# Which is the noblest instrument?



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Of all the instruments in the orchestra, which is the most likely to cause you to stand and swear fealty to the music? The answer, I think, is obvious...


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Organ! Shiver me timbers! Second choice an 'upright' piano.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I'll also go with the organ.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

I don't know, the harp has a very pure and "aristocratic" tone. The cello too to me always sounds as a very noble instrument. I'd say the piano too, but I've heard too much wild jazz and rock to know that it could be also something very different.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

The horn. They do noble better than any instrument. Think finale of Brahms 1st, closing number of Swan Lake, any Mahler symphony, Star Wars. They also do after-beats better than any group...the antipode of noble.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Though choiice between piano and organ.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I second the horn. The moments that give me the most goosebumps usually have horns playing something ringing and loud.

It's like picking a favorite child, though. I have a soft spot for cello, trombone, french horn, and tympani.


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## robin4 (Jun 9, 2019)

trombone

think Sibelius #3 or #7


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

I want to know what the most sinister and dastardly instrument is. And how do we run that scoundrel out of the orchestra!?


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

No question in my mind


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Do I have to answer here? :lol:


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Of course, a lot depends upon the composer, _and_, especially, the performer! I've heard nearly every instrument (except maybe the accordion, ukulele, and mouth harp) sound both noble and ignoble (as in its "unworthy · base · shameful" definition), depending upon the players.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Noblest?
May I respectfully suggest the cor anglais? Soulful, unpretentious, evocative. 
Ignoblest?
Bagpipes, obviously.


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## Minor Sixthist (Apr 21, 2017)

Hypothetically imagining all the instruments played at similar levels of skill, I'm going to say the most noble is the horn, for similar reasons as mb gave, and the most ignoble would have to be flute. My only exception would come in some specific cases which have it played in its sinister lower register (think Shostakovich 5.) Of course, it's easy to deem any instrument ignoble if your experience is with bad players, so there could be a lot of variation in answers, but the flute might be one of the easiest instruments to play very badly, and even at its best it does almost nothing for me.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The answer, it seems to me, is the cello. The cello speaks with moderation but implicit force, is always thoughtful and considered in what it says, has a mellifluous but clear tone, and is welcome anywhere, in almost any company.

Or perhaps those qualities are especially appealing right now, given the political leadership in my country…


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

apricissimus said:


> I want to know what the most sinister and dastardly instrument is.


That's easy - the contrabassoon. When a composer needs to indicate the creepy monster coming up out of the swamp, evil lurks, or subterranean sounds are called for, the contra is the go to guy.

Think: Dukas Sorcerer's Apprentice. Gliere: Ilya Murometz(2nd movement). Ravel: Beauty and the Beast (guess who?). Glinka: Russlan and Lyudmilla. Schmidt: the Book with seven Seals. Countless horror movies - Ghost of Frankenstein is a classic.


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## Minor Sixthist (Apr 21, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> That's easy - the contrabassoon. When a composer needs to indicate the creepy monster coming up out of the swamp, evil lurks, or subterranean sounds are called for, the contra is the go to guy.
> 
> Think: Dukas Sorcerer's Apprentice. Gliere: Ilya Murometz(2nd movement). Ravel: Beauty and the Beast (guess who?). Glinka: Russlan and Lyudmilla. Schmidt: the Book with seven Seals. Countless horror movies - Ghost of Frankenstein is a classic.


I love Hindemith's use of contra in Symphonic Metamorphosis. Sitting right behind that monster was an experience.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

French horn. My favourite instance is at 11:50 in this:


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Noblest?
> May I respectfully suggest the cor anglais? Soulful, unpretentious, evocative.
> Ignoblest?
> Bagpipes, obviously.


I would have liked this post except you put in that line about the bagpipes..


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

regenmusic said:


> I would have liked this post except you put in that line about the bagpipes..


An accordionist was returning from a gig when he decided to park and wet his whistle at a local bar. He was worried about his accordion, which was in his back seat. But nevertheless, he locked his car and went in for a drink.

When he came out, sure enough, the read window of his car had been broken out. But when he looked inside, he found that two more accordions had been thrown in...


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

SONNET CLV said:


> Of course, a lot depends upon the composer, _and_, especially, the performer! I've heard nearly every instrument (except maybe the accordion..


