Just listen to Prince's first two albums. That answers all questions on how good he is at the major band instruments. Phenomenal!

BTW Prince can read music and he does know music theory, why do you think he's so damn great?

joyinrepetition said:

Just listen to Prince's first two albums. That answers all questions on how good he is at the major band instruments. Phenomenal!

BTW Prince can read music and he does know music theory, why do you think he's so damn great?

exactly. While the OP asked a legitimate question, its hard to understand there are people who think that Prince is average or that he "dabbles" in drumming. Must be trolls or simply haters.

two other studio engineers and a musical genius like Miles davis have called him a good drummer, yet trolls on this site think he is merely a "dabbler"

[Edited 6/13/11 9:23am]

funksterr said:

Prince also can't sing in multiple octaves, read sheet music, or understand music theory.

didnt you see purple rain?

hhhhdmt said:

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]

john paul jones played bass and keys live and furthermore most of those "guitar" riffs zep are famous for came from JPJ .. which accentuates my point that i think Prince is more of a bass player than a guitar player .. riffs like 'she's always in my hair' are very simple and written in the way a bass player would think while holding a guitar ..

here is a riff written by a guitar player for compare and contrast purposes

http://www.youtube.com/wa...uns_DAwkOo

it has been noted that when prince plays on his record sans click or drum machine that the tempo fluxuates .. its not a big deal .. just true .. sheila e plays a pro level .. prince hits a funky stride at times but is mostly a .....

dabbler

its nice to see further recognition that many songwriters play multiple instruments at a competent or even pro level .. cuz its true

hhhhdmt said:

joyinrepetition said:

Just listen to Prince's first two albums. That answers all questions on how good he is at the major band instruments. Phenomenal!

BTW Prince can read music and he does know music theory, why do you think he's so damn great?

exactly. While the OP asked a legitimate question, its hard to understand there are people who think that Prince is average or that he "dabbles" in drumming. Must be trolls or simply haters.

"He can play drums, he can play the hell outta the drums"---Miles Davis speaking about Prince

two other studio engineers and a musical genius like Miles davis have called him a good drummer, yet trolls on this site think he is merely a "dabbler"

[Edited 6/13/11 9:23am]

Not only that but one engineer said he was (unknown to his non-privy audience) probably better on drums than guitar.

TrevorAyer said:

hhhhdmt said:

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]

john paul jones played bass and keys live and furthermore most of those "guitar" riffs zep are famous for came from JPJ .. which accentuates my point that i think Prince is more of a bass player than a guitar player .. riffs like 'she's always in my hair' are very simple and written in the way a bass player would think while holding a guitar ..

here is a riff written by a guitar player for compare and contrast purposes

http://www.youtube.com/wa...uns_DAwkOo

it has been noted that when prince plays on his record sans click or drum machine that the tempo fluxuates .. its not a big deal .. just true .. sheila e plays a pro level .. prince hits a funky stride at times but is mostly a .....

dabbler

its nice to see further recognition that many songwriters play multiple instruments at a competent or even pro level .. cuz its true

most people here do not consider prince a better bassist than a guitar player, because he is a much better guitarist.

I never said JPJ did not play multiple instruments in concerts- he did, there is a huge difference between that and being a virtouso on an instrument. He is a great multi instrumentalist but not a virtuoso on many instruments

Yes there are many other mi's. Prince is at an elite level though. And your trolling about him "dabbling" in drumming will not change that

As far as "simple" riffs are concerned, simple riffs are often the best ones. Smoke on the water by deep purple is a simple riff and its amazing and very popular. Whole Lotta love by zeppelin isnt very hard either, same with Walk this way by aerosmith. The greatness of a riff has nothing to do with its complexity but how effective it is. Prince is a good riff writer, period. Bambi, She's always in my hair, why you wanna treat me so bad are all good riffs.

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

>>

What is with everybody always throwing this "Jealous" shit around?! Who on this site comes here to be "Jealous" of Prince? If you're jealous, you would ignore this site just out of jealousy. All your going to get is dogged coming here for saying anything negative about the guy anyway! I see what the point is on this thread, & I don't see the whole "Bait" thing whatsoever! It's ones opinion...he may have a point [unless tamborines, cowbells, & stuff like that count.]...

