I remember hearing throughout the 80's things like, "Prince can play 40 instruments!" However, having seen him numerous times in concert and listened to virtually all of the records, and countless live bootlegs, I can safely say I have only heard or seen him play four instruments; guitar, bass, piano and percussion. Out of these four, his is virtuoso on one (guitar), very good at another, but in only one particular style (funk on electric bass), and adequate on the remaining two, piano and percussion (although he is an excellent drum programmer).

Prince is fantastic and I love his music (why do I feel I always need to say that around here?), but his greatest strengths are as a guitarist, composer/arranger and of course, as a live act. Playing four instruments--in particular, those four--is not really such a rarity in pop/rock music. I can name several artists who are even virtuoso in more than one area (i.e. Stevie Wonder on piano, Clavinova, harmonica, and vocals. Also an excellent drummer).

So where is this multi-instrumentalist everyone talks about? I want to hear Prince wail on a trumpet solo, or play a wicked violin part!

[Edited 6/12/11 19:32pm]

It's not a myth that he is a multi-instrumentalist. He can play piano and keyboard and bass really well...plus probably ok on the drums.

Of course the 40 instrument claim was just marketing hype...if you believed that at any time, then you are a bit of a fool.

How can you say he is only "adequate" on piano? That is understating it big time. Of course he can't be "virtuoso" on guitar, bass, and keys all the time or he would be practicing 24/7. You have to practice a lot to keep your chops.

And I doubt you can name several artists that can record every instrument on a song and make it sounds as good as Prince does...Sure you name Stevie Wonder but he is another musical genius.

.

[Edited 6/12/11 19:05pm]

FunkiestOne said:

It's not a myth that he is a multi-instrumentalist. He can play piano and keyboard and bass really well...plus probably ok on the drums.

How can you say he is only "adequate" on piano?

I'm an adequate piano player myself, and I can tell you that anything I've ever heard Prince play on the piano is pretty easy to play or learn. I would put Prince on the same level as McCartney as a piano player. I've never heard him come close to playing what Elton John, Billy Joel, Joe Jackson or Ben Folds can play. (I actually think he's a better drummer than a piano player.)

The best evidence of this is in the 2nd half of the 6/24/02 Xenophobia show at Paisley Park. After his amazing unplugged guitar set, he comes out and sits at the piano for a handful of songs, but when he wants some real piano playing he calls to Renaldo. As soon as Renaldo comes in, you can hear the difference in chops by leaps and bounds.

Other multi-insturmentalists off the top of my head with similar chops:

McCartney

Todd Rundgren

Barry Gibb

Terrence Trent D'Arby

Beck

Joni Mitchell

Brian Jones

Brian Wilson

Paul Simon

Steve Winwood

Sufjan Stevens

I disagree with some other posters here who have claimed prince to be a "boring" or average guitarist; I think he is among the best pop-rock guitarists living today. But his level of technique on these other instruments doesn't even begin to compare with what he is able to do on guitar.

[Edited 6/12/11 19:31pm]

Imaginative said:

I remember hearing throughout the 80's things like, "Prince can play 40 instruments!" However, having seen him numerous times in concert and listened to virtually all of the records, and countless live bootlegs, I can safely say I have only heard or seen him play four instruments; guitar, bass, piano and percussion. Out of these four, his is virtuoso on one (guitar), very good at another, but in only one particular style (funk on electric bass), and adequate on the remaining two, piano and percussion (although he is an excellent drum programmer).

Prince is fantastic and I love his music (why do I feel I always need to say that around here?), but his greatest strengths are as a guitarist, composer/arranger and of course, as a live act. Playing four instruments--in particular, those four--is not really such a rarity in pop/rock music. I can name several artists who are even virtuoso in more than one area (i.e. Stevie Wonder on piano, Clavinova, harmonica, and vocals. Also an excellent drummer).

So where is this multi-instrumentalist everyone talks about? I want to hear Prince wail on a trumpet solo, or play a wicked violin part!

