Meaning & use
musical instrument
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
an object such as a piano, guitar, or drum that is used to make music
Grammar: Use 'play' before it: play the piano, play a musical instrument.
Patterns
- play a musical instrument
- learn a musical instrument
- a musical instrument such as something
Every child at the school learns to play a musical instrument.
The violin is a musical instrument that takes years to master.
She can play several musical instruments, including the flute and the piano.
nouncountabletechnical
a device or tool used to produce musical sounds, especially in a band or orchestra
Grammar: Often used when classifying instruments by family: string, wind, or percussion instruments.
Patterns
- a string musical instrument
- traditional musical instruments
The museum displays musical instruments from around the world.
Traditional musical instruments are often made by hand.
Word forms
| plural | musical instruments |
|---|
Common combinations
- play a musical instrument
- Can you play a musical instrument?
- learn a musical instrument
- He started learning a musical instrument at age six.
- traditional musical instrument
- The pipa is a traditional Chinese musical instrument.
- a musical instrument shop
- We bought new strings at the musical instrument shop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- instrument
- The short form; it is fine when the context is clearly about music, but can also mean a tool or a measuring device.
Word family
- instrumentalist noun
- a person who plays a musical instrument, especially in a band
- instrumentation noun
- the way music is arranged for particular instruments
Commonly confused: musical instrument or instrumental?
musical instrument vs instrumental
This is an adjective meaning 'played only by instruments, with no singing', not the object itself.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
A singular countable noun needs an article, so 'a musical instrument' is correct. 'The musical instrument' would suggest one specific instrument already mentioned, and no article is wrong here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “musical instrument”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.