What instrument's sound irritates you?

Oh gosh, I played the flute and the oboe in school. Sorry. ;)

Really, none. Wait, except that little “recorder” pipe that they give to elementary school kids to learn.

Bagpipes! Sounds like they’re throttling a pig :¬(

Zuzuzela if you can even call it an instrument!

Another oboe player here. A lot of people seem to find the oboe annoying! I think it’s an, er, acquired taste… or something.

I don’t think I dislike any instrument, when it’s played well! But just about anything played out of tune is pretty grating.

Gee any instrument in the hands of someone who has never played is the worst! Piano is the least offending because the notes at least come out true for the most part. The worst in that regard is a beginner on violin, clarinet, Oboe or kazoo. People just should be allowed to even touch a Kazoo unless they have had lessons.

LOL I hate the freakin’ vuvuzela. That plastic tube of hell should be banned.

But anyways, I think most instruments are made and used anyway because they sound nice to the majority.

Still, I hate freakin’ vuvuzela. K.

@paramour What kind of music is a vuvuzela played in?

I hate the bagpipes. It’s like squeezing a cat as you pull on it’s tail…. horrible horrible sound. It sounds like an animal in pain and it needs to be put down.

Poorly played or beginner violin and clarinet are the worst. My brother was a clarinet player. You have no idea how much better off the world is now that he’s given it up.

@Aesthetic_Mess , the dear vuvuzela was the key instrument of the 2010 FIFA World Cup games. Look it up and YouTube and pay attention very closely. :D :D :D

LOL, I just listened to a bagpipe piece. I don’t think it’s that bad. I think it’s the perfect instrument to play when watching people get high on drugs and stuff. =))

Theremin
And Bagpipes, of course.

I’m not a fan of the bagpipes either. I hate the “drone” sound in the background, the way it kind of wavers on and off key, it’s pretty bad. The bagpipes also seem to be very screechy.

No classical instrument bothers me unless they are being badly played. Electric guitar bothers me sometimes, especially when it’s played in music I don’t like. :P I just find the electric guitar incredibly overrated.

Beans… You know, the musical fruit.

Calypso drums.

@ChazMaz – Beans the musical fruit to make you toot!

I like the vuvuzelas.

I must be the only one who loves bagpipe music. I have several CD’s of bagpipe music and I love going to see and hear marching bagpipe regiments at our local annual Scottish festival.

I do not, however, care for high pitched improvisational jazz saxophones.

I forgot to mention, here’s an instrument that you guys might actually like. It’s called a double belled euphonium When you press one valve, and the air goes to the smaller bell, you get a sound like a trumpet, and when you press another valve, the air goes to the larger bell and you get a sound like a French horn.

I heard one played by a musican called John Jorgenson, who used to be in a band called the Desert Rose Band and later, the Hellecasters. He’s mostly known for being a guitar player, but apparently he got his start playing brass instruments in the early 70’s at Disneyland.

@ChazMaz That’s the best one yet.

I very rarely appreciate accordion players. Zydeco in small doses (when I’m drinking) might be the exception.

I must agree with the people who think bagpipes are incredibly annoying. But clarinets are just as bad. I am a former clarinet player, so I must have gotten sick of them in band!

@Kardamom – I see how other people might find it annoying, but I also enjoy well played bagpipes. Do you think Celt is written in my DNA? I have such a fondness.

The instrument I dislike the most is the saxophone. I don’t know what exactly it is, but I just strongly dislike it. Occasionally, I’ll hear a song where the sax fits and it’s not grating, but it’s very rare.

Those of you who dislike the bagpipes might like the Irish Uillean pipes which are quieter and with a sweeter sound more suited to indoors.

I love bagpipes at formal funerals. There’s no better instrument for mournful keening. I’d rather drive spikes into my eardrums than listen to somebody learning to play them.
I had an upstairs neighbor doing just that, he also wanted to learn the banjo. It was a very specific circle of hell.

I don’t particularly like the bagpipes, but i play the clarinet in my school band so now I feel kind of offended. I forgive you though.