# What is your favorite instrument?



## DeanClassicalTchaikovsky (May 13, 2014)

Mine is the piano. But I like the organ and violin too.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

I feel like I should say viola or piano since those are the instruments that I play, but the sound of the cello is _so_ good!


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I've always had a bit of a love affair with the piano  Three tries learning an instrument and only the last one stuck....because it was really the one I'd wanted all along.


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## DeanClassicalTchaikovsky (May 13, 2014)

Tchaikovsky's None but the lonely heart played on piano is my favorite of all time.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Piano for me. I simply love how the possibilities are endless with 2 hands creating music in almost an orchestra-like way when desired. It's versatility is another great thing about it. Fits perfectly in classical, gospel, blues, jazz, country...etc

The sound of the violin would make it a close second for me.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I don't really have one. I am so in love with timbres 

Obviously, I like the piano and violin, which are used in so many works, but I also love the cello, viola, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, organ, tanbur (a Turkish classical instrument), koto (a Japanese classical instrument), guqin (a Chinese classical instrument), lute/oud, saxophone, banjo and all the rest of them, too 

Percussion has always been my least favourite instrument group, coming from a rock-oriented youth, but in classical music, percussion rounds out the sound. Imagine Messiaen without percussion. A favourite percussion piece is Xenakis' Pléiades. Now, that is percussion!


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

I like most of them - the woodwinds sound so otherwordly and delicate, the strings are indispensable, brass is powerful, and the piano has a great repertoire written for it. Lately I'm beginning to like the organ too.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

The _*cello*_ for me. My goodness how that instrument sings, and with soul. Sample, if you will, the Cello Concerti and Sonatas of Myaskovsky, Weinberg, Kabalevsky, Chant du menestral of Glazunov, etc. The *piano* is a close second.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

If I had choose a favorite it would be the violin. I tend to prefer violin sonatas and concertos to piano works of the same. I also prefer symphonies where the brass and woodwinds support the strings, as opposed to the opposite. Still, in many instances, I absolutely adore the Oboe and Horn. There are so many examples in Beethoven and Schubert's symphonies where these two instruments get small yet powerful and beautiful moments. Moments I anticipate and cherish.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

The violin - it's a singing voice, capable of expressing so many moods and colours. I also love its country cousin, the fiddle.


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## MissLemko (May 11, 2014)

My instrument is the classical guitar...I've been living the six string life for over 8 years and I can't imagine my life without my daily practicing...So I guess that the guitar is my favorite instrument. But the bassoon is very very close...


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Violin > guitar > cello > the rest of the orchestra >


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I've always had an affinity for the harp. They are difficult to write for (well). They are capable of so much more than glissandi.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I'm going to go with electric guitar as the most expressive instrument. It can caress you gently into a hypnotic trance or rip the very fabric of space and time. Some may say this is not a classical instrument, but I say there is no such thing.


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## Fratello (May 14, 2014)

Maybe I should say Electric Guitar cuz thats the instrument that i play , but Im simply in love with Viola. the sound that Viola makes is not so high like violin , nor so low like cello ...


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)




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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I might add the human voice is an awesome versatile instrument (although not quite as awesome as a beagle's) if you think of it that way. But then I guess we couldn't have "instrumentals." I wonder if anyone has ever written a concerto for voice and orchestra.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Within classical, it's a tie between piano and violin.

But I really like them all.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

My scalpels and curettes. Cutting and scraping is better than bowing and scraping in my opinion :tiphat:


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## Gangwolf (Apr 26, 2014)

No doubt the piano - been playing for 37 years now, but I also enjoy a good clarinet concerto. What I don't like is the triangle. I don't know how many Strauss II pieces that have been ruined by the annoying _ding, ding, ding, ding_ sound.


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

The piano. I was forced to take lessons when I was eight, mainly to justify having a piano. I hated it. Now, that I have a greater appreciation for it, I wish I were a more proficient player.


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## Delilah (May 5, 2014)

The piano is so graceful, but can be cold and detached at times. The violin is amazing, but for short periods of time. The cello is my favorite, it is tirelessly deep, soothing and moves me more than any of the other instruments.


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## Mister Man (Feb 3, 2014)

I enjoy all instruments. But my favorites would be horns, bagpipes, and the cello.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Bassoon*

Do I have to really answer? (Clue. Check my avatar.) :devil:


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

From a listening perspective, it must be piano. It has a broader polyphony.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Piano
Synthesizer
& everything else except bagpipes


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## Whistler Fred (Feb 6, 2014)

Judging from the music that I listen to the most, I'd have to say the piano. But I also like wind instruments (including the saxophone, at least when the musician avoids the "honk/squeal" sound too frequently associated with the instrument). And, really, I like them all, even bagpipes, at least sometimes.

And, in case you were wondering, a bagpipe is louder than a piccolo. I learned this when I tried playing along with a piper on a Scottish dance. I hope that I at least looked good while on stage…


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Donata said:


> The piano. I was forced to take lessons when I was eight, mainly to justify having a piano. I hated it. Now, that I have a greater appreciation for it, I wish I were a more proficient player.


