jazz, Paul Desmond can play all day long. And for R&B/Rock, King Curtis is God. The rest of them can screw off. > > One more exception - the guy that played on “Baker Street” Rafael Ravenscroft. You’re welcome.😉 Chalk me up in the violin category. Too damn high pitched. ---
**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 25, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/95 "2011-05-25T03:58:58Z")
I played in the school orchestra (2nd violinist) starting in the fifth grade until graduating. Occasionally, we’d borrow a few horn players from the band for special performances. Hated sitting next to those guys. They’d pull this piece off their instrument, or open a valve and pour spit on the floor. Nauseating… stuff. Anytime I see French horns, trumpets, trombones, or tubas perform I think of those pools of spit by their feet. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/96 "2011-05-25T05:15:58Z")
The saxophone is considered the sexy cool instrument, but all I hear is tinny shrieks. Soft blues on a saxophone are great, but this instrument has an opportunity to be abused that’s often taken. ---
**Author:** ![Canyon\_Surfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Canyon\_Surfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canyon_Surfer)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/97 "2011-05-25T05:46:32Z")
Bagpipes. Ugh Seems so appropriate that parts of them are called [drones](http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/bagpipes_anatomy.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/98 "2011-05-25T06:00:20Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > I might have said accordion, but folk metal has forced me to reconsider. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7kJRGPgvRQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7kJRGPgvRQ) > > The link the spoiler is NSFW unless you have an awesome job or an openly alcoholic boss. FOLK METAL??? You learn something new here every day! ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/99 "2011-05-25T06:38:39Z")
I know which instrument I like best. My wife plays it. Not as frequently as I’d like, or with the skill and attention to detail required at times, but always enjoyable as befits her amateur status. I wouldn’t want her to practice enough to consider becoming a professional, though. heh. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847/100 "2011-05-25T08:28:20Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I don’t dislike any instrument, they all have their charms. Bagpipes? Great. Banjo? Yes please. Accordion? Cool. > > If anything, the human voice is more likely to annoy me than any instrument. There are lots of singing styles that I dislike, but I’ll listen to and enjoy pretty much any kind of instrumental music. > > Does [Auto Tune](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-Tune) count as an instrument? If so, then that. That horrible software is directly responsible for more crimes against music than any other thing that has ever existed. Gotta go with this as well. There hasn’t been one instrument listed that I dislike, except auto-tune. That said, auto-tune used sparing for effect can sound OK, too. And the vocoder was pretty cool as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instrument-you-like-the-least/582847.md?page=4)