[Edited 6/12/11 19:32pm]

Obviously you haven't listen to Prince's drumming on his first two albums. His live drumming is incredible. He is a great drummer, one of the best guitarist, a great pianist and a nasty ass bass player. You really need to search out video that's out there that shows Prince more than adequately ripping shit up on all instruments.

joyinrepetition said:

Imaginative said:

I remember hearing throughout the 80's things like, "Prince can play 40 instruments!" However, having seen him numerous times in concert and listened to virtually all of the records, and countless live bootlegs, I can safely say I have only heard or seen him play four instruments; guitar, bass, piano and percussion. Out of these four, his is virtuoso on one (guitar), very good at another, but in only one particular style (funk on electric bass), and adequate on the remaining two, piano and percussion (although he is an excellent drum programmer).

Prince is fantastic and I love his music (why do I feel I always need to say that around here?), but his greatest strengths are as a guitarist, composer/arranger and of course, as a live act. Playing four instruments--in particular, those four--is not really such a rarity in pop/rock music. I can name several artists who are even virtuoso in more than one area (i.e. Stevie Wonder on piano, Clavinova, harmonica, and vocals. Also an excellent drummer).

So where is this multi-instrumentalist everyone talks about? I want to hear Prince wail on a trumpet solo, or play a wicked violin part!

[Edited 6/12/11 19:32pm]

Obviously you haven't listen to Prince's drumming on his first two albums. His live drumming is incredible. He is a great drummer, one of the best guitarist, a great pianist and a nasty ass bass player. You really need to search out video that's out there that shows Prince more than adequately ripping shit up on all instruments.

Not really looking to debate his chops on the other three instruments, other than to say that his chops on guitar far outweigh any of his other playing skills. Being a pianist myself, I can safely say that I won't find video of Prince "ripping it up," on piano. That's not the kind of player he is. He can comp and accompany his vocals very well on piano. But he cannot play what Renaldo can. He can't really construct a moving solo on piano like he can on guitar. I would call him a "rhythm pianist," for lack of a better term.

But back on topic... just those four instruments, right?

[Edited 6/12/11 21:10pm]

Imaginative said:

I remember hearing throughout the 80's things like, "Prince can play 40 instruments!" However, having seen him numerous times in concert and listened to virtually all of the records, and countless live bootlegs, I can safely say I have only heard or seen him play four instruments; guitar, bass, piano and percussion. Out of these four, his is virtuoso on one (guitar), very good at another, but in only one particular style (funk on electric bass), and adequate on the remaining two, piano and percussion (although he is an excellent drum programmer).

Prince is fantastic and I love his music (why do I feel I always need to say that around here?), but his greatest strengths are as a guitarist, composer/arranger and of course, as a live act. Playing four instruments--in particular, those four--is not really such a rarity in pop/rock music. I can name several artists who are even virtuoso in more than one area (i.e. Stevie Wonder on piano, Clavinova, harmonica, and vocals. Also an excellent drummer).

So where is this multi-instrumentalist everyone talks about? I want to hear Prince wail on a trumpet solo, or play a wicked violin part!

[Edited 6/12/11 19:32pm]

There is at least one recording engineer experienced with working with Prince who says he is a killer drummer, even better than on guitar.

[Edited 6/12/11 22:31pm]

I think Prince is a damn good drummer, I should say great drummer IMHO.

Imaginative said:

I remember hearing throughout the 80's things like, "Prince can play 40 instruments!" However, having seen him numerous times in concert and listened to virtually all of the records, and countless live bootlegs, I can safely say I have only heard or seen him play four instruments; guitar, bass, piano and percussion. Out of these four, his is virtuoso on one (guitar), very good at another, but in only one particular style (funk on electric bass), and adequate on the remaining two, piano and percussion (although he is an excellent drum programmer).

Prince is fantastic and I love his music (why do I feel I always need to say that around here?), but his greatest strengths are as a guitarist, composer/arranger and of course, as a live act. Playing four instruments--in particular, those four--is not really such a rarity in pop/rock music. I can name several artists who are even virtuoso in more than one area (i.e. Stevie Wonder on piano, Clavinova, harmonica, and vocals. Also an excellent drummer).

So where is this multi-instrumentalist everyone talks about? I want to hear Prince wail on a trumpet solo, or play a wicked violin part!

[Edited 6/12/11 19:32pm]

Multi-instrumentalist means, that you can play more than one instrument. Prince does that, and he does it damn well, he pretty much kicks ass on all the instruments he DOES play.

When you can play the instruments Prince plays, as well or better than he does, and write the kinda music he writes, THEN you have grounds to come in and talk shit. Til then you just look jealous, like a catty female who sees a supermodel on the street and goes, "She isn't THAT pretty; her nose is crooked".

