Is it fair to say, that Prince has played all the instruments on every non live cd he's done?
I was listening to Lovesexy on the way to work and was struck by the drumming on Dance on. The liner notes indicate that Sheila E. handled drums, but is that in name only with Prince actually playing the drums on the final version?
I also wonder if Prince plays any brass instruments such as Sax or Trumpet. If he doesn't, does he say to the musicians I want a line like this, "bah bah be dah" and they play it? I don't recall seeing if Prince can read music scores or write them...

PurpleRein said:

Prince doesn't play every instrument on his albums - but most.

Invariably, the musicians are credited on the album liner notes because they played the instruments on the recordings.

In the case of horn and string arrangements, sometimes Prince asks others to do this, and sometimes he provides input. For example, Clare Fischer often provides string arrangements - Wendy and Lisa have also received credit. On other occasions, Prince will contribute with musical ideas. For example, Prince is co-credited (along with Michael B Nelson) on 'The Gold Experience' with the horn arrangement on 'Billy Jack Bitch'. On such occasions, Prince might provide the lead line to the arrangement, with the co-contributor scoring the arrangement for several instruments around it.

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[Edited 1/31/06 12:59pm]