# Instruments that should be more common **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980 "2015-11-08T02:00:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/1 "2015-11-08T02:00:48Z")
We’ve had a lot of threads about instruments we hate. How about the reverse, instruments that should be used a lot more than they currently are. The only time you hear them is as part of a horn section, but I’ve always enjoyed their sound more than the trumpet. What’s yours? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/2 "2015-11-08T02:12:55Z")
You, uh, forgot to mention what this mystery instrument is that you like so much. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/3 "2015-11-08T02:13:46Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > You, uh, forgot to mention what this mystery instrument is that you like so much. Flugelhorn is my guess. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/4 "2015-11-08T02:16:45Z")
I was thinking that too. But I want him to SAY it. Could be the cornet. I like cornets more than trumpets, my own self. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/5 "2015-11-08T02:33:42Z")
Oops sorry about that! I intended to say the trombone, a much underutilized part of the brass family. (Although I do like flugelhorns over trumpets myself.) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/6 "2015-11-08T03:02:42Z")
Eh…brasses are all just blowing raspberries into funnels, anyway. I want to see more bass saxophone… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/7 "2015-11-08T03:10:50Z")
Anybody who guessed flugelhorn has “Feels So Good” on vinyl. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/8 "2015-11-08T03:51:41Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Oops sorry about that! I intended to say the trombone, a much underutilized part of the brass family. (Although I do like flugelhorns over trumpets myself.) Trombones sound like adults. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/9 "2015-11-08T03:55:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Anybody who guessed flugelhorn has “Feels So Good” on vinyl. Or a BA in Music. I’d like to hear more glass harmonica, myself. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/10 "2015-11-08T03:55:29Z")
+1 on the bass sax! They have soul! ---
**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:** [November 8, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/11 "2015-11-08T04:18:18Z")
More violas! ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/12 "2015-11-08T04:23:38Z")
I thought it was French Horn. Those trombones can be really ruinous to a song, like Hard Headed Woman for instance. I’m surprised you want to hear more of it. It takes a certain song at a certain time for it to work. It def has the potential to be the worst sounding intrument too. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/13 "2015-11-08T04:26:02Z")
I’d like to hear more slide whistle. And of course, MORE COWBELL!!! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/14 "2015-11-08T13:29:28Z")
I think the cello should be used more in rock, blues, and country. A couple of groups use is (Lyle Lovett and Otis Taylor), but it has some great possibilities. The violin is also a great instrument for rock: Seatrain and It’s a Beautiful Day, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/15 "2015-11-08T13:30:14Z")
I’ve always been partial to the valve trombone myself. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/16 "2015-11-08T13:47:55Z")
Electric violins _rock_. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/17 "2015-11-08T13:49:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I’ve always been partial to the valve trombone myself. Funny you should say that because I have a hankering to get one myself - I can play three-valve brass well enough for a rank amateur but I haven’t the ambition to learn to manage a slide at my time of life. Cor anglais has a beautiful mellow sound, but I suppose if we heard it too often we’d start to tire of it. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/18 "2015-11-08T14:09:21Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Eh…brasses are all just blowing raspberries into funnels, anyway. I want to see more bass saxophone… I would love to hear more Baritone Sax - here’s some Morphine, off their first album, the song Have a Lucky Day: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4iRcv2JGc](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4iRcv2JGc) Yes, bari sax, and cello - both are such expressive and cool instruments that can be used for great grooves. If you want badass 'slide, check out Trombone Shorty: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MYdov1rYUFI](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MYdov1rYUFI) he is doing very well these days. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/19 "2015-11-08T14:10:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I think the cello should be used more in rock, blues, and country. A couple of groups use is (Lyle Lovett and Otis Taylor), but it has some great possibilities. Cello is wonderful. If you haven’t heard of them, you might be interested in a duo called “Jason and Alison,” which eventually morphed into “Verbow.” Jason and Alison was just an acoustic guitarist and cellist, and Verbow became an electrified version of these two, adding drums and other instruments. [Here’s an example of Jason & Alison](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUNCPFtlA7c&list=PLhXRPaVG-g9Z0MR3BFX653O6mYSgedP7A) [And here is a Verbow track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9vMykX09eQ&list=PL3l0HS43NV9XMRw4suWsmjaai2LtU7Zp2&index=2) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980/20 "2015-11-08T14:14:41Z")
Interesting, **puly** - thank you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instruments-that-should-be-more-common/736980.md?page=2)