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People Who Play Musical Instruments

Can you guess the musical instruments that each pair of people are famous for playing?
Includes fictional characters
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Quizmaster
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Last updated: June 7, 2020
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First submittedJuly 25, 2010
Times taken43,635
Average score55.0%
Rating4.15
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People
Instrument
Eric Clapton | Jimi Hendrix
Guitar
Louis Armstrong | Miles Davis
Trumpet
Elton John | Liberace
Piano
Paul McCartney | Flea
Bass Guitar
Bill Clinton | Lisa Simpson
Saxophone
King David | Apollo
Lyre
Sherlock Holmes | Niccolo Paganini
Violin
J. S. Bach | The Phantom of the Opera
Organ
James Galway | Ron Burgundy
Flute
Steve Martin | Bela Fleck
Banjo
Yo-Yo Ma | Jacques Offenbach
Cello
Benny Goodman | Woody Allen
Clarinet
John Bonham | Buddy Rich
Drums
Pan | Zamfir
Pan Flute
Tiny Tim | Don Ho
Ukulele
Bob Dylan | Toots Thielemans
Harmonica
Ravi Shankar | Vilayat Khan
Sitar
Harpo Marx | Loreena McKennitt
Harp
Glenn Miller | William Riker
Trombone
Groundskeeper Willie | Edward VIII
Bagpipes
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48 Comments
nettybet
+1
Level 77
Apr 2, 2013
Good quiz
zimba
+10
Level 48
Apr 2, 2013
Great quiz. What an eclectic mix of musicians. That would be be one hell of a band. The Jetpunk All-Stars!
Baltimorean
+1
Level 66
Apr 4, 2013
And go look for The Intro and the Outro on Youtube: "Over there, Eric Clapton, ukulele. . . . Nice to see, Incredible Shrinking Man, on euphonium. . . . Roy Rogers on Trigger." And much more.
VanJealous
+2
Level 21
Sep 30, 2015
Count Basie Orchestra on triangle. Thank you
toowise
+1
Level 81
Jun 10, 2020
By the Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band I believe
GlassMonkeyOLD
+1
Level 69
Jan 26, 2023
A lot of them are dead though.
ander217
+15
Level 73
Feb 15, 2015
Harpo Marx's name gave us the answer but still less than one third got it.
Tramp
+1
Level 79
Sep 26, 2015
I don't even know who he is, but I guessed it correctly
blinky
+2
Level 57
Dec 11, 2016
Disgusting.
DonTheLamplighter
+3
Level 87
Mar 17, 2017
You've been deprived.
kinjapan
+2
Level 72
Jun 16, 2020
haha- IKR? I can't believe so many people are like "Harpo. Harpo. Hmmmm. What could it possibly be?"
cledun2
+1
Level 95
Mar 31, 2022
I guessed because of Lorena
GlassMonkeyOLD
+1
Level 69
Jan 26, 2023
I thought the other person sounded Irish, so I guessed harp for that reason.
MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 64
Apr 20, 2026
I tried mouth harp only. It felt like something he would do in Duck Soup to annoy the locals.
Yankee
+9
Level 50
Jul 31, 2015
I play an instrument why was I not on this quiz.
cornflakesfu
+4
Level 89
Jun 1, 2018
Stop lying. You can't hide from us. We know who you are . . . Ringo!
GlassMonkeyOLD
+4
Level 69
Jan 26, 2023
The other Beatles all respected Ringo's musical abilities. He was brought in to replace a bad drummer, he was one of the best in Liverpool. George Martin thought Pete Best wasn't that good. Watch the Get Back doco by Peter Jackson. Here you see Ringo at his best.
ander217
+9
Level 73
Oct 11, 2016
I saw Apollo and assumed he was a new teen heart throb or rap singer. Sigh.
Djilas
+1
Level 86
Nov 27, 2017
:D
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Oct 12, 2019
lmao
GeographyGeek42
+3
Level 65
May 8, 2018
I was confusing Louis Armstrong with Niel Armstrong. I Typed in Baritone, Euphonium and Baritone Euphonium. I play Euphonium.
cornflakesfu
+13
Level 89
Jun 1, 2018
"That's one small step for man, and I'll finish this quote after I do a kickass euphonium solo."

*28-minute euphonium solo*

"One giant leap for mankind."