Does bandoneon count?


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

The trombone was my first thought when I read the OP, so I'll stick with that....here's a good example by Holst.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Give the oboe and it's big brother some love:


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

mikeh375 said:


> The trombone was my first thought when I read the OP, so I'll stick with that....here's a good example by Holst.


Trombone was my thought as well... for accordion, and other strains of wheeziness, try Aperghis


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

KenOC said:


> The answer, it seems to me, is the cello. The cello speaks with moderation but implicit force, is always thoughtful and considered in what it says, has a mellifluous but clear tone, and is welcome anywhere, in almost any company.
> 
> Or perhaps those qualities are especially appealing right now, given the political leadership in my country…


You want cellos? You've got cellos!


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## Guest (Jul 12, 2019)

I don't think that any instrument in an orchestra can be called the "noblest". The question doesn't make any sense to me. It's like asking which is the most important part of a car engine. If you took out any major component - camshaft, crankshaft, piston, head gasket, water pump, fuel enjection, radiator, alternator, etc - it wouldn't run too well.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Partita said:


> I don't think that any instrument in an orchestra can be called the "noblest". The question doesn't make any sense to me. It's like asking which is the most important part of a car engine. If you took out any major component - camshaft, crankshaft, piston, head gasket, water pump, fuel enjection, radiator, alternator, etc - it wouldn't run too well.


You're right, but I think that "noblest" had to be intented as instruments that usually contribute to a classy atmosphere if I can put it this way. Or at least, that's why I mentioned the cello and the harp (and not let's say, the kazoo or the tuba)


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## Judas Priest Fan (Apr 27, 2018)

I´d go with the violin and the cello.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra TRIANGLE EDITION
Spare a minute for this guy .


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2019)

norman bates said:


> You're right, but I think that "noblest" had to be intented as instruments that usually contribute to a classy atmosphere if I can put it this way. Or at least, that's why I mentioned the cello and the harp (and not let's say, the kazoo or the tuba)


Would it not depend on the nature of the work in question?

For a piano concerto, things wouldn't sound all that classy without a piano, whereas if a cello or harp section was missing in the same work things perhaps might not sound quite so disastrous.

Even in a more general orchestral work, I think that the situation would depend on the work in question. For example, take out the horn introduction and oboes in Schubert's Symphony No 9, and things would sound rather odd. In Sibelius Symphony No 7, take out the trombone and it would virtually ruin it.

In fact, take out anything - strings, brass, wind, percussion - in any orchestral work and it could potentially change its character quite fundamentally. I therefore still believe that it's a meaningless question, with no satisfactory answer that applies across the board.


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## Zhdanov (Feb 16, 2016)

KenOC said:


> Which is the noblest instrument?


like above said, the horn, of course.


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## Zhdanov (Feb 16, 2016)

apricissimus said:


> I want to know what the most sinister and dastardly instrument is.


along with the bassoon must be the xylophone and like instruments that bear connotation of human bones.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

KenOC said:


> The answer, it seems to me, is the cello. The cello speaks with moderation but implicit force, is always thoughtful and considered in what it says, has a mellifluous but clear tone, and is welcome anywhere, in almost any company.
> 
> Or perhaps those qualities are especially appealing right now, given the political leadership in my country…


Yes, and the cello makes an excellent raft for making's one's way across rivers to other borders, to a new life, tax-free, with opportunities for education and free medical care. Later, the wood can be used as firewood for cooking, or building lean-to housing in unzoned areas.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

The "noblest" instrument is of course the horn, used in fanfares for Royal ceremonies and State leaders.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

regenmusic said:


> I would have liked this post except you put in that line about the bagpipes..


Sorry. I hadn't realised that even mentioning b**pipes would cause such offence!


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## Rubens (Nov 5, 2017)

The harpsichord


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

My earlier post aside, the most noblest of instruments remains, of course, the human voice. But you all know that, right? And when it is part of the symphony orchestra, it achieves its apex of nobleness:

Just a few examples -- there are far too many to cite:


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Yes. Like this voice:


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

mbhaub said:


> Yes. Like this voice:


Hey all! I just ordered a new record. Guess what it is!


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