Memorize these and you could recognize 48.1% of all Musical Instruments clues.
| # | Answer | Appearances | Sample Clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | the harp | 18 | In "Jack & the Beanstalk", it cried out "Master! Master!" & gave jack away |
| 2 | the guitar | 18 | Duane Eddy, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Byrd |
| 3 | the trumpet | 17 | Instrument played by band leaders Ray Anthony, Louis Prima, & Maynard Ferguson |
| 4 | the clarinet | 16 | Richard Stoltzman, who went from playing Dixieland to Mozart, is a virtuoso on this woodwind |
| 5 | player piano | 15 | You insert a roll into this instrument for it to tickle its own ivories |
| 6 | the ukulele | 14 | The name of this instrument may come from the Hawaiian nickname of Edward Purvis, who played it |
| 7 | the banjo | 14 | 3 types of this instrument are the tenor, plectrum, & 5-string |
| 8 | the violin | 13 | Jack Benny called himself the world's worst player of this instrument |
| 9 | the bagpipes | 13 | It's considered the national instrument of Scotland |
| 10 | the balalaika | 12 | This 3-stringed, Russian instrument comes in 6 sizes from piccolo to double bass |
| 11 | steel drums | 12 | Considered the national instrument of Trinidad, types include cello, guitar, bass & ping pong |
| 12 | the cello | 12 | Cancel long periods praciticing with this string instrument or your fingers will get tired |
| 13 | the sitar | 12 | This Indian lute has a pear-shaped body & an long fretted neck |
| 14 | the trombone | 11 | The 1st version was called the "sackbut" long before Tommy Dorsey adopted it |
| 15 | the bass | 11 | The Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious (as much as Sid could) |
| 16 | the harpsichord | 11 | Handel wrote "The Harmonious Blacksmith" for this predecessor of the piano |
| 17 | the mandolin | 10 | In 1787 this pear-shaped lute was featured in "Don Giovanni"; nearly 200 years later, in Bruce Hornsby's "Rain" |
| 18 | the saxophone | 9 | Sonny Rollins &Bill Clinton |
| 19 | a harmonica | 9 | Toots Thielmans, Larry Addler & Stevie Wonder |
| 20 | the accordion | 9 | Invented in 1829, the same year as the harmonica, this "squeeze box" operates on the same principle |
| 21 | the viola | 9 | It's the alto voice in the violin family |
| 22 | cymbals | 8 | The dance band "Hi-Hat" is a set of these worked by a foot pedal |
| 23 | the tuba | 8 | This is the bass voice in the brass section of a concert band |
| 24 | the oboe | 8 | It's the highest pitched of an orchestra's double-reed instruments |
| 25 | the bassoon | 8 | Barabas soon learned this Western instrument was like nothing he had ever seen before |
| 26 | castanets | 7 | From Spanish for "chestnuts", they put the beat in flamenco |
| 27 | a triangle | 7 | This "geometric" instrument is simply a bent rod of steel, open at one corner |
| 28 | a flute | 7 | Herbie Mann could tell you the recorder is a type of this instrument |
| 29 | the organ | 7 | Neither Bilbo nor Gandalf knew any cool tunes on this |
| 30 | a tambourine | 7 | This percussion instrument with small jingling disks is often used to provide a gypsy effect in musical pieces |
| 31 | the bugle | 6 | Instrument traditionally used to play reveille & taps |
| 32 | a piccolo | 6 | In French, this instrument is called a petite flute |
| 33 | sleigh bells | 6 | Grelots are these bells; "Are you listening?" |
| 34 | the zither | 6 | In 1950 Anton Karas had a hit with his recording of "The Third Man" theme on this instrument |
| 35 | the Glockenspiel | 6 | (Sarah of the Clue Crew in Munich, Germany) The carillon in Munich's Town Hall is also called by this German name, for an instrument using metal bars |
| 36 | a steel drum | 6 | 55-gallon oil drums become these island instruments invented in Trinidad |
| 37 | Stradivarius | 5 | Both Andrea Guarneri & this most famous violin maker were trained by Nicola Amati |
| 38 | the fife | 5 | This small 1-piece transverse flute has been played with drums since the time of the Crusades |
| 39 | a xylophone | 5 | "X" marks the spot in the ency. where you'll find this instrument, the only one commonly under "X" |
| 40 | a sousaphone | 5 | The large tuba common to marching bands, it was invented by John Philip Sousa |
| 41 | the lute | 5 | The name of this instrument popular in the Renaissance is from the Arabic ud, meaning "wood" |
| 42 | the dulcimer | 5 | The name of this stringed instrument, which is played on the lap, is from the Latin for "sweet song" |
| 43 | a concertina | 5 | Sir Charles Wheatstone patented this instrumentthat was largely replaced by the accordion |
| 44 | a calliope | 5 | The last vehicle in a circus parade often carried this steam-powered musical instrument |
| 45 | maracas | 4 | These paired rattles of Latin America are traditionally made using gourds filled with beads or seeds |
| 46 | a marimba | 4 | In Latin America, this large xylophone can accommodate 3 or 4 musicians at a time |
| 47 | a kazoo | 4 | All you need to play this is your voice vibrating the tissue paper membrane inside it |
| 48 | timpani | 4 | When told he'd be playing these drums with the band, Tim panicked |
| 49 | a lyre | 4 | Carefully replace the strings on this ancient instrument |
| 50 | a fiddle | 4 | The album titled "True Bluegrass" this 4-string instrument features greats like Bobby Hicks & Kenny Baker |