Imaginative said:

But back on topic... just those four instruments, right?

[Edited 6/12/11 21:10pm]

Effectively, yes. The 30+ numbers come from counting variations as different instruments: for example guitar = acoustic and electric guitar, piano = piano, harpsichord, digital keyboards, analog synths, drums = drums, percussion, etc. And I think he played flute and sax at times but never really did anything with them.

My take:

Guitar and Vocals = A+
He's really world class at these two IMO.

Piano/Keys = A-
He's a very talented pianist, but not in Chic Corea/Hiromi/Keith Jarrett league IMO.

Bass = B+
He's a great funk bassist, but certainly no Victor Wooten/Marcus Miller.

Drums/Percussion = C+
A solid drummer, no doubt, but nothing super-special.

I guess the most important thing though is that on all of the instruments he plays, he has his own unique 'feel'. And that's more important than being "virtuosic" on each...

Imaginative said:

FunkiestOne said:

It's not a myth that he is a multi-instrumentalist. He can play piano and keyboard and bass really well...plus probably ok on the drums.

How can you say he is only "adequate" on piano?

I'm an adequate piano player myself, and I can tell you that anything I've ever heard Prince play on the piano is pretty easy to play or learn. [...]

Can you play the solo at the end of the Jam Of The Year? Can you do the Rhodes licks that are all over the Rainbow Children? Can you pull off as good a performance consistently on the piano as he does on One Nite Alone? Can you do the runs that he plays on the Lovesexy Live VHS?

More importantly, do you have the imagination and the sense of style to come up with the type of keyboard parts that Prince has used throughout his career for more than 30 years now?

I agree with the main premise of your thread that the amount of instruments he plays was greatly exaggerated back in the day and it's strange to still see that being brought up by the press still to this day. I just find it silly that you are equating all keyboard instruments solely with the piano and that being a good player on it means that you'll have to play really hard parts on it.

By the way, the keyboard instrument Stevie Wonder is famous for playing is the clavinet - the Clavinova is a rather modest line of digital pianos by Yamaha.

This is a bait thread. By definition Multi- instrumentalist means more than 1, several different instruments (guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, drums etc.) the list goes on. This is not a myth, when it comes to Prince it is a FACT. This man among his peers and the industry people is considered a great guitarist, bass, keyboard player and drummer. Since you keep up with all things music know that Prince has graced the cover several different industry musician magazines through out the years. In fact, in the year of 2004 alone, he was on the cover/ featured on every musical industry mag(guitar, bass, keyboard and drummer magazine. Those are serious music magazines. Trust, Prince being the ultimate one man band is not hype.

Tamborine is just not the name of a song, handclapsandfingersnaps etc both of those may seem like hype to some of you, and they are not the hardest instruments to play. They make a sound and you gotta have rhythm to play both of those well.

Prince's talent is not hype. And the fact that you claim to have heard and seen alot of his work and "the myth of ..." is what you come up with, well that says alot about you, not Prince.

Oh I want to see Stevie wail on a sax solo... damn I guess Stevie Wonder is hype as well.

i absolutely agree with 617automatic. Prince is an elite multi instrumentalist in pop/rock music and it is not "hype". Terrence trent darby, Joni Mitchell and Barry Gibb could play too but i dont think any of them could play on Prince's level

Prince is right up there with Stevie, McCartney, John Paul Jones etc. It is not rare to play multiple instruments in pop/rock music but it is rare to play them at Prince's level. It isn't a myth.

Prince was on the cover of modern drummer magazine and they went into great detail when it comes to drumming. He's more than an adequate drummer, listen to Crytal Ball, irrestible bitch, etc.

novabrkr said:

Imaginative said:

I'm an adequate piano player myself, and I can tell you that anything I've ever heard Prince play on the piano is pretty easy to play or learn. [...]

Can you play the solo at the end of the Jam Of The Year? Can you do the Rhodes licks that are all over the Rainbow Children? Can you pull off as good a performance consistently on the piano as he does on One Nite Alone? Can you do the runs that he plays on the Lovesexy Live VHS?

More importantly, do you have the imagination and the sense of style to come up with the type of keyboard parts that Prince has used throughout his career for more than 30 years now?

