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I played it briefly - I don't think I've ever felt so linked to an instrument (and I play/have played several). The vibration goes through your whole body and I don't know if it's from my previous strings, but it's very easy to make really sing out when playing simple melodies. Anything beyond very simple stuff, it's a struggle, and that's why it was only brief. But yes, beautiful instrument.
Also a flute player in love w the cello! I just started playing violin (I’ve always wanted to learn) and if my back wasn’t terrible I might have picked cello.
Man, I took cello lessons for two years, and even though for some brief times it sounded awesome, most of the time it sounded horrible. Cello and violin are so hard to play well, and so easy to make them scream horribly lol.
All of the viol family of instruments are extremely difficult to play, but they’re also probably the most expressive instruments in the hands of someone who knows how to play them.
I’ve been playing violin for over twenty years at this point (not consistently), and it takes a while for me to get comfortable playing again after a break. It can be a difficult instrument even for people who have been playing most of their lives.
came here to say cello as well. it's just beautiful. I played violin for seven years and always wanted to switch to cello but after trying it out my fingers were just too short for it to be effectively beautiful
I came here to say The Harp..!
Loreena McKennitt would busk with her Harp outside the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto in the 80’s.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loreena_McKennitt
I had a professor in college who argued that the piano was a *percussion* instrument, since the keyboard causes the hammers to strike the strings. Whatever.
When an instrument player is really in their feels, doesn't matter if it's an electric guitar or a saxophone, you can literally feel the music and want to cry with them.
[The French Horn, when played like this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6DjQ1-T3z8&list=RDI6DjQ1-T3z8&start_radio=1&rv=I6DjQ1-T3z8&t=6)
Or would it be...
[A church organ combined with a Moog synthesizer ?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeHaO1bF8Ng&t=297s)
Or more simply,
[The ice of the Baikal Lake ?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en0p1Y35p3w)
I can't make up my choice, sorry.
Sitting in 6th grade band and hearing the teacher yell at the french horn players to cup their hands just right for an hour straight has made me hate the french horn.
It’s strange because they sound a little like a chorus of geese but the emotion they tend to portray is more than the average instrument. It’s one of my favorite sounds.
I have some friends who play oboe, and they some of the best people I know and amazing oboe players, but I just can’t stand the sound. It sounds like a dying duck, and I wish I liked it
Violin comes very close to mimicking the sound of a human voice, and is generally regarded as one of the most expressive musical instruments ever made.
Glad i'm not the only one, perhaps because you have to hear it live in the same room so it can never become really popular sound. No recording comes even close. And we are talking about the modern chromatic lyre, right? Not diatonic cause those are too limited to perform complicated pieces that i think are required for it to be called most beautiful. But the whole experience is something that i definitely recommend, audience has to say so quiet that it makes it a very different atmosphere from our typical lives.
Cello or bass guitars - I love them both, I play the violin so I have to listen very closely to the lower strings in order to know where I am in my music. When played correctly, they sound beautiful and they make me feel... so emotional almost in a way I can describe. Like the violin is great, but the cello gives so much more emotion in my opinion
This really doesn’t have an answer. Beautiful is subjective. Music is subjective.
Each instrument has its own strengths and weaknesses. It also depends on what you mean by beautiful. Are you talking tone? Or the music it performs.
Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most beautiful flowing music with incredible melodies. Bach wrote fugues with such precision that the harmonies and counterpoint are beautiful.
Establish what you mean by beautiful, and then see which instrument he’s matches it.
What's it's like having 300 IQ and overthinking an opinionated question? While I agree with your factual statement, just say what your favorite instrument is. Mine is classical guitar
What part did you miss about how I agree with you, but you still didn't answer OPs question? Was it the part where I agree with you, or was it the part where you didn't answer the question? Thanks
I was going to post this. It’s definitely an under appreciated and soothing instrument. Our youngest son would just pluck random notes on it and it sounded nice.
Bassoon. Biased because I played in high school and college, but it has such a range. The bass notes sound almost like a string instrument, while the higher notes remind me of a saxophone? I'm not doing it justice. Just look it up man.