For real? Goodness that sounds like an abuse.
:lol:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

As Weston pointed out, the human voice is awesome (or at least the well trained voice is awesome). I was really high on piano for a while but now am getting really excited over violin.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

The harp and the horn. I associate them with... distance. Yep, distance. The Object, somewhere there, out of reach.

But the best thing of all is a huge chorus of human voices: at the same time distant and tangible, healing the wound caused by the separation of the Object from the Subject.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Weston said:


> I might add the human voice is an awesome versatile instrument (although not quite as awesome as a beagle's) if you think of it that way. But then I guess we couldn't have "instrumentals." I wonder if anyone has ever written a concerto for voice and orchestra.


Or for a person whistling, with orchestral accompaniment? I'm a quite enthusiastic whistler, though by no means a virtuoso.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

My preference is for instruments that can play solo pieces without accompaniment. Of course, any instrument can do that, but pieces for, say, solo recorder, soon get a bit one-dimensional. Hence, I am kind of torn between the guitar and the piano.


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## Matsps (Jan 13, 2014)

The piano. I find no other instrument alone can quite capture the full essence of what the composer intended. With just one piano can express fully the entire emotions of humanity.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

My favorite instrument is the human voice. Nothing else comes close to its power of expression.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

The piano for its versatility.
The human voice for its tone color.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

The horn and the organ.


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

brianvds: I was going to answer "cello" anyway, but I saw your post and thought it would be good to tack it onto it, because the cello is a good instrument for which to write unaccompanied music, thanks to its enormous range of pitch. I think of it as a heroic instrument for that reason.



brianvds said:


> My preference is for instruments that can play solo pieces without accompaniment. Of course, any instrument can do that, but pieces for, say, solo recorder, soon get a bit one-dimensional. Hence, I am kind of torn between the guitar and the piano.


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## WorthyYeti (May 18, 2014)

Cello is one of my favorites. Such a beautiful sound, but the trumpet is my favorite.


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## KnulpJose (May 19, 2014)

I would say piano and bass guitar, cause those are the ones I play. But I really love the sound of the trombone and the cello.


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

The voice. No other instrument has the power to move and touch people in the way the voice can.

Other than the voice (particularly mezzo-sopranos!), I adore the sounds of the viola and the cor anglais.


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

> *Originally posted by Weston:*
> 
> I wonder if anyone has ever written a concerto for voice and orchestra.


Yes, Reinhold Glière wrote a Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra. There may be others, of course, but that's the only one I know of.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

My stereo, without it my life'd be meaningless


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## Jordan Law (Jul 17, 2014)

I love woodwinds of course but I am very fond of the bansuri flute and especially the hurdy gurdy (I love neo-medieval music)


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## Jeff W (Jan 20, 2014)

My favorite would probably have to be the clarinet. Although, I may be a little bit biased since I used to play it (badly, I might add). Cello would be a close second and that is not simply because that is what the girlfriend used to play...


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## stevens (Jun 23, 2014)

It depends of which piece of music we are considering. Doesnt it?


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

My favorite instrument is the cello. I have a big obsession for that instrument.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

The Chamberlin is the natural choice for me!

/ptr


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## stevens (Jun 23, 2014)

OldFashionedGirl said:


> My favorite instrument is the cello. I have a big obsession for that instrument.


Yes me to.. its a hard instrument to play I did it when I was young...now its piano and violin


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

This post should be changed to what is your favorite instruments?As for me i love mostly the string section & woodwind sections.


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## Fugue Meister (Jul 5, 2014)

Well for me piano is the thing I listen to the most solo music of but apart from that I really like the woodwinds especially the bassoon and oboe I love the colors they add to an orchestra sound. Out of the strings the cello rules supreme. Then there's a particular fondness for the bells whenever they pop up.


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## Mesenkomaha (Jun 24, 2014)

I love the woodwinds but my favorite is the trumpet. Baroque trumpet music is heavenly and, a bit more modern, my favorite composer is John Phillips Sousa.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I would have to say that I put the piano first... but after that...? I would probably go with the cello and the clarinet. I think that the rich tonalities of each is akin to the sensuality of the mezzo voice... of which I am incredibly fond. Beside... so many of my favorite composers outdid themselves composing for these instruments: Mozart, Bach, Brahms, etc...


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I've always had a fondness for the clarinet, both as a player and as a listener.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

I don't know for sure. Could be a cello though.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

BaronScarpia said:


> Yes, Reinhold Glière wrote a Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra. There may be others, of course, but that's the only one I know of.


She sings good. Reminded me of a Diva in The Fifth Element.


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## lincrusta (Jun 25, 2014)

Theremin, harp, and tremoloa.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you - the Piganino.

King Louis XI challenged a local Abbot who had a flair for designing musical instruments; to provide a concert of swine voices. Presumably, it was meant as a joke but the Abbot rose to the challenge. I can only assume that he was the sort of guy that didn't like to lose a bet.