[Edited 6/13/11 10:24am]

so you DON'T think John Paul Jones is a virtuoso?

i don't see how prince can be a virtuoso if JPJ is not .. that's like when u said Paul McCartney was not a virtuoso .. u better get to the hospital quick before u OD on that purple cool aid

prince is a virtuoso singer .. thats it!

good on other instruments (but not as many as he claims)

great song writer

the fact that prince butchered whole lotta love is a good test of his true guitar skills .. he has a few tricks but cannot handle a song as huge as that even tho the riff is very simple .. he sounds worse than most kids in the guitar shop on that one .. jimi page is the kind of player that guitar students learn each and every solo note for note .. same with hendrix, david gilmour, santana etc... prince does not write or perform guitar on that level at all .. wish he would, think he could if he put his mind to it .. but he just doesn't.

now step away from the "troll" and "hater" buttons on ur keyboard and listen to some zep and beatles .. u might like it

Imaginative said:

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]

LoL I will agree that Prince is best on guitar, but imho his piano playing is far from "rhythm" only. Have you seen Under the Cherry Moon or heard his intro to Condition of the Heart (not even touching his playing throughout the song). Idk what constitutes as "moving" for you, but I think his piano playing, at least in those instances, should definitely make the cut. Furthermore, there's nothing simple about the melodies he plays on the piano - in fact, there's nothing simple about many of the melodies Prince comes up with in general. I think quite a few of his compositions are among some of the most theoretically complex you'll find outside the world of classical music - or at least that you'll find within the world of pop, r&b, soul, funk, ect.

[Edited 6/13/11 10:39am]

[Edited 6/13/11 10:42am]

I like the sounds he makes on whatever instruments he plays very much.

What else matters?

you clown, you have no idea of what you are talking about

Paul Mccartney is a great bassist and good on other instruments. Prince is a great guitarist and good on other instruments. And so on

The fact that you called prince a "dabbler" drummer shows how utterly clueless you are. Miles davis said he was an excellent drummer, so did some of the studio engineers and his drumming skills are evident on crytal ball for example. He plays drums at a pro level, yet you dismiss him as a dabber and compare his drumming to kurt cobain. You claimed that he cannot keep perfect time without it while providing no evidence. Clueless beyond words

Prince is a fantasic guitarist and more than good enough to be on anyone's top 100 list. Yet trolls like you will never get it. And prince's true guitar skills are showcased in plenty of songs, like while my guitar gently weeps, just my imagination etc. He is a great guitarist, period.

I have listened to plenty of beatles and zeppelin. If you have ever visited the non music forumi actually have talked about other artists like zeppelinl beatles etc and listed my favourite songs from these groups and so on.

To put it simply, you are a hater, simple as that. You comments about his drumming and guitar skills are evidence of that.

RodeoSchro said:

I like the sounds he makes on whatever instruments he plays very much.

What else matters?

Nothing that is why I'm amazed this silly thread is still going.

TrevorAyer said:

technically, four is "multi" is it not? But I see what you're saying.

But percussion is not necessarily one instrument. That is where these huge numbers come from. Keyboards, too.

funksterr said:

Prince also can't sing in multiple octaves

TrevorAyer said:

it has been noted that when prince plays on his record sans click or drum machine that the tempo fluxuates .. its not a big deal .. just true ..

Can you give an example of this please?

Imaginative said:

TrevorAyer said:

so you DON'T think John Paul Jones is a virtuoso?

i don't see how prince can be a virtuoso if JPJ is not .. that's like when u said Paul McCartney was not a virtuoso .. u better get to the hospital quick before u OD on that purple cool aid

prince is a virtuoso singer .. thats it!

good on other instruments (but not as many as he claims)

great song writer

the fact that prince butchered whole lotta love is a good test of his true guitar skills .. he has a few tricks but cannot handle a song as huge as that even tho the riff is very simple .. he sounds worse than most kids in the guitar shop on that one .. jimi page is the kind of player that guitar students learn each and every solo note for note .. same with hendrix, david gilmour, santana etc... prince does not write or perform guitar on that level at all .. wish he would, think he could if he put his mind to it .. but he just doesn't.

now step away from the "troll" and "hater" buttons on ur keyboard and listen to some zep and beatles .. u might like it

I would not rate Prince as a virtuoso vocalist along the lines of Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. Like Hendrix, his voice suits his music perfectly, for the most part. He has a great command of his head-voice (falsetto), but that ability actually stems from his having to compensate for a narrow range in his full voice. But then again, you and I differ on what kind of guitarist he is. I place him among the best living guitarists.

ha! thats cool .. while i would agree that there are many better singers than prince .. stevie is a good example .. the shit prince pulls at the end of kiss just blows me away .. and he deserves credit for all the great harmonies .. and when he is on .. he really sings great .. especially for a guy his age

plus his singing melodies inspire me far more than his guitar melodies .. he is very good on guitar i just never find myself impressed with his solo melodies and phrasing .. i don't see him really pushing the envelope of guitar playing like he does with his singing ..

