Which Instrument Do They Play? Quiz

Answer: Piano/keyboard

Tori Amos is a singer-songwriter and pianist. A child prodigy, she learned to play by ear at just two years old, and was composing by the age of three. She was admitted to the Peabody Institute at the age of five, the youngest student to be enrolled at the time; however, she was later expelled because she was more interested in rock music (especially Led Zeppelin) than classical music. As a teenager, she played in gay bars, chaperoned by her father, a minister. She had a brief stint singing in a rock band, Y Kant Tori Read, so called because of her difficulties with sight reading; however, the band's album was a flop and she went solo. She released her first solo album, 'Little Earthquakes', in 1992.

Throughout her career, Amos has experimented with various styles, from electronica on 'From the Choirgirl Hotel' and 'To Venus & Back' to soul on 'The Beekeeper', adult-oriented rock on 'Scarlet's Walk' and even classical on 'Night of Hunters', featuring songs based on classical pieces. She released a covers album, 'Strange Little Girls', featuring songs written by men, in 2001; she played a different character for each song. Her other concept albums include 'American Doll Posse', where she sang songs as five different women representing different feminine archetypes, and 'Unrepentant Geraldines', inspired by art. She had a cameo in 'Mona Lisa Smile' as a jazz singer.

Answer: Piano/keyboard

Fiona Apple is a singer-songwriter and pianist. Although she is often compared to Tori Amos, who is also in this quiz, Apple is more influenced by jazz, although she is classically trained. She began writing songs at the age of eight and would play the piano along to jazz standards and music on the television. She released her first album, 'Tidal', in 1996; the following year, she won the MTV Music Award for 'Sleep to Dream' and made a rather unprintable acceptance speech. Her second album, 'When the Pawn...' has a very long title, a poem she wrote in response to negative coverage in 'Spin', which got her into the Guinness Book of World Records until Soulwax released 'Most of the Remixes...' in 2007, which had an even longer full title.

Apple's third album, 'Extraordinary Machine' was delayed multiple times, to the point where fans led campaigns calling for its release; it finally saw the light of day in 2005. A dog lover, she sampled the barks of her dog on her fifth album, 'Fetch the Bolt Cutters', and used the bones of her dead pit bull Janet as a percussion instrument. The album also featured 'Shameika', a song about Shameika Stepney, an older girl who gave her a pep talk at school. Thanks to an old teacher, Apple and Stepney were reunited and Stepney recorded a single with Apple guesting.

Answer: Trumpet/cornet

Alison Balsom is a classical trumpeter. She started playing the trumpet at the age of seven and played in her local brass band, the Royston Town Band. At the age of 15, she joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain; she later studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Håkan Hardenberger, a Swedish trumpeter and conductor. Between 2004 and 2006, she was one of the musicians who took part in the Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, a scheme for up-and-coming classical and jazz singers and musicians; under the scheme, she played with various BBC orchestras as a soloist in several pieces for trumpet and orchestra.

Balsom released her first album, 'Music for Trumpet and Organ', in 2002. A fan of JS Bach, she recorded an album of his pieces in 2005. Her trumpet of choice is a Bach C trumpet. She appeared in an advert for the BBC in which several artists performed the Beach Boys' 'G-d Only Knows' as The Impossible Orchestra, where she sat on a swing while playing a piccolo trumpet. In 2016, she received an OBE for her services to music.

Answer: Trumpet/cornet

Leon 'Bix' Beiderbecke was a jazz trumpeter or, to be more specific, a jazz cornettist. The cornet is similar to the trumpet, but has a more compact shape and is often found in brass bands. While he did play the piano, and recorded one composition called 'In a Mist', it was the cornet which was his signature instrument. As a child, Beiderbecke taught himself to play the cornet by playing along to Original Dixieland Jazz Band trumpeter Nick LaRocca's parts; he would later play on 'Singin' the Blues', a cover of one of their songs. He played with various bands, such as the Wolverines and Jean Goldkette and Paul Whiteman's orchestras.

Sadly, like many jazz greats, Beiderbecke led a life plagued by addiction; he was a heavy drinker, even being expelled from school because of his drinking habits, and long-time alcohol abuse contributed to his death from lobar pneumonia, aged just 28.