I agree with the main premise of your thread that the amount of instruments he plays was greatly exaggerated back in the day and it's strange to still see that being brought up by the press still to this day. I just find it silly that you are equating all keyboard instruments solely with the piano and that being a good player on it means that you'll have to play really hard parts on it.

By the way, the keyboard instrument Stevie Wonder is famous for playing is the clavinet - the Clavinova is a rather modest line of digital pianos by Yamaha.

You're right. That was a typo. (I also spend a lot of time on Piano forums!)

Prince is a genius and I love his music. (Not sure why I keep having to say that.)

I didn't know he was such a killer drummer, but as I say in my OP, he surely is an amazing programmer. I just wasn't sure if he could play everything he hears in his head, live on drums. It doesn't surprise me if he can.

Unfortunately, I am not a musical genius; you got me there. That said, if you can produce video or audio of Prince playing piano like Renato Neto, Elton John, Herbie Hancock, Ben Folds, Joe Jackson, Billy Joel, etc. I would love to hear it. I'm going mostly by what I've heard him do live (i.e. Xenophobia 6/24/02). Maybe he was drunk those days.

Regarding, "the imagination and the sense of style to come up with the type of keyboard parts that Prince has used throughout his career," in musical terms, this is called "Arranging." As I say in my OP, he is an absolutely brilliant arranger, (I'll add, not just for keyboards, but for all instruments. Prince can arrange for horns and strings too, but that doesn't make him a saxophonist and violinist).

I might even argue that it's his arranging skills that far outweigh any of his other strengths, but that is the subject for another thread. I do believe that his unique artistic voice comes almost entirely from his approach to arranging, and it's there, as an artist where he is the least derivative of his influences (Hendrix, James Brown, Beatles, etc.)

Really, the point of the thread was to inquire if the myth of Prince playing 40 instruments is a complete myth/exaggeration or if he plays essentially four instruments, as I suspected. It seems that both you and the earlier poster confirmed a.) this myth has indeed been perpetuated, and that b.) in actuality, he plays the four instruments I cite.

Thank you.

Back to my 2002 Aftershows!

[Edited 6/13/11 0:00am]

Prince is a multi-instrumentalist, but you know 40+ instruments? - The spoons or a comb with a tissue don't really count.

Let's just say he plays guitar, bass, piano, drums and percussion and I think we're good, that's more than enough for most people

He obviously isn't on the level of Herbie Hancock as far as his jazz chops go. Herbie has amazed me so many times with his playing that I'm not going to question that. Then again, comparing Prince's funkier keyboard licks to Herbie's could result in a tie (besides, Herbie's non-jazz material after the early-80s has been mostly bullshit). Comparing him to Renato Neto is a trickier question though - we've typically heard Neto's playing in the context of Prince allowing him to add his own touches on already established compositional and harmonic basis. Neto's just adding some additional flourishes to something that in most cases already existed there. A lot of people also find Neto's playing a bit bland and I myself prefer Prince's jazzier chops over him.

I really do think Prince as the type of a keyboard player that plays many different types of keyboard instruments instead of being just a "piano player".

I agree that Prince's "genius" has a lot to do with his arrangements. However, you can not separate "arranging", "composing" and "playing" very conveniently in the context of Prince's material. An "arrangement" concerns the relations between the different instruments and sounds used and the harmonical and the rhythmic generated in the interplay of different parts, so that's obviously not a very good word for the process of simply coming up with a keyboard part. What would that leave to be called as "playing" anyway? Just the solos and the adlibs? I am quite against that type of a view, because it reduces playing to just some sort of sportmanship that can be seen as detachable from the rest of the music. Prince's music doesn't work that way.

Prince playing "seventeen" or even "forty" instruments stems from the way they listed all the instruments he plays on his first album in the liner notes. Most of them were different keyboard instruments and they just listed most of them by manufacturers. I don't think this was a deliberate attempt by Prince or either WB to mislead the public - many 1970s albums have the instruments used on them listed as well. The "myth" was mostly generated by people misunderstanding what that was about. It's also sort of silly that some journalists didn't know that "Moog", "Oberheim" and "ARP" are synthesizers by different companies and not entirely different type of instruments (the joke's on them, really). That just caught on and Prince didn't try to refute it himself at first as it was clearly working in his favour. Of course he has been quite clear later on that he mostly plays just the four different type of instruments (keyboards / guitar / bass / drums).