...and so the first Swineway piano was born.

It was quite simply what the picture depicts. You press a key and a nail is hammered into a pig's behind. This was before animals had rights, except for the right to make sweet music.

Obviously, some research is required to find a perfectly sized pig with the desired pitch. I don't want people thinking that any old pig could be strapped to a keyboard and violently pricked. That would be the science of a mad man.

The Bard said, _"If music be the food of love..."_ The French go one better. Music_ is_ the food. In the meantime, I look forward to Lang Lang performing Bacon Sonata in G.


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## Lovemylute (Jul 17, 2014)

Roughly in order: classical guitar, lute, strings, piano, and woodwinds (so, basically, my answer is: most of them!).


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

My favourite is the ORGAN, not just because "I like the sound," but more I like what can be _done_ with the sound. Best organ CD I've ever heard which shows this thrillingly is Karl Richter's 3 CD set on DG.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

The piano! Idk why there are critics who say it's the "least expressive" that just tells me you don't listen to piano music.


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2014)

Hard to say. Toss up between turntable and laptop. Laptop's more versatile, but there's something elemental and immediate about the turntable.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Apart from the human singing voice, my favorite instrument is the oboe, both modern and Baroque.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

I really like all instruments, but I have special affection for the piano, the electric guitar and bass guitar, and the accordion.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

piano, electric guitar


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Pipe organ #1 ... piano #1.1 ... 

Kh ♫


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Piano, I can play it and it has, imo, the best repertoire.


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## Marcel (Aug 14, 2014)

Violin & trumpet.


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## SeptimalTritone (Jul 7, 2014)

Viola and clarinet!!!


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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)

Violin, guitar (classical and electric... acoustic not so much) and accordion.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Organ, clarinet, marimba.


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## Guest (Mar 21, 2018)

Piano, by far. ...........


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I play piano, so I have a slight bias. 
But really, any instrument played well is my favorite.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Current Favorites - organ, harpsichord, piano, oboe and trumpet.

Least Favorite - flute.


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

Since the OP posted additional choices, as have many others, I will also:

I love the double reeds, harpsichord, and strings. But at the top I'd have to put the human voice.


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## JosefinaHW (Nov 21, 2015)

cello; bass viola da gamba; bass, baritone and sometimes mezzo voice; viola da gamba; double bass; piano


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

One instrument that sounds good to me no matter what notes you play is the flute. As long as the technique is there.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

If the voice count's as instrument, no 1, if not, the piano followed by the clarinet


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

OP: A tie between fortepiano and harpsichord as in the latest model reproductions which really make intoxicatingly sensual sounds as demonstrated by Ronald Brautigam and Kenneth Weiss, respectively.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Triangle .


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DeanClassicalTchaikovsky said:


> Mine is the piano. But I like the organ and violin too.


I wonder if this is still your first choice.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

How about favorite instruments that look like the inside of a spaceship?

The TONTO Synthesizer









Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ


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## Wendy88 (Mar 29, 2018)

Even I am learning to play Piano, I love the sound of cello more.


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## Beet131 (Mar 24, 2018)

Piano - Piano Concertos, Piano Sonatas, Piano Trios, Piano Quartets, Piano Quintets, Piano Music!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Wendy88 said:


> Even I am learning to play Piano, I love the sound of cello more.


You can always take cello lessons also.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

1. Oboe / English Horn
2. String Section
3. Flute
4. Guitar
5. French Horn

This piece does my Top 3 instruments a lot of justice. 1:45 with the strings and flute . Then 8:24.






The only thing I don't like about _guitar_ is Spanish music. Very repetitive. I like the guitar in the FFX and Chrono osts, very ethereal.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

The organ is my overall favorite, alongside the piano. But of course I play those instruments so I’m biased. But in terms of orchestral instruments it’s the cello, clarinet, cor anglais, horn, and pretty much every percussion instrument.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

My primary instrument is the piano, but I'm now also studying the cello. I think it's the most beautiful instrument ever. The range and expressive possibilities are incredible...and you can spend multiple lifetimes trying to get it just right. And never get there. :lol:


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## Ariasexta (Jul 3, 2010)

1-Human voices
2-The Harpsichord
3-The organ
4-The Lute
5-The strings
6-The cornet


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

The piano
Then the viola
Then a really good contralto


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## Harmonie (Mar 24, 2007)

The oboe and English horn are my top favorites. With the bassoon, bass clarinet, alto/tenor/bari saxophone and recorder not too far behind. Harpsichord is my favorite non-wind instrument by a wide margin.


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## Musicaterina (Apr 5, 2020)

My favourite instrument is the violoncello, especially the baroque violoncello. But I also like very much the viola da gamba and the recorder. I have got a soft spot for period instruments, also for rare ones like the arpeggione.


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## aioriacont (Jul 23, 2018)

violin. I'm so sad my favorite composers, Bach and Schubert, didn't composer more for it.
Well, we still have Vivaldi and Paganini, and they rock!


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