Answer: Guitar

James Dean Bradfield is the lead singer and guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers. He and his cousin, drummer Sean Moore, wrote the band's music while bassist Nicky Wire and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards - until his disappearance in 1995 - wrote the lyrics. Named after the actor James Dean, he learned to play guitar by playing along to Guns 'n' Roses' 'Appetite for Destruction'; G'n'R were a major influence on the Manics' debut album, 'Generation Terrorists', and they covered 'Sweet Child o'Mine' at some of their gigs. Bradfield had a mammoth task in front of him when trying to write tunes for Edwards' wordy lyrics, which often resulted in him accenting the wrong syllable ('The Holy Bible', the Manics' third - and best, in my opinion - album has many examples of this).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bradfield learned to play the piano and several tracks on the Manics' 2021 album 'The Ultra Vivid Lament' featured piano parts. Outside the Manics, he released his first solo album, 'The Great Western', in 2006; a second solo album, 'Even in Exile', was based on the life of the Chilean singer and poet Victor Jara, who was murdered by the Pinochet government. Bradfield and Moore co-wrote several songs with Kylie Minogue for her 1997 album 'Kylie' aka 'Impossible Princess', and he duetted with Tom Jones on a cover of Elvis Presley's 'I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone'.

Answer: Guitar

You might not have heard of singer/guitarist Annie Clark, but you may know her by the name of St Vincent. She learned to play the guitar at the age of 12 and roadied for her uncle Tuck Andress, who played in Tuck & Patti, a duo with his wife Patti. Clark started out as a member of the Polyphonic Spree, a choral rock group whose many members wore colourful robes; she played guitar and keyboards and sang backing vocals; she left in 2006. In 2004, she was one of 100 guitarists playing with the noise-rock composer Glenn Branca in a performance of 'Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City)'. She branched out as a solo musician in 2006 with the EP 'Paris Is Burning', and then her debut album 'Marry Me' in 2007.

In 2017, Clark was the first female ambassador for Record Store Day. She produced Sleater-Kinney's ninth album 'The Centre Won't Hold' in 2019, which subsequently received a mixed reception from fans due to its drastically different sound. She also starred in 'The Nowhere Inn', playing a fictionalised version of herself, where she co-wrote the script with Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein. Her sixth album 'Daddy's Home', about her father's release from prison, won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2022.

Answer: Guitar

Noel Gallagher is the lead guitarist and songwriter of Oasis, as well as the second vocalist, with younger brother Liam handling lead vocal duties. Inspired by the Smiths' Johnny Marr, he taught himself to play guitar as a teenager. Originally a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, he joined Liam's band, The Rain, after Liam replaced original singer Chris Hutton. At Oasis' peak in the 1990s and 2000s, he wrote eight UK Number One singles. (If you're wondering, they're 'Some Might Say', 'Don't Look Back in Anger', 'D'You Know What I Mean?', 'All Around the World', 'Go Let It Out', 'The Hindu Times', 'Lyla' and 'The Importance of Being Idle', two of which feature him on lead vocals.) He also sang on various B-sides, including 'Half the World Away', which became the theme for 'The Royle Family'.

Gallagher's tenure with Oasis was marred by his difficult relationship with his brother; the two would often fight and one such argument, during an interview with the 'NME', was released as a single on Fierce Panda called 'Wibbling Rivalry'. Noel finally left Oasis in 2009, when the band were forced to cancel a set at a music festival in Paris. After Oasis, Gallagher formed Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and released a live solo album for the Teenage Cancer Trust in 2009. To the surprise of many, Oasis reformed in 2024 and announced a tour for the following year, with tickets being as hard to come by as Taylor Swift tickets, due to a complicated ordering process.

Answer: Trumpet/cornet

John 'Dizzy' Gillespie, known for his hamster cheeks and bent trumpet, was a jazz trumpeter most associated with bebop, a style of modern jazz with fast tempos and complex chords. Unlike the more commercial swing, it was more experimental and not intended for dancing. Gillespie was a major influence on other modern jazz trumpeters, such as Miles Davis and Cuban-American trumpeter Arturo Sandoval (who he met on a jazz cruise to Havana). In fact, Gillespie was involved in the rise of Afro-Cuban jazz, which combined jazz with Afro-Cuban music, and played alongside the Afro-Cuban conga player Chano Pozo.