Sifhraven
+2
Level 76
Oct 12, 2019
Who doesnt know animal??? also apollo is ridiculously low, not many instruments to pick from back then.
pjcarpen
+5
Level 99
Jun 7, 2020
Umm, Yo-Yo Ma, cello?
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jun 7, 2020
Fixed.
JamesBooth10
+2
Level 58
Jun 14, 2020
Could you accept 'mouth organ' for harmonica?
GeographyGeek42
+1
Level 65
Jun 15, 2020
A bit odd (and probably questionable) to add “tongue” as a possibly answer.
xirya
+1
Level 68
Jun 17, 2020
I was thinking this! I've always called them that.
alexandertorres1978
+2
Level 70
Jun 15, 2020
I wrote "electricguitar" in the first one and it was not accepted.

Very fun quiz. William Riker as a clue? Frickin' perfect!

morcaca
+1
Level 59
Jun 15, 2020
I tried clavier for Bach, not realizing that there was no way that the Phantom of the Opera would play the clavier as well.
jeisenberg24
+7
Level 76
Jun 15, 2020
Should've used Squidward for clarinet.
undeadwarrior
+3
Level 66
Jun 15, 2020
Could you add in Ling Ling for famous violinists? He practices 40 hours every day!
ander217
+2
Level 73
Jun 17, 2020
Missing one of my favorites, the theremin. It was the first electronic musical instrument and influenced Robert Moog. He and Clara Rockmore were theremin players, although I doubt many people would know the answer, even though most people have heard the eerie sound it makes in many TV shows and movies.
plattitude
+2
Level 94
Jun 23, 2020
No clue who Groundskeeper Willie was, and the only instrument that came to mind for Edward was that of Abdication...
komradtombstone
+1
Level 59
Jan 27, 2023
Willie was the school gardener, janitor, caretaker in the Simpsons. He was the stereotypical Scotsman, so of course, he played the bagpipes! Great character!
rabble
+1
Level 68
Jan 26, 2023
How do 35-59% of people know Ravi Shankar | Vilayat Khan for the Sitar, and Pan | Zamfir for the Pan Flute?

I've never heard of their names, or recognize their faces. And I'd guess that not many people are going to randomly guess sitar/pan flute (I guess maybe sitar with Indian names). Are they famous for something recent?

Seems like the results are odd.. Groundskeeper Willie toward the bottom. Tiny Tim, Steve Martin, Ron Burgundy, Bob Dylan, Yo Yo Ma, Phantom of the Opera, Sherlock Holmes, all seem pretty "easy". And easy enough to spam guesses for Trombone, Clarinet, Lyre, Drums. I thought Simpsons knowledge was pretty common on Jetpunk

CardinalSin
+5
Level 82
Jan 26, 2023
Ravi Shankar was probably one of the most famous musicians of the 20th Century. Look out for his performances with Menuhin.
partdavid
+4
Level 74
Jan 26, 2023
I didn't know Ron Burgundy or Groundskeeper Willie, though I've seen anchorman (I just don't remember that bit) and Willie is obvious in retrospect.

One factor might be age/generation: Ravi Shankar was a famous sitar musician associated with George Harrison (a Beatle)--in the 1960s. And there was a time on American TV when advertisements for "Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute" seemed ubiquitous.

FadKrashmor
+1
Level 70
Oct 3, 2023
How on earth can 45% of test takers not know of Ravi Shankar? And 46% be ignorant of John Bonham? Incredible.

On the other hand Dylan's recognition rate as a harmonica player is depressed by the fact that "mouth organ" is not an accepted answer (I assumed something else was required).

Also, what is the difference between "pan flute" and "pan pipes"?

barmanitan
+1
Level 84
Mar 25, 2025
Why would lyre be a spammable instrument? I don't think I've ever had it come up outside of JetPunk lol. But just generally accepting that people have different life experiences is good for when you're shocked by an answer being high or low, none of us are the average human
MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 64
Apr 20, 2026
The OP does have a good point that Pan has not done anything recently. That guy should get to work!
Trolololz
+6
Level 79
Jan 26, 2023
His name is HARPO, 66% of people
TheMightyQ
+3
Level 86
Jan 26, 2023
This quiz definitely had me questioning what other Dickensian-era instruments Tiny Tim could have played...
barmanitan
+1
Level 84
Mar 25, 2025
Oh I didn't even realise that wasn't who it was about until this comment lol, was fully willing to accept that Dickens loved the ukulele
MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 64
Apr 20, 2026
Dickens loved everything from Hawaii. Oliver Twist was asking for more spam.
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 79
Jan 27, 2023
Squidward should be on there for clarinet
Alexquiz17
+1
Level 95
Aug 1, 2024
Edward VIII was a nazi-lover - go look it up
MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 64
Apr 20, 2026
I was completely stumped by Tiny Tim. I tried stick, goose, tombstone, like he was some kind of Victorian STOMP.

(And as a saxophonist I objected in the 90s to Clinton being the example of a saxophonist, and I still do today. Also, Lisa plays the saxomaphone.)

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