hendrix is a good example .. hendrix pushed the guitar limits but didn't really do much with his singing .. prince in my opinion was the oposite .. prince seems to approach the guitar as secondary and just another part of the over all sound .. even the keyboard and drums.. prince did more to reinvent the sounds and styles .. putting them thru multiple effects giving them that huge larger than life ooomph .. playing with the echo every 4th or 8th beat on the snare .. lots of cool stuff still being immitated today .. those fat synth lines that he still cant recreate today on renatos sampler

but guitar .. i suppose some of those sped up super high funk lics on erotic city are interesting but mostly he has taken a very traditional approach to guitar .. bands like phish, hendrix, page and especially jeff beck really delve into the subtle beauty that can be pullled from a guitar .. prince sound always sounds like stock guitar .. and how i would love to hear prince on a real acoustic sometime .. instead of that electro acoustic he played all over the truth that had zero tone to it .. choices like those make me scratch my head at his approach to guitar ..

even on bass he inspires me more with his tones and melody lines ..

i suppose i rate my virtuosos in terms more to do with composition on said instrument than ability to perform .. afterall .. american idol pops out a new virtuoso singer every year even tho they all bore me to death ..

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?

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.

His name is RENATO. Pay some respect, you "expert".

TrevorAyer said:

but guitar .. i suppose some of those sped up super high funk lics on erotic city are interesting but mostly he has taken a very traditional approach to guitar ..

true, his lead is good, but nothing that we have never heard before

His rhythm playing is really good, though, and it is not just sped up stuff on recordings. I was listening to Indigo Nights, and he is doing some stuff behind Maceo on All the Critics Love U that (as a guitar player of 25 years) I certainly do not know how to do myself. It is not just chords. And he just throws it out effortlessly, and dead on rhythmically. It's perfect. I don't know that he is the "greatest rhythm player blah blah blah..." but that is where he really impresses me on guitar.

Actually that is true of Hendrix, too. He gets attention for his solos, but it is the subtle way he holds down both rhythm and lead at the same time that impresses me even more.

Jesus Christ...

hhhhdmt said:

you clown, you have no idea of what you are talking about

Paul Mccartney is a great bassist and good on other instruments. Prince is a great guitarist and good on other instruments. And so on

The fact that you called prince a "dabbler" drummer shows how utterly clueless you are. Miles davis said he was an excellent drummer, so did some of the studio engineers and his drumming skills are evident on crytal ball for example. He plays drums at a pro level, yet you dismiss him as a dabber and compare his drumming to kurt cobain. You claimed that he cannot keep perfect time without it while providing no evidence. Clueless beyond words

Prince is a fantasic guitarist and more than good enough to be on anyone's top 100 list. Yet trolls like you will never get it. And prince's true guitar skills are showcased in plenty of songs, like while my guitar gently weeps, just my imagination etc. He is a great guitarist, period.

I have listened to plenty of beatles and zeppelin. If you have ever visited the non music forumi actually have talked about other artists like zeppelinl beatles etc and listed my favourite songs from these groups and so on.

To put it simply, you are a hater, simple as that. You comments about his drumming and guitar skills are evidence of that.

This is nonsense... I'm a drummer and to be honest Prince's drumming is not all that, it's solid at best but certainly nothing remarkable. I think this poster obviously holds Prince is far to high esteem and is not in the slightest objective about it. There's many a drummer on the planet, probably including myself that can run circles around Prince's drumming.

As for the other 39 instruments.... I believed that when I was 14, then I found out it was like, 1, piano, 2, clavinet 3, Rhodes and I was like oh I see, in that case anyone who can play keys can play at least 1000 instruments if we're gonna name every synth on the planet.

I think he's a pretty good guitarist and bassist. In all cases I think his musicality is more prevelant than his technical ability though. I know plenty of guitarists who think he is technically not all that eaither.

Anybody guitarist who's actually bothered to learn a Prince guitar solo would tell you that it's not particularly challenging.

He's definately a decent guitarist - it's not all show unlike Lenny Kravitz. But no amount of on-stage orgasm faces will convince me that he's a virtuoso. As a guitarist, he doesn't hold a candle to Jeff Beck, Santana, Joe Perry, Ron Thal, Buckethead. Now those guys are virtuosos.

Well, the world call him "one man band" for a reason! He can play any instrument of a modern, post-Beatles pop/rock band: guitar, bass, piano/keys, drums. The + 40 instruments was just, as many orgers have said, marketing bullshit...

BUT he also dominates synths, drum programming and nearly every string instrument...

My list of instruments that Prince probably can't play...or is not interested about:

-violin, viola, etc, in other words, stuff played with a bow...

