Multi-instrumentalist

Amulti-instrumentalistis a musician who plays two or moremusical instruments,often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency.

Bulgarian Musician Denko Betona holding an Electric Guitar, Saxophone, Bass Guitar and Darbuka.

Also known asdoubling,the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where a particular instrument may be employed only briefly or sporadically during a performance. Doubling is not uncommon inorchestra(e.g.,flutistswho double onpiccolo) and jazz (saxophone/flute players);double bassplayers might also perform onelectric bass.Inmusic theatre,apit orchestra's reed players might be required to perform on multiple instruments. Churchpianoplayers are often expected to play the church'spipe organorHammond organas well.

Inpopular musicit is more common than in classical or jazz for performers to be proficient on instruments not from the same family, for instance to play both guitar and keyboards. Manybluegrass musiciansare multi-instrumentalists. Somemusicians' unions or associationsspecify a higher rate ofpay,for musicians who double on two or more instruments for a performance or recording.

Early music

The EuropeanPiffari,StadtpfeiferandWaitswere multi-instrumentalists, who playedtrumpet,sackbut,shawm,cornett,recorderand string-instruments.Musicians with an education of aStadtpfeiferwereGottfried Reiche,Johann Joachim Quantz,Johann Christof Pezel andSigmund Theophil Staden.Also many European church musicians of the 17th and 18th centuries were multi-instrumentalists, who played several instruments.Georg Philipp Telemannfor example played violin, viola da gamba, recorder, flauto traverso, oboe, shawm, sackbut and double bass.

Classical music

Some famous classical composer-performers could play multiple instruments at a high level, such asMozart,who was a virtuoso on the keyboard and violin. Music written forsymphony orchestrausually calls for apercussionsection featuring a number of musicians who might each play a variety of different instruments during a performance. Orchestras will also often, but not always, call for several members of thewoodwindsection to be multi-instrumentalists. This is sometimes referred to as doubling. Typically, for example, onefluteplayer in the orchestra will switch to playing thepiccolooralto flutewhen called to by the score. Similarly,clarinetplayers may double onbass clarinet,oboeplayers oncor anglais,andbassoonplayers oncontrabassoon.Trumpetplayers may switch topiccolo trumpetfor certain Baroque literature, and firsttromboneplayers may switch toalto trombone.Bass tromboneplayers are sometimes required to double oncontrabass trombone,most notably inWagner'sDer Ring des Nibelungenoperas.Organplayers are also commonly expected to master theharpsichordas well. Doubling elsewhere in the orchestra is rare. Withmusical theatrepit orchestras,woodwind players are expected to play a large number of woodwind instruments.

Jazz, modern, and contemporary music

Alto saxophonistHayden Chisholmplaying the flute

Colin Dyall (father ofSharonandKarl Dyall) surrounded by his instruments.

In theswingera ofbig bandmusic, woodwind players were often expected to play multiple woodwind instruments; saxophonists might be offered gigs where they were also required to play clarinet, for example.

The different types ofsaxophoneuse similar designs, varying mainly only in size (and therefore pitch), meaning that once a player has learned to play one it is relatively easy for them to translate the skills into another. As a result, many jazz saxophone players have made careers playing several different instruments, such asJohn ColtraneandWayne Shorter,both of whom have frequently used both tenor and soprano saxophones. To a lesser extent this is also the case across the range ofwoodwindinstruments: Jazzfluteplayers often play other instruments as well, such asEric DolphyandHerbie Mann,both of whom frequently played flute and saxophone; Dolphy also recorded onbass clarinet.In the early years of jazz, when the genre was still linked to themarching bandgenre, many double-bass players doubled ontuba.

From the 1950s onwards and particularly since the development ofjazz-rock fusionin the late 1960s, many double-bass players doubled onelectric bass,e.g.Stanley ClarkeandJohn Patitucci.

Another famous multi-instrumentalist isJacob Collier.His career started off with split-screen YouTube videos that caught the eye of music legends likeHerbie Hancock.With his help, Collier recorded his debut albumIn My Roomand then went on to write many more albums. He is proficient on many different instruments, including vocals, piano, keyboards, bass guitar, upright bass, drums, percussion, guitar, and more.

Some jazz instrumentalists whose main instrument is a horn or bass also playjazz piano,because piano is an excellent instrument for composing and arranging, and for developing greater harmonic knowledge.

Many famous jazz musicians, includingJames Morrison,Don Burrows,andBrian Landrus,are multi-instrumentalists.

Rock and pop music

Inpopular musicstyles, many musicians and songwriters are multi-instrumentalists. Songwriters often play both piano, a key instrument for arranging and composing, and popular pop or rock instruments such as guitar. A backing band member who doubles will be instructed by the bandleader when to switch instruments (e.g., from bass toHammond organ). When playing live, most multi-instrumentalists will concentrate on their main instrument and/or vocals, and hire or recruit backing musicians (or use asequencer) to play the other instruments, thus benefiting fromeconomies of scope.

Examples

Some musicians have pushed the limits of human musical skill on different instruments. British entertainerRoy Castleonce set a world record by playing the same tune on 43 different instruments in four minutes.Anton Newcombe,frontman forThe Brian Jonestown Massacre,has claimed to be able to play 80 different instruments.Brian Jones,late founder and guitarist ofThe Rolling Stoneswas well known to experiment with, and utilize various instruments, both Western and exotic. By the time of his death, Jones had played a multitude of instruments on released recordings ranging from traditional blues hallmarks – like theHarmonica,Slide Guitarand thePiano– to more exotic ones such as theSitar,Mellotronand theAppalachian Dulcimer.Another famous multi-instrumentalist isPaul McCartney;on his albumMcCartney,for example, he is credited with vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, piano, organ, percussion, wineglasses, Mellotron, and effects; the only other credited performer is his wifeLindawho provided harmony vocals.Progressive rockcomposerMike Oldfieldplays many types of guitars, organ, piano,mandolin,timpani,andbouzouki(among others) with proficiency. However, he considers himself primarily a guitarist.

Bluegrass

Inbluegrass music,it is very common for musicians to be skilled on a number of different instruments, including guitar, banjo, fiddle and upright bass.

See also

• List of multi-instrumentalists
• One-man band

External links

• On Being a Multi-Instrumentalist