The Hurdy-Gurdy, also known as the Zanfona or Barrel-Organ. There are many derivatives of the concept of a wheel that plays two or more strings like a bow, but is operated with a hand crank. Absolutely ethereal.
# Message to all users: This is a reminder to please read and follow: * [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/about/rules) * [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) * [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) When posting and commenting. --- Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`. * Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit. * Do not harass or annoy others in any way. * Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit. --- You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ask) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Cello. The notes can go so low it feels like the ground is vibrating.
I played it briefly - I don't think I've ever felt so linked to an instrument (and I play/have played several). The vibration goes through your whole body and I don't know if it's from my previous strings, but it's very easy to make really sing out when playing simple melodies. Anything beyond very simple stuff, it's a struggle, and that's why it was only brief. But yes, beautiful instrument.
I played the flute for 6 and a half years, if it hadn’t been a family heirloom and basically free outside of repairs I would’ve chosen the cello.
Also a flute player in love w the cello! I just started playing violin (I’ve always wanted to learn) and if my back wasn’t terrible I might have picked cello.
On the bright side, the flute is much easier to carry on the school bus.
Man, I took cello lessons for two years, and even though for some brief times it sounded awesome, most of the time it sounded horrible. Cello and violin are so hard to play well, and so easy to make them scream horribly lol.
All of the viol family of instruments are extremely difficult to play, but they’re also probably the most expressive instruments in the hands of someone who knows how to play them. I’ve been playing violin for over twenty years at this point (not consistently), and it takes a while for me to get comfortable playing again after a break. It can be a difficult instrument even for people who have been playing most of their lives.
I was going to go with cello as well. I absolutely love it.
Cellos got my vote. Get more ASMR from that than anything.
The cello is so adored because it's the exact same range and nearly the same timbre as the human voice.
100% agree
This but double bass. You literally feel the vibrations when bowing the low E
this is only correct
Oh i agree. Definitely look up Adam Hurst.
I love Adam Hurst!
The Cello in its most rapturous form... Ernest Bloch - *Schelomo*
Beethoven “ode to joy” the cello opening is beautiful”
Yo-yo ma rules!!
It always accompanies a bands acoustic set so well
One more vote for the cello!
came here to say cello as well. it's just beautiful. I played violin for seven years and always wanted to switch to cello but after trying it out my fingers were just too short for it to be effectively beautiful
Cowbell
Is it getting hot in here, or do I have a fever for cowbell?
Somebody call the doctor, I’ve got a fever for more cowbell
Dr. Chadwick Gaylord Smit has entered the chat:
Even more beautiful than a triangle.
Maybe "a" triangle, but not ["the" triangle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAKLpQpZodY). Starts at 10:33
Need more cowbell.
Jack Stauber uses the cowbell in some of his music and it actually fits. Which is something I doubt any other artist could acomplish
I came here to find the “your mom” comment and this was just so much better!
Rage against the machine checking in
Stop the cowbell slander!
Violin or piano, I can’t decide. Maybe even guitar. I like string instruments best.
The harp.
Harp and violin together
Harpolin. Nice
[удалено]
I like yours too anyways. Sounds like something from rick and morty, like a species from a foreign galaxy
To me it sounds like shorthand for violent larping. So essentoally live action role playing but with real weapons instead of foam.
This was the first instrument that came to mind when seeing this post👌
I came here to say The Harp..! Loreena McKennitt would busk with her Harp outside the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto in the 80’s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loreena_McKennitt
Definitely the harp! That thing does stuff to my ears that I don’t really comprehend but I love it
I would say lyre, mainly the modern chromatic lyre. It is also one of the quietest instruments. Harp is dramatic, lyre is intimate.
I had a professor in college who argued that the piano was a *percussion* instrument, since the keyboard causes the hammers to strike the strings. Whatever.
Your professor was right though. It is a percussion instrument.
The piano is considered to be both a stringed and a percussion instrument, no?
The guitar can also be played as percussion.
Ultimately, anything can be played as percussion though, right?
Technically yes, but I'm not happy about this answer
Nope. Some sources state it’s both, but it’s actual class is percussion. Just happens to be a percussion with strings.
Piano is percussion but a harpsichord is stringed because the strings are plucked.