Gillespie's trademark trumpet was bent due to the tap dancers Stump and Stumpy accidentally falling on it, but it worked out for the best in the end as Gillespie liked his horn's new tone. He later had a special bent trumpet made. In 1968, he converted to the Baha'i faith after the death of Martin Luther King Junior. He died of pancreatic cancer in 1993.

Answer: Piano/keyboard

Franny Griffiths is the keyboardist with Space. He taught himself to play the synthesiser after being inspired by the soundtracks to various sci-fi programmes, and joined Hello Sunset with future Space singer Tommy Scott when they were in their teens. After spending time working in Spain, Griffiths returned to the UK, where - so the story goes - he was given a cigarette packet with the phone numbers of Scott and drummer Andy Parle. Space were originally a trio who released their debut single 'If It's Real' in 1993; Griffiths joined as keyboardist the following year, and co-wrote several songs, including 'Neighbourhood', one of their signature hits. On their first three albums, he contributed a dance instrumental as the final track; he played brief solo sets at Space's earlier gigs, while the rest of the band took a break.

After Space split in 2005, Griffiths worked as a producer and joined former bandmate Jamie Murphy in Dust. He returned with Murphy and Scott for the Space reunion in 2011, along with three new members, although Murphy left the following year. Griffiths contributed art for Space's sixth album, 'Give Me Your Future', on which he had a sizeable influence, and also created the videos for the band's live gigs.

Answer: Drums

Joey Jordison was the drummer in nu-metal band Slipknot, known for their masks and boiler suits. Jordison wore a kabuki mask and his number was 1 (the band members all having designated numbers). He was one of the founding members of Slipknot and his drumming, which made great use of the double bass pedal, was part of their signature sound. During his time with Slipknot, he also played with the Murderdolls, a side project.

Jordison had acute transverse myelitis, a rare condition that causes inflammation of the spinal cord. He had to quit drumming due to losing the use of his left leg and then both his legs, although he recovered after rehabilitation therapy and gym training. After leaving Slipknot in 2013, he formed Scar the Martyr, but the project was shelved; he later formed two new bands, Vimic and Sinsaenum (the latter being an extreme metal supergroup). He died in 2021, aged 46.

Answer: Drums

Keith Moon was the drummer in The Who, joining in 1964. Similar to Joey Jordison, he made frequent use of double bass drums, although he used two bass drums rather than a double pedal, and his drumming technique also involved plenty of fills, two set of toms, and crash cymbals. Although he started out with a 4-5 piece drumkit, he expanded his kit over the years with drums, cymbals and percussion instruments alike. He also got into the habit of kicking it over at gigs.

Moon was as famous for his wild lifestyle as he was for his drumming; since his childhood, he had enjoyed blowing things up (chemistry sets were among his favourite toys), and one of his favourite pranks involved flushing cherry bombs or dynamite down hotel toilets. On a dark note, he was addicted to both alcohol and amphetamines, and he died in 1978 at the age of 32 after taking clomethiazole tablets, which he had been prescribed to combat alcohol withdrawal. Moon had self-medicated due to his fear of hospitals.

Answer: Trumpet/cornet

Cynthia Robinson played trumpet with Sly & the Family Stone, and was part of the horn section along with saxophonist Jerry Martini. Known for being a mixed-race band - an unusual thing in the late '60s - and combining big hair with colourful jumpsuits, their songs incorporated funk, soul and psychedelia. Robinson was one of the founding members of the band, which evolved from Sly and the Stoners, and one of the first female trumpet players in a big-name American band. She originally played the flute, but when she moved up to high school, they did not have any flutes and suggested she play the clarinet. Robinson did not want to play the clarinet and decided to pick the trumpet as her instrument after hearing a trumpeter play in a practice room.

Robinson subsequently played the trumpet in the school band and was bullied by boys for being 'a black girl playing a white boy's instrument'. She got her first trumpet off an old beatnik, who said she could have it if she played it at his parties; it was dirty, but she cleaned it and taught herself to play it. After Sly and the Family Stone split, she continued working with Sly Stone, with whom she had two daughters; she also played with Prince, George Clinton, and bassist Larry Graham. She returned for Sly and the Family Stone's reunion in 2011. Robinson died of cancer in 2015.

Answer: Drums

Dave Rowntree is the drummer in Blur. He studied percussion at school and played in a brass band with his father, and also played in bands with Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, who he knew from the Colchester music scene. Coxon introduced Rowntree to Damon Albarn, who was forming a band and needed a drummer. Rowntree quit his job in computers and moved to London, and Seymour were formed, with bassist Alex James as the fourth member. Seymour later evolved into Blur, who struck gold with their 1994 album 'Parklife'.

