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If MJ was like Prince...

I know he was a multi-instrumentalist but the amount of instruments people claim Prince played always felt like an exaggeration to me.

Turns out when people were listing instruments Prince could play they were doing things like putting electric guitar and acoustic guitar into two seperate catagories. Same thing with keyboards and piano.
 
analogue said:
I know he was a multi-instrumentalist but the amount of instruments people claim Prince played always felt like an exaggeration to me.

Turns out when people were listing instruments Prince could play they were doing things like putting electric guitar and acoustic guitar into two seperate catagories. Same thing with keyboards and piano.
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Oh, I never had any doubt in my mind that it's an exaggeration. I can't even list 27 instruments he could have been playing unless, as you say, you're gonna list each type of guitar separately and even then, I'm like, is he playing the tambourine? a triangle? lots of little percussion instruments? maracas? gourds? bongoes?

I assume the man wasn't playing classical music instruments, just rock / pop stuff. So where does the figure 27 come from?

Not to take anything away from Prince. He was good, for sure. He's good enough that he doesn't need the exaggeration.
 
zinniabooklover said:
Oh, I never had any doubt in my mind that it's an exaggeration. I can't even list 27 instruments he could have been playing unless, as you say, you're gonna list each type of guitar separately and even then, I'm like, is he playing the tambourine? a triangle? lots of little percussion instruments? maracas? gourds? bongoes?

I assume the man wasn't playing classical music instruments, just rock / pop stuff. So where does the figure 27 come from?

Not to take anything away from Prince. He was good, for sure. He's good enough that he doesn't need the exaggeration.
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Yeah. People will list these seperately

1. Piano
2. Keyboards
3. Synthesizers
4. Electric Piano
5. Organ
6. Harpsichord
7. Clavichord

When they should really be put together has one thing
 
analogue said:
Yeah. People will list these seperately

1. Piano
2. Keyboards
3. Synthesizers
4. Electric Piano
5. Organ
6. Harpsichord
7. Clavichord

When they should really be put together has one thing
Click to expand...
I agree with this. One thing I guess I could have mentioned is I have noticed that lead guitarists will sometimes say they are not good on bass guitar. I've seen the opposite comment from a few (very few) bass guitarists. So, OK, you could really stretch it and list those two separately.

As for splitting up every type of keyboard instrument, that's nonsense bc most of them rest on piano skills. Tbf, the harpsichord does have similarities with a piano but is a completely separate instrument in its own right. Assuming Prince learned piano first - I think he did, didn't his Dad have one at home? - then picking up harpsichord skills would not be beyond him. I think the same could be said for the clavichord. It is similar to piano but is a stand-alone instrument.

But synths, organ, electric piano? I'm just not getting how they need to be listed separately.

You listed 7 things. Bass, acoustic, lead guitar gives 3 more. Drums. Throw in a few percussion instruments bc percussion is definitely its own thing. Where have we got up to? 15? 16? Something like that. And that is impressive. That Prince could go into a studio and lay down every instrumental part of a song he was recording is really impressive.

Personally, I'm up for a bit of Louis Johnson, David Williams, Paulinho Da Costa, Slash, Steve Stevens ... :)
 
analogue said:
Yeah. People will list these seperately

1. Piano
2. Keyboards
3. Synthesizers
4. Electric Piano
5. Organ
6. Harpsichord
7. Clavichord

When they should really be put together has one thing
Click to expand...
Depending on its type, maybe not organ.

And still with regards to what type it is, synthesizer could also be justified. Not every synth is played on a keyboard.

Even harpsichord deserves its distinction. It’s quite the different animal as opposed to a pianoforte, in large due to the lack of pedals and its very small dynamic expression. If you’re a harpsichordist, you won’t play the harpsichord the way you would a piano.
 
zinniabooklover said:
I agree with this. One thing I guess I could have mentioned is I have noticed that lead guitarists will sometimes say they are not good on bass guitar. I've seen the opposite comment from a few (very few) bass guitarists. So, OK, you could really stretch it and list those two separately.

As for splitting up every type of keyboard instrument, that's nonsense bc most of them rest on piano skills. Tbf, the harpsichord does have similarities with a piano but is a completely separate instrument in its own right. Assuming Prince learned piano first - I think he did, didn't his Dad have one at home? - then picking up harpsichord skills would not be beyond him. I think the same could be said for the clavichord. It is similar to piano but is a stand-alone instrument.

But synths, organ, electric piano? I'm just not getting how they need to be listed separately.

You listed 7 things. Bass, acoustic, lead guitar gives 3 more. Drums. Throw in a few percussion instruments bc percussion is definitely its own thing. Where have we got up to? 15? 16? Something like that. And that is impressive. That Prince could go into a studio and lay down every instrumental part of a song he was recording is really impressive.

Personally, I'm up for a bit of Louis Johnson, David Williams, Paulinho Da Costa, Slash, Steve Stevens ... :)
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Bass guitar and guitar definitely deserves to be separated. Completely different techniques.

“Lead guitar” isn’t a type of instrument, as I’m sure you know, but a way of playing (a role). Therefore I agree that it has no business of being listed as an instrument (even though, sure, you could argue for differing techniques here, too!).

