# What musical instruments would be difficult/impossible to play in a weightless environment? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582 "2014-03-13T01:27:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/21 "2014-03-13T18:21:08Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Unfortunately named. The instrument does not accumulate spit. It accumulates condensation from the player’s breath. So the output is not quite as gross as people imagine. Though it’s still fun to “accidentally” empty it on the snotty flautist sitting in front of you. (I was in 8th grade.) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/22 "2014-03-13T18:24:09Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > For the drummer, as long as the kit and the drummer were strapped down, most of it would be unchanged. The bass drum kicker works partly on gravity, and so does the hi-hat cymbals, but they could be modified with springs. The bass drum kick pedal on a set works against a spring. Gravity has very little to do with it. > [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I can see issues with mechanical keyboard instruments. But why bother hauling an acoustic piano up there when there are electronic keyboards that are smaller, lighter, and can duplicate the sound and/or many other instruments? They’d have to find a workaround for any pedals (volume, sustain, leslie, etc. , I suspect. Acoustic or not, most keyboards on the better instruments are weighted to simulate an acoustic model, so they would be adversely affected. Cheaper ones have springs, which would work better in a non-gravity environment. Pedals of all kinds are spring loaded (keyboard sustain) or have neutral balance (effects), and are not dependent upon gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/23 "2014-03-13T18:28:08Z")
Harp ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/24 "2014-03-13T18:47:21Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > Harp Why? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/25 "2014-03-13T19:34:05Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > Y > I think an interesting companion thread could be…what instruments could we make to work in space, that wouldn’t work in the gravity of earth? How about grand piano in a marching band? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/26 "2014-03-13T19:37:15Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > How about grand piano in a marching band? On a treadmill. That would be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/27 "2014-03-13T19:40:27Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Cello? Do players just place them between their knees or hold them with their knees? I guess put the leg thing in a ball joint fixed to a surface with the seat and strap the player in. Most of the weight goes on the end-pin, but there is a bit of weight on the legs. I think the easiest way to play cello in space would be to use Velcro - put a square of it on the ground and on the end-pin, and square of it on the cello and your pants. Could you put rosin on a bow in space? When you play a string instrument on Earth, the rosin gradually comes off as you play and settles on the wood right below your bow. In space, all that would float into the air, plus the fact that it powders might mean you couldn’t apply it in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/28 "2014-03-13T19:50:21Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > How about grand piano in a marching band? A small grand piano would still have a mass of close to 600 lbs. and a large one about half a ton. When the marching band started – assuming something like velcro boots to keep 'em marching – you’d get left behind, and when they stopped, the guys in front of you would have to learn to duck really fast and would quickly come to hate you and your stupid piano with a passion. Going around corners would be something to behold. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/29 "2014-03-13T20:05:36Z")
It doesn’t matter what instrument you play. You couldn’t practice because your metronome wouldn’t work. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/30 "2014-03-14T07:14:56Z")
Something big like the harp, because when you pull on the string, your pull your body along. With no gravity, there is no friction, and since all the pulling is one way, you’d be gaining momentum … Easily solved with straps or bolts or something… Piano accordion may be worst in terms of relying on gravity for playing… Sometimes they sit it on the side and let gravity provide compression ? ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/31 "2014-03-14T10:45:03Z")
Tubular Bells? (or anything like a vibraphone/xylophone) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/32 "2014-03-14T11:17:38Z")
[Hydraulic Organ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_organ) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/33 "2014-03-14T11:19:28Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Is there a name for the makeshift “instrument” consisting if partially filled glasses of water, tapped on like a xylophone? That would depend on gravity holding liquid in the bottoms of the glasses, influencing the vibratory pitch of the glasses when struck… When the glasses are rung by rubbing their rims, it’s called a glass harmonica (mentioned above) - I guess it might be called a glass glockenspiel or glass dulcimer if it is played as a struck instrument. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/34 "2014-03-14T11:47:38Z")
[This instrument](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryimSJhGBAA) would be extremely difficult in zero G. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/35 "2014-03-14T12:20:50Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > It doesn’t matter what instrument you play. You couldn’t practice because your metronome wouldn’t work. > 🙂 Yes it would - but both the arm and the body of the metronome would oscillate in opposition (the body not so much, as it’s more massive. ---