He has himself stated in an interview from 1997 that he can do some horn parts himself, but that he doesn't do them very often. I suppose if he needs to do some simplistic stuff or overdubs at some parts he can do it. Being a "multi-instrumentalist" however doesn't mean that you'll have to be able to play a smashing solo on each and every instrument that you can play. So the title of your thread is a bit confused.

Imaginative said:

FunkiestOne said:

It's not a myth that he is a multi-instrumentalist. He can play piano and keyboard and bass really well...plus probably ok on the drums.

How can you say he is only "adequate" on piano?

I'm an adequate piano player myself, and I can tell you that anything I've ever heard Prince play on the piano is pretty easy to play or learn. I would put Prince on the same level as McCartney as a piano player. I've never heard him come close to playing what Elton John, Billy Joel, Joe Jackson or Ben Folds can play. (I actually think he's a better drummer than a piano player.)

The best evidence of this is in the 2nd half of the 6/24/02 Xenophobia show at Paisley Park. After his amazing unplugged guitar set, he comes out and sits at the piano for a handful of songs, but when he wants some real piano playing he calls to Renaldo. As soon as Renaldo comes in, you can hear the difference in chops by leaps and bounds.

Other multi-insturmentalists off the top of my head with similar chops:

McCartney

Todd Rundgren

Barry Gibb

Terrence Trent D'Arby

Beck

Joni Mitchell

Brian Jones

Brian Wilson

Paul Simon

Steve Winwood

Sufjan Stevens

I disagree with some other posters here who have claimed prince to be a "boring" or average guitarist; I think he is among the best pop-rock guitarists living today. But his level of technique on these other instruments doesn't even begin to compare with what he is able to do on guitar.

[Edited 6/12/11 19:31pm]

i am sorry but NONE of the above would live with prince on stage if he was jumping from instrument to instrument...terence trent darby tried to jam with prince at paisley park and left with his tail between his legs...he couldnt cope with prince as a musician...i am a fan of mccartney but no way is he as good a piano player as prince or guitar player or drummer....i love beck and have seen him live but he doesnt come close to prince on different instruments....brian wilson...again...fantastic songwriter but no multi instrumentalist on par with prince...

.

the rest are all good musicians but ..no..not on prince's level...the only big name i know who is on prince's level as an all round musician is stevie wonder...

.

one thing i think that hasnt been mentioned is his amazing timing...jimmy jam said prince is the best rhythm guitarist he has ever seen...i have seen him close up in a soundcheck and he really is right on the money when he just picks something up and plays...

.

i am reading jake brown's book on prince in the studio and the engineers present say that when prince is recording drums or the basic rhythm track to a song...he doesnt use a click track ....his timing is that good and the engineers at his recordings say they have never seen a musician like prince...either in the way he records or his ability as a musician...almost all his track recordings are first takes...

.

these recording engineers views give a very good insight in to his abilities because a lot of them have worked with all the big names in music and prince stands out...

.

.

.

guitar..lead and rhythm...10/10

bass...9/10

drums...9/10

keyboards...8/10

.

.

.

ps..just to add to this...renato neto...yes he is a great keyboard player but i dont feel any emotion when he plays...i actually prefer when prince plays the keyboard because when prince plays..and this goes for almost instrument he plays...i can FEEL the music when prince plays...its hard to describe but music seems to flow from inside him...prince isnt the greatest guitar player in the world technically but..to me..he is the greatest because no one makes the guitar sound like he does...

[Edited 6/13/11 1:49am]

[Edited 6/13/11 1:56am]

[Edited 6/13/11 2:08am]

[Edited 6/13/11 3:34am]

I used to be jealous of musicians because i dont play, now i feel better about it i just got an icecream headache reading this lol.

NouveauDance said:

Prince is a multi-instrumentalist, but you know 40+ instruments? - The spoons or a comb with a tissue don't really count.

Let's just say he plays guitar, bass, piano, drums and percussion and I think we're good, that's more than enough for most people

Don't forget the hand cymbals on For You!

Ohh lawrd................

novabrkr said:

Imaginative said:

I'm an adequate piano player myself, and I can tell you that anything I've ever heard Prince play on the piano is pretty easy to play or learn. [...]

Can you play the solo at the end of the Jam Of The Year? Can you do the Rhodes licks that are all over the Rainbow Children? Can you pull off as good a performance consistently on the piano as he does on One Nite Alone? Can you do the runs that he plays on the Lovesexy Live VHS?