Paulinho Da Costa! 😍
 
Agonum said:
Even harpsichord deserves its distinction. It’s quite the different animal as opposed to a pianoforte, in large due to the lack of pedals and its very small dynamic expression. If you’re a harpsichordist, you won’t play the harpsichord the way you would a piano.
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I do agree with this which is why I gave the harpsichord and the clavichord an acknowledgement.

Agonum said:
Depending on its type, maybe not organ.
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Fair point.

Agonum said:
And still with regards to what type it is, synthesizer could also be justified. Not every synth is played on a keyboard.
Click to expand...
OK, he can have that one.

But really, that's not the point, imo. It's not whether the man could play multiple instruments - and play them to a high standard. It's the fact that 27 is the figure that I always see quoted and I can't make it add up, no matter how much I split the instruments or categories up. I'm convinced the figure of 27 is either made up or he could play that many but lots of them were various percussion instruments. I don't want to downplay the skill, talent and artistry of percussionists. Paulinho Da Costa is one of my fave musicians that Michael worked with and, as a specialist, I bet he could play 27 different percussion instruments. But how many could Prince play? How much skill do you need to shake maracas? Not that much, I would suggest. If you have rhythm you can shake maracas.
 
Agonum said:
Bass guitar and guitar definitely deserves to be separated. Completely different techniques.
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Totally willing to give that one to Prince.

Agonum said:
“Lead guitar” isn’t a type of instrument, as I’m sure you know, but a way of playing (a role).
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Agreed but I'm trying to understand where the '27 instruments' thing comes from. I was trying to stretch it as far as i could even if it made no sense!

Agonum said:
Therefore I agree that it has no business of being listed as an instrument (even though, sure, you could argue for differing techniques here, too!).
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Sort of agree, sort of don't. For example, not everyone who can play acoustic guitar well can play Spanish flamenco guitar even to a decent standard. Even just to learn it would be a challenge. Prince would have his work cut out just building up his skills on the rock / pop instruments he needed to use. How many different styles of guitar playing can he acquire?

I'm not slagging off Prince, I'm just confused by this story that gets repeated so often but with no proper detail. In the absence of a proper story about this I find it hard to take at face value.

Agonum said:
Paulinho Da Costa! 😍
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My man! 🥰
 
zinniabooklover said:
I do agree with this which is why I gave the harpsichord and the clavichord an acknowledgement.


Fair point.


OK, he can have that one.

But really, that's not the point, imo. It's not whether the man could play multiple instruments - and play them to a high standard. It's the fact that 27 is the figure that I always see quoted and I can't make it add up, no matter how much I split the instruments or categories up. I'm convinced the figure of 27 is either made up or he could play that many but lots of them were various percussion instruments. I don't want to downplay the skill, talent and artistry of percussionists. Paulinho Da Costa is one of my fave musicians that Michael worked with and, as a specialist, I bet he could play 27 different percussion instruments. But how many could Prince play? How much skill do you need to shake maracas? Not that much, I would suggest. If you have rhythm you can shake maracas.
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I mostly agree with all of this.

But I must raise my voice in defense of maracas. I once saw a woman playing maracas, and it was the most incredible thing. She had different time signatures going on in different divisions at the same time, and all from a single (i.e., not two or more!) maracas, and without ever losing the beat.

This is an interesting discussion. I sense lots of questions arising.

Did Prince himself ever mention a particular number?

Edit: Spelling.
 
Agonum said:
I mostly agree with all of this.

But I most raise my voice in defense of maracas. I once saw a woman playing maracas, and it was the most incredible thing. She had different time signatures going on in different divisions at the same time, and all from a single (i.e., not two or more!) maracas, and without ever losing the beat.
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To me this is a whole different thing. The skill of this woman, however impressive, is not relevant to Prince's story, imo. No offence, I just see it as quite separate.

Of course a gifted percussionist can do stuff with their instrument that mere mortals could never dream of doing. But I have really good rhythm and I can quite easily play maracas. Does that make me a percussionist? It really doesn't, it just means that there are certain percussion instruments that don't need the highest level of skill or talent for you to be able to create something that sounds decent.

Agonum said:
This is an interesting discussion. I sense lots of questions arising.

Did Prince himself ever mention a particular number?
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I just looked it up bc I couldn't remember if I had only seen fans talk about this or if there was something more official.

There's this:

faroutmagazine.co.uk

How many instruments did Prince play?

During the recording process of For You, Prince took on the remarkable feat of playing all 27 instruments and delivering every vocal line himself.
faroutmagazine.co.uk faroutmagazine.co.uk
 
@analogue

I found this. It's based on the number of instruments on Prince's first album. The list includes finger snaps and hand claps. Woodblocks. Wind chimes.

I think this is well known but I'll flag up this paragraph, anyway:
"In his debut album, For You, Prince showcased an astounding proficiency by playing an impressive repertoire of 27 instruments. This serves as a testament to his unparalleled musical talent and versatility, spanning a diverse array of instrument types and classes."

faroutmagazine.co.uk

How many instruments did Prince play?

During the recording process of For You, Prince took on the remarkable feat of playing all 27 instruments and delivering every vocal line himself.
faroutmagazine.co.uk faroutmagazine.co.uk
 
A water drum is a gourd (I knew gourds would come into it somewhere!) floating in water and played with sticks.

50s

 
Final thought - and I'm going off topic, now - I don't think Stevie gets enough praise for his multi-instrumentalist skills. It gets mentioned but always in a very low-key way.

The End :D
 
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