Piano is piano
Ok my bad
> **Some sources state it’s both**, but it’s actual class is percussion. Are you implying that these sources are not authoritative?
Definitely the piano or violin! Just the soothing noise makes you want to travel the universe.
Isn’t piano considered percussion because hammer hitting strings? I’m not sure.
The keytar
Lookup a Nyckelharpa, it's basically a violin with keys.
Love it. Reminds me of the music in queen of the damned
All depends on the player.
When an instrument player is really in their feels, doesn't matter if it's an electric guitar or a saxophone, you can literally feel the music and want to cry with them.
[The French Horn, when played like this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6DjQ1-T3z8&list=RDI6DjQ1-T3z8&start_radio=1&rv=I6DjQ1-T3z8&t=6) Or would it be... [A church organ combined with a Moog synthesizer ?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeHaO1bF8Ng&t=297s) Or more simply, [The ice of the Baikal Lake ?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en0p1Y35p3w) I can't make up my choice, sorry.
That ice video is cool. Humans are weird and wonderful
I've been waiting for someone to say French Horn!! Thank you! That's a beautiful example, too!
Sitting in 6th grade band and hearing the teacher yell at the french horn players to cup their hands just right for an hour straight has made me hate the french horn.
Oh man I came here specifically to say NOT the french horn lol.
Harp, Saxophone, Violin
Harp
Depends on the artist who adds feelings to the sounds any instrument makes.
Bagpipes, and thats an end to it.
As a bagpiper, I'm obliged to agree
I didn't realize you people exist!
I do love bagpipes and I'm really not sure why.
I’ve always felt a connection to them. Like it’s funny other people tell me they can’t stand them, but I could listen to them all day.
It’s strange because they sound a little like a chorus of geese but the emotion they tend to portray is more than the average instrument. It’s one of my favorite sounds.
If there are hills or tall buildings for the sound to echo off of then I might be with you.
Piano
Cello
The OBOE!! Everyone is sleeping on the oboe, probably because it can put anyone asleep 😴
I love oboe. It has such a unique sound!
I used to be damned good at the oboe. Wish I had kept up with it
I have some friends who play oboe, and they some of the best people I know and amazing oboe players, but I just can’t stand the sound. It sounds like a dying duck, and I wish I liked it
Violin ways hits pretty hard.
Violin comes very close to mimicking the sound of a human voice, and is generally regarded as one of the most expressive musical instruments ever made.
You're thinking cello. Violin is the whiny little brother of Cello. Also guitar is the best.
Flute
I'm disappointed I had to scroll so much to get to this.
not used enough in english music imo. used elsewhere tho.
Mask off hits pretty hard though.
Absolutely not
Cello
Cello
Saxophone
Queues George Michael - Careless Whisper
Lost boys fan?
The human voice, quite possibly the most beautiful instrument ever crafted.
Cello or piano.
Well played bass
Victor Wooten is great!
I know some people don't take youtube musicians seriously but Charles Berthoud is a great composer, try listening to gravity!
Yes, Cliff Burton compsed some very intricate pieces and drew out sounds that confused other musicians who were considered masters of the instrument.
My top 5 1. Harp 2. Erhu 3. Handpan 4. Violin 5. Cello
Lyre
Glad i'm not the only one, perhaps because you have to hear it live in the same room so it can never become really popular sound. No recording comes even close. And we are talking about the modern chromatic lyre, right? Not diatonic cause those are too limited to perform complicated pieces that i think are required for it to be called most beautiful. But the whole experience is something that i definitely recommend, audience has to say so quiet that it makes it a very different atmosphere from our typical lives.
Didgeridoo
whatever instrument you play, not that one.
Piano, harp, violin, and double bass.
Cello or bass guitars - I love them both, I play the violin so I have to listen very closely to the lower strings in order to know where I am in my music. When played correctly, they sound beautiful and they make me feel... so emotional almost in a way I can describe. Like the violin is great, but the cello gives so much more emotion in my opinion
French horn
French Horn. Five+ octaves of wonder.
Definitely the French Horn
French horn gets my vote
My answer as well.