More importantly, do you have the imagination and the sense of style to come up with the type of keyboard parts that Prince has used throughout his career for more than 30 years now?

I agree with the main premise of your thread that the amount of instruments he plays was greatly exaggerated back in the day and it's strange to still see that being brought up by the press still to this day. I just find it silly that you are equating all keyboard instruments solely with the piano and that being a good player on it means that you'll have to play really hard parts on it.

By the way, the keyboard instrument Stevie Wonder is famous for playing is the clavinet - the Clavinova is a rather modest line of digital pianos by Yamaha.

Great examples, and there are many more.

I clicked on this thread and I knew going in how it was going to end up.

Of course the OP is correct in the fact that the "Prince plays over 40 instruments" is nothing but hype. He plays 4. Period. I can't believe that some people still hang on to the myth that he plays horn when he's never been documented as doing so in 30+ years or so. Prince does not play sax or flute. Please stop that mess.

Now it doesn't take away from his talent or require the usual response from the fambots in defense of their purple liege.

Prince is an amazing guitarist and drummer, a pretty good pianist and a decent bassist.

In my opinion.

a myth is when you talk about a "straight path" in terms of religion or "chosen people" being closer to G__ than others

how many here know exactlly what Prince does on ALL of his releases?

amazing how some Prince "fans" are just

>>

blackbob said:

.

.

.

ps..just to add to this...renato neto...yes he is a great keyboard player but i dont feel any emotion when he plays...i actually prefer when prince plays the keyboard because when prince plays..and this goes for almost instrument he plays...i can FEEL the music when prince plays...its hard to describe but music seems to flow from inside him...prince isnt the greatest guitar player in the world technically but..to me..he is the greatest because no one makes the guitar sound like he does...

[Edited 6/13/11 1:49am]

[Edited 6/13/11 1:56am]

[Edited 6/13/11 2:08am]

[Edited 6/13/11 3:34am]

Off topic, but I have to say that Renato had some absolutely stunning solo moments at The Forum. Really stunning! Of Prince's band, he was the biggest standout of the shows, IMO.

my grandfather could play many instruments fluently by ear ..

piano

accordian

banjo

violin

mandolin

guitar

while accordian and piano are similar they have significant differences as do banjo mandolin violin compared to guitar .. different tunings .. no frets .. picking and pluck styles .. a bow is involved

on my fathers side my great grandfather was leader of his own orchestra and he and my father and his father all played outstanding trumpet

i took sax lessons for 5 years but its my worst instrument,

i've never heard prince try anything beyond guitar bass drums and keyboards .. nothing interesting like say john paul jones who played keys, bass and mandolin at virtuoso level ..

or say george harrison who brought the sitar to the mainstream

even on stringed instruments prince wont go beyond a guitar bass and learn the different tunings and styles

the 40 instruments prince has bragged about in interviews is likely actual instruments that he dabbles in but really either can't handle on a even a close to pro level or they are just too simple to even count .. i am sure he could squeak out a note or two on violin and maybe counts the "triangle" as an instrumentalist .. but the fact remains you don't get to be a POP star with out a LOT of hype .. prince has always worked the full spectrum to his advantage .. between the assless chaps, name change, master of 40 instruments and one man recording artist there is plenty of overblown hype to wet the appetite of the pop consumer

i would disagree that prince best instrument is guitar .. i think its probably bass because prince plays guitar like a bass player .. prince best songs are written around his best bass lines ... like erotic city, if i was ur girlfriend, 17 days .. they are complicated riffs too .. and his good guitar songs are written around just very simple chords .. like purple rain, the cross, raspberry beret .. when prince tries to write a guitar riff, it sounds like dreamer .. which sounds like a cheap and underwhelming hendrix rip .. his coolest guitar work came from wendy on computer blue and the melody for fathers song was his dads

when prince puts a guitar part in a song it is often very simple and sounds more like a bass lick than a guitar solo .. yup i know he plays plenty guitar solos too .. but usually the guitar in his songs is very simplistic (flashy solos not included)

his guitar solos are very good technically but its more like a fast run than anything unique and interesting to the ear .. i've heard him play fast runs on bass like that too .. so again i think its an offshoot of his strength as a bass player