**Author:** ![bunyupp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@bunyupp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bunyupp)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/36 "2014-03-14T15:35:20Z")
What about bagpipes? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/37 "2014-03-14T16:28:07Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Yes it would - but both the arm and the body of the metronome would oscillate in opposition (the body not so much, as it’s more massive. Well, electronic metronomes and such would work, but I don’t think the classic mechanical one would. I’m not a musician so someone can correct me if I’m wrong but my understanding is that the classic mechanical metronome is basically a double-weighted pendulum, where the upper weight adjusts the center of gravity and thus the effective pendulum length and period of oscillation. The only thing the spring does is provide the energy to keep it oscillating. In fact if one considers the metronome a “musical instrument”, the mechanical style would be the classic example of something that would _not_ work in zero gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/38 "2014-03-14T19:16:06Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Does a violinist rely on or rely on an \*\*assist \*\*from gravity to keep the bow in contact with the strings? Obviously the violinist’s hands hold the bow to the strings, but if the bow were truly weightless (and the violin, too), wouldn’t that throw things off? > > What about clarinet and flutes and other keyed instruments. > > Or piano hammers striking the strings then returning to a rest position. Is that gravity or a spring-loaded thingy-bob? > > Heck, what about drums?? For most instruments, very little impact other than holding it differently (e.g., guitars, woodwinds). A violinist would have to slightly adjust technique, as would a drummer, due to the lack of gravity when controlling something (bow, drumstick) where gravity has an obvious impact but is far less than the force they normally use. A piano would not work. A digital piano with weighted keys would not work correctly. (Try this on your DP at home: flip it upside down on the stand, and try to play it. Nope.) > [@ZenBeam](#): > > Maybe the [upright bass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bass), because it’s large, and the player stands it on the floor. In zero G, it might be hard to keep it in proper position. Good point! But no doubt workarounds could be found. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I wasn’t thinking about the vibration of the drumhead, but thinking of the sticks, which “rest” in your hands due to their weight. Actually it’s hard to imagine \*\*all \*\*the implications of weightlessness, what with the ubiquity of gravity and all. Right. > [@the\_diego](#): > > Percussions like piano and drums, unless both player and instruments are bolted down. Good point: the player matters, too! > [@Sailboat](#): > > I’ll venture to guess you wouldn’t want to play anything with a spit valve. Good point! A trumpet wouldn’t sound as good in zero-G, unless you had a way to evacuate it periodically. Special zero-G trumpet feature! A spot where you tie a string so you can whirl it around your head, with a spit valve at the opposite end, and of course a collection cup of some sort. oboy. > [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I can see issues with mechanical keyboard instruments. But why bother hauling an acoustic piano up there when there are electronic keyboards that are smaller, lighter, and can duplicate the sound and/or many other instruments? They’d have to find a workaround for any pedals (volume, sustain, leslie, etc. , I suspect. Drum pedals (bass and hihat) might need to be sprung differently. Digital piano pedals are sprung and don’t need gravity. Digital piano keyboards (“hammer-action keyboards”) don’t work, but organ and synthesizer keyboards do. You can use the latter to play piano, though most piano players detest doing that, for good reason. > [@](#): > > Brass, violins, violas, and woodwinds? I think it’d be easier as they won’t have to support the weight. A bass or bari sax in gravity probably put some weight on the players’ neck from that strap. Sax, clarinet, and to some extent flute, rest on one or more of your digits. For example, on sax, a tab on the instrument rests against the right thumb, in addition to the neck strap; the other fingers are free to press keys. Without the weight of the sax, it would float up. Perhaps the tab could be replaced with a loop without losing too much flexibility for the player. (The mouth also helps hold the instrument, of course.) > [@](#): > > Lots of issues with a drum kit. In G, cymbals rest on felt pads and wing nuts keep them from flying off. In zero G, they’d be often contacting the wing nut. That’s not going to help the tone. And the at rest angle of the cymbals would be constantly changing. You can’t really clamp those down without muffling them. Good point, but probably manageable. > [@Musicat](#): > > … most keyboards on the better instruments are weighted to simulate an acoustic model, so they would be adversely affected. Cheaper ones have springs, which would work better in a non-gravity environment. While hammer-action keyboard assemblies are more expensive than synthesizer or organ-style keyboard assemblies, there are expensive pro-quality instruments with the latter. It’s a matter of instrument style. But you’re right that hammer-action keyboards require gravity. > [@BubbaDog](#): > > It doesn’t matter what instrument you play. You couldn’t practice because your metronome wouldn’t work. > 🙂 lol. My metronome works, because it’s on my smartphone. It just _looks_ like a mechanical metronome. > [@bunyupp](#): > > What about bagpipes? I only played bagpipes once. Zero G would have overcome my main concern, which was passing out. I might still pass out, but wouldn’t fall and knock my head! But wow, what a full-body, physical instrument! Right up there with accordion. I bet you think I’m joking, but I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/39 "2014-03-14T19:22:23Z")
Both drums and flutes are played continously to placate the daemon sultan Azathoth ruling all time and space from a curiously environed black throne at the centre of Chaos. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582/40 "2014-03-14T19:40:04Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Both drums and flutes are played continously to placate the daemon sultan Azathoth ruling all time and space from a curiously environed black throne at the centre of Chaos. And… is weightlessness involved? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-instruments-would-be-difficult-impossible-to-play-in-a-weightless-environment/683582.md?page=3)