-wind instruments (lol)

of course, I (we) could be totally wrong...

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

Bewdy said:

hhhhdmt said:

you clown, you have no idea of what you are talking about

Paul Mccartney is a great bassist and good on other instruments. Prince is a great guitarist and good on other instruments. And so on

The fact that you called prince a "dabbler" drummer shows how utterly clueless you are. Miles davis said he was an excellent drummer, so did some of the studio engineers and his drumming skills are evident on crytal ball for example. He plays drums at a pro level, yet you dismiss him as a dabber and compare his drumming to kurt cobain. You claimed that he cannot keep perfect time without it while providing no evidence. Clueless beyond words

Prince is a fantasic guitarist and more than good enough to be on anyone's top 100 list. Yet trolls like you will never get it. And prince's true guitar skills are showcased in plenty of songs, like while my guitar gently weeps, just my imagination etc. He is a great guitarist, period.

I have listened to plenty of beatles and zeppelin. If you have ever visited the non music forumi actually have talked about other artists like zeppelinl beatles etc and listed my favourite songs from these groups and so on.

To put it simply, you are a hater, simple as that. You comments about his drumming and guitar skills are evidence of that.

This is nonsense... I'm a drummer and to be honest Prince's drumming is not all that, it's solid at best but certainly nothing remarkable. I think this poster obviously holds Prince is far to high esteem and is not in the slightest objective about it. There's many a drummer on the planet, probably including myself that can run circles around Prince's drumming.

As for the other 39 instruments.... I believed that when I was 14, then I found out it was like, 1, piano, 2, clavinet 3, Rhodes and I was like oh I see, in that case anyone who can play keys can play at least 1000 instruments if we're gonna name every synth on the planet.

I think he's a pretty good guitarist and bassist. In all cases I think his musicality is more prevelant than his technical ability though. I know plenty of guitarists who think he is technically not all that eaither.

i am not claiming that prince plays like dennis chambers or something because he doesnt, and i have no problem being objective. what i am saying is that he can play drums, and he isn't a "dabbler". Nor do i think he is a great bassist or piano player, i think he's good at them but not great.

TrevorAyer said:

john paul jones played bass and keys live and furthermore most of those "guitar" riffs zep are famous for came from JPJ .. which accentuates my point that i think Prince is more of a bass player than a guitar player .. riffs like 'she's always in my hair' are very simple and written in the way a bass player would think while holding a guitar ..

here is a riff written by a guitar player for compare and contrast purposes

http://www.youtube.com/wa...uns_DAwkOo

I'm not sure what this link was supposed to prove.

Trevor, I listened to some of your own music that I found by following the bandcamp link you're using as your signature. While I don't dislike your material I just think it's likely that your ideals are far removed from what Prince is doing musically.

Prince has done a lot of rock music over the years, but the ideals he uses are firmly rooted in funk / soul music. It is a more restrained approach. Musicians in those styles play riffs that generally have fewer notes and the music is more based on the alternation of different elements.

hhhhdmt said:

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?

Prince does not play any instument at greater than a 5/10 skill level. So what? He is still an incredible artist. I have seen a lot of cats that can play the hell out of guitar, bass and piano. The fact that Prince can get play some funk (lite, lol) on these instruments is not, in and of itself, extraordinary.

Ultimately, what matters is that what he plays sounds musical.

He played all the instruments on a bunch of his songs and he made classics out of them. There are a lot of great musicians out there, but they have not all made music that feels good and resonates with so many people.

funksterr said:

hhhhdmt said:

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?

Prince does not play any instument at greater than a 5/10 skill level. So what? He is still an incredible artist. I have seen a lot of cats that can play the hell out of guitar, bass and piano. The fact that Prince can get play some funk (lite, lol) on these instruments is not, in and of itself, extraordinary.

based on what? Obviously he isnt the best at any instrument but this is a silly statement.

NDRU said:

Ultimately, what matters is that what he plays sounds musical.

He played all the instruments on a bunch of his songs and he made classics out of them. There are a lot of great musicians out there, but they have not all made music that feels good and resonates with so many people.

^ Thank You

many people just forget that music is art, subjective stuff. When they start talking about virtuosism, "mistakes", levels, etc, I can't help but thinking: "ok, take a fucking time machine to the 18th Century"

20th century music is NOT Mozart or Bach, for fuck's sake...

[Edited 6/13/11 11:46am]

It's known Prince is at least a capable musician but he wasn't trying to be the greatest instrumentalist or anything. Maybe it's just not your cup of tea but you're trying to excuse it by comparing to other musicians who probably play better than he does but what point does that really prove?