i have never been impressed with prince on piano .. he does nice stuff like venus de milo (was that him or lisa tho?) but he usually just plays some ragtime esque solo .. renato is technically way better but he bores me worse than prince guitar solos .. as in they are interchangeable on most every song .. whats worse is renato solos are lite jazz and they ruin prince songs .. elton stevie and thousands of others are far better on keys

drums .. prince needs a click track .. he does not keep perfect time without it .. he used to play along with his drum machine .. which is the same as a click track .. see irresistable bitch, lady cab driver .. most people who dabble in drums can pull off a decent funky take like prince but also like prince .. cannot play at that level for a 3 hour live show .. and thats the difference between real drummers and those who dabble like prince .. heck even kurt cobain sat behind the drums every once in a while .. dave groll plays drums bass and guitar ... stevie plays keys drums and i've seen studio picks with him on bass as well .. trent reznor classically trained keys . guitar drums bass .. paul mccartney plays all ..

so someone mentioned that terence trent couldn't hang with prince and i'll remind you that questlove tried jamming with prince and apparantly couldn't hang either .. questlove is one of the top drummers on the planet right now .. soo hmmm maybe its prince that can't hang

NelsonR said:

a myth is when you talk about a "straight path" in terms of religion or "chosen people" being closer to G__ than others

how many here know exactlly what Prince does on ALL of his releases?

amazing how some Prince "fans" are just

>>

Once again, I've been revealed for my true self! My inquiring how many instruments Prince plays was an act of pure jealousy!

Again, I really want to hear Prince play piano on the level of the artists I mention. Hope one of these "fans" can help me out.

Prince actually does right good guitar riffs- why you wanna treat me so bad, bambi, she's always in my hair. While i do not think of him as a great riff writer, anyone who believes he cannot write good guitar riffs is either ignorant or a hater.

Anyway terrence could not hang with prince, not the other way around. Yes Prince can hang with anyone as a mi.

And to say prince "dabbles" in drums is yet another idiotic statement. Prince plays drums at PRO LEVEL. He does not dabble, he adctually plays it at a pro level- see crytal ball as an example

John Paul Jones is a great musician but he does not play multiple instruments at a "virtuoso" level. Its rare for a musician to be a "vituoso" at more than one instrument.

[Edited 6/13/11 8:17am]

TrevorAyer said:

drums .. prince needs a click track .. he does not keep perfect time without it .. he used to play along with his drum machine .. which is the same as a click track .. see irresistable bitch, lady cab driver .. most people who dabble in drums can pull off a decent funky take like prince but also like prince .. cannot play at that level for a 3 hour live show .. and thats the difference between real drummers and those who dabble like prince .. heck even kurt cobain sat behind the drums every once in a while .. dave groll plays drums bass and guitar ... stevie plays keys drums and i've seen studio picks with him on bass as well .. trent reznor classically trained keys . guitar drums bass .. paul mccartney plays all ..

so someone mentioned that terence trent couldn't hang with prince and i'll remind you that questlove tried jamming with prince and apparantly couldn't hang either .. questlove is one of the top drummers on the planet right now .. soo hmmm maybe its prince that can't hang

any evidence for this? Or is it something you like to make up. Prince does not "Dabble" on drums, he plays them at a professional level. He is more than good enough to be a pro drummer.

Comparing Prince's drumming to Kurt cobain is yet another idiotic statement that no sensible person could ever make. Dabbling, huh? You are very good at making things up and discrediting Prince. Then again this isnt a surprise coming from someone who makes one stupid statement after the other.

[Edited 6/13/11 8:38am]

Prince doesn't play a large number of instruments for a performer/songwriter type. Most can play some drums, piano, guitar and bass. He knows some flashy tricks on all of those instuments but that's not really extaordinary for a guy in a band for a long time. Prince also can't sing in multiple octaves, read sheet music, or understand music theory.

funksterr said:

Prince doesn't play a large number of instruments for a performer/songwriter type. Most can play some drums, piano, guitar and bass. He knows some flashy tricks on all of those instuments but that's not really extaordinary for a guy in a band for a long time. Prince also can't sing in multiple octaves, read sheet music, or understand music theory.

most cannot play at that level. There are very few who can. His multi instrumentalism is extraordinary actually. You do not need to read music if you've made some of the best music ever. Paul mccartney does not read music either, so what?