It's often been said that he can play a whole bunch of instruments and I'd like to ask you for some help in identifying other ones because I can't seem to come up with more than 4 that I've actually seen him play...

Guitar (electric, acoustic and so on)
Piano (assorted keyboards)
Bass
Drums

Don't get me wrong, he plays the hell out of these instruments and is extremely proficient and that is oustanding in its own right, but do you guys have any evidence that he has/had played other instruments on commercial albums or live concerts that indicates that he can play the 36 other or so instruments?

I'd go nuts if I can find a clip of him playing some horns or a violin for example.

Mandolin --> 77 Beverly Park

Harmonica on "Theives"..although it may have been sampled.

Sax on "The Love We Make". A very low, quick and small drone note.

Electric sitar on "7".

I thought he played banjo during the card scene in "Grafitti Bridge" but there is a credit at the end of the movie to someone else.

SPYZFAN1 said:

It is a sample.

He plays harmonica on the 12" extended version of Raspberry Beret.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Haha, seriously? You'd never heard Duelin' Banjo's before?

Don't forget the water drum..lol

Browzer said:

This has been covered a lot since the early publicity claims made of Prince being a multi-instrumentalist. The reference to his being able to play many was probably supported by the number of instruments listed on the liner notes of his first album. However, instead of listing simply 'bass', or 'keyboards', the sleeve notes name every different type of bass and keyboards that he used.

There are no clips of him, of which I am aware, actually playing instruments such as violin or horns (although he is shown pretending to play on the 'Face Down' video, for example).

The claims as to whether he can play horns are mixed. It's suggested that he did begin to learn sax at school, and some have suggested that Candy Dulfer claims to have seen Prince playing saxophone, and said he wasn't bad. I've never come across the source quotation to substantiate it, to date. Prince himself stated in 1998 that he had played horns on some recordings, but gave no examples. In a separate, later interview, Eric Leeds suggested that Prince could not play saxophone as he had not developed an embouchure. Obviously, he regularly looks to and credits others for horn-playing on his recordings, which might suggest that, if he can play horns, it's not to the standard on other instruments. Similarly, he has called on other string arrangers, and Vanessa Mae, for isntance, when violin has been included in recordings.

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[Edited 4/25/09 8:19am]