Rowntree caused a minor scandal when Blur were interviewed by journalist Nardwuar the Human Serviette in 2003; he was addicted to cocaine at the time and was extremely rude to Nardwuar. Rowntree later apologised and stated that watching the video helped him kick the habit. Outside Blur, he owned an animation company called Nanomation and gained a pilot's licence in 1995. He and James promoted the Beagle 2 Mars mission, with Blur writing a song for the lander Beagle 2; although it was initially thought to have failed, it was spotted on Mars in 2014. Rowntree also worked as a criminal law solicitor during Blur's hiatus, and spent a brief period in politics as a Labour Party candidate.

Answer: Piano/keyboard

Nina Simone was a singer-songwriter and pianist whose range spanned soul, classical, jazz, R'n'B, gospel and even pop (one of her covers included the Beatles' 'Here Comes the Sun'). Originally aspiring to be a concert pianist, she enrolled at the Juillard School of Music and then applied to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, but was rejected - despite performing well in her audition - due to being black. (However, they did award her an honorary degree in 2003 shortly before she died.) Notoriously temperamental, she suffered from bipolar disorder, and her live performances could sometimes be chaotic.

Simone was an active supporter of the Civil Rights movement and recorded a song by her bassist, Gene Taylor, 'Why? (The King of Love is Dead)' in response to Martin Luther King Jr's death. She also wrote 'Mississippi Goddam' in response to the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, a black church in Alabama, and co-wrote 'To Be Young, Gifted and Black'. (Incidentally, her version of 'Pirate Jenny' - which she interpreted as a Civil Rights anthem - is, in my opinion, the best version of the song out there.) Simone later stated that 'Mississippi Goddam' had hurt her career, claiming that the music industry boycotted her records, and she spent time in Barbados and Liberia. Towards the end of her life, she lived in France, where she died of breast cancer in 2003.

Answer: Guitar

Andy Summers was the guitarist in The Police. Considerably older than bandmates Sting and Stewart Copeland, he became interested in jazz after seeing Dizzy Gillespie (who is also in this quiz) and Thelonious Monk, and formed Zoot Money's Big Roll Band with keyboardist Zoot Money. They later evolved into Dantalian's Chariot. He met Sting and Copeland while all three were working as session musicians; he reportedly later met Copeland on the Tube, when he and Sting had formed The Police with guitarist Henry Padovani, and told him that he and Sting 'had something', but needed Summers in the band. Summers replaced Padovani in 1977.

Although Sting was the main singer in The Police, Summers sang the occasional lead vocal on songs such as 'Be My Girl/Sally', 'Mother' and 'Someone to Talk To'. He wrote the guitar riff for 'Every Breath You Take', although he was not credited. After The Police split, he played on various soundtracks, made solo albums and branched out into photography. He returned to The Police for the 2007-2008 reunion. In 2017, he formed a tribute band, Call the Police, with two Brazilian musicians.

Answer: Drums

Janet Weiss was the longest-running drummer for Sleater-Kinney, a band formed by singer/guitarists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein. Brownstein and Tucker had had to part company with their original drummer, Lora McFarlane, due to McFarlane's visa running out and McFarlane wanting to sing rather than play drums. Toni Gogin, her replacement, was fired due to continually messing up the pivotal solo in the middle of 'Call the Doctor'. When Brownstein and Tucker were searching for a new drummer, Weiss - who had previously played with her ex-husband, Sam Coomes, in the Motorgoats, later Quasi - auditioned by playing a new song, 'Dig Me Out'. She joined the band for the third album of the same name and stayed with them until 2019's 'The Centre Won't Hold'.

Weiss was a self-taught drummer and also played guitar. She and Quasi bassist Joanna Bolme played with the Jicks, the backing band of former Pavement singer Stephen Malkmus, and she also played with Brownstein and Helium singer Mary Timony in Wild Flag after Sleater-Kinney went on hiatus. Unhappy with Sleater-Kinney's new direction, and feeling that Brownstein and Tucker were taking her for granted, she left Sleater-Kinney in 2019. She joined partner Drew Grow in Slang, who released their debut album 'Cockroach in a Ghost Town' in 2022.