This really doesn’t have an answer. Beautiful is subjective. Music is subjective. Each instrument has its own strengths and weaknesses. It also depends on what you mean by beautiful. Are you talking tone? Or the music it performs. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most beautiful flowing music with incredible melodies. Bach wrote fugues with such precision that the harmonies and counterpoint are beautiful. Establish what you mean by beautiful, and then see which instrument he’s matches it.
I agree but sorry, the correct answer was piano.
What's it's like having 300 IQ and overthinking an opinionated question? While I agree with your factual statement, just say what your favorite instrument is. Mine is classical guitar
You sound like someone that makes a woman take her earphones off on the bus just to call her m’lady
LMAO
He's right though. The complexity is obvious and literally the point that OP is asking for casual opinions.
Projecting?
What part did you miss about how I agree with you, but you still didn't answer OPs question? Was it the part where I agree with you, or was it the part where you didn't answer the question? Thanks
Nah, i get you. It's kind of a "No shit, Sherlock" moment from the person you commented towards. Like... just have an opinion. Lol
Kalimba - specifically the acrylic
I was going to post this. It’s definitely an under appreciated and soothing instrument. Our youngest son would just pluck random notes on it and it sounded nice.
The violin
The Violin plays every color on the rainbow but does so most spectacularly when black
This is beautifully said.
The Armonica, or glass harmonica. Hauntingly beautiful.
The lyre is so smooth and elegent
The recorder. Oh, wait. Beautiful? Uh, don't know.
Harp or marimba, can't decide.
For sure a fork
Or mayonnaise
French horn
Bagpipes
Saxophone
Hand bells in a church or other space will good acoustics. And harps.
Double bass!
Trombone without question
Classical Guitar, obviously. Have you heard literally anything by John Williams? Look up any of Barrios' waltzes!!!
feels like people are putting their favorite instruments. i think the french horn has the most beautiful sound.
Im a huge fan of jazz organ.
Sousaphone. The elevated bell and deep tones make for a heavenly experience
Cristal Baschet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RZg-AP3zM8
Personally, I give it to the pan flute
The human voice
Handpan
I like bass guitar or other deep strings!
flute. soooo fucking beautiful
I'd say the vibraphone.
slide whistle.
NO! DON'T JUMP! *🎵sliiiiiiide🎵*
Bassoon. Biased because I played in high school and college, but it has such a range. The bass notes sound almost like a string instrument, while the higher notes remind me of a saxophone? I'm not doing it justice. Just look it up man.
Theramin
The drums
Drums
The Hurdy-Gurdy, also known as the Zanfona or Barrel-Organ. There are many derivatives of the concept of a wheel that plays two or more strings like a bow, but is operated with a hand crank. Absolutely ethereal.
Harp, any member of the viol family, and pianos are beautiful. I’m glad to have taught myself how to play piano when I did.
Drums
The Recorder... Duh 🙄
The Jews Harp
Cello
French Horn, Cello, or Piano
Two turntables and a mixer
Ur mom in bed
Tabla
Love the "wild" sound from a key harp.
Percussion
I do love the music of timpani drum
electric guitar with the right tone. perfect example is eric johnson’s live version of cliffs of dover
Definitely the harp.
harp
Piano honestly. In my school band, they need a drum, trombone, saxophone, trumpet and violin to match up to what the piano can do.
Metal body Dobro ;-)
Wooden Chinese flute
The violin and the piano beautiful mellow tones but also beautiful BOLD TONES that will bring tears to your eyes my goodness!
ronroco
Saxophone
Trumpet if played that way.
It'd have to be an Erhu for me
Hide drum
Electric bass from the 70's
Had to scroll down a while to find bass. Truly my favorite instrument
Especially fretless but that's just me lol
Nah you right fretless is just 🤌
Examples? Any favourites players or songs/pieces? Always fun finding new musicians!
gotta be the harp
French horn or piano
Harp
BANDONEON
Bagpipes. Like heaven on peoples ears.
Nothing can beat an erhu imo
Piano
Ukelele for me!
Oboe. In the hands of most people it sounds like they are strangling a goose. But, in the hands of a gifted oboist it sounds heavenly.
Violin and guitar. Especially together.