Musical Instruments
Instruments turn your hotbar into a keyboard. Hold one in your off-hand and press 1 through 8. Hold Shift for a second layer of chords or higher notes. There are nine instruments, each with a completely different sound. Other players hear you from about 64 blocks away. All nine are crafted at the Instrument Station and crafting them requires the Bard class, but anyone can play one, so an instrument you are given or buy works fine.
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The numbers
- Audible range
- 64 blocksvolume 4.0; 1 volume = 16 blocks
- Sound category
- Recordsthe Jukebox / Note Blocks slider
- Craft time
- 10 secondsall nine, at the Instrument Station
- Class needed to play
- NoneBard is only a crafting gate
How to play
- Put the instrument in your off-hand. Your main hand is irrelevant.
- Press number keys 1 to 8 to play notes. The scale runs: 1=C, 2=D, 3=E, 4=F, 5=G, 6=A, 7=B, 8=C (an octave up).
- Hold Shift and press 1 to 8 for the second layer. On most instruments that's a full chord; on the Flute, Trumpet and Bagpipe it's the same scale an octave higher, giving sixteen notes total.
- After every note your selection snaps back to slot 9. This is deliberate, and lets you hit the same note twice in a row instead of the key doing nothing the second time. Whatever sits in slot 9 is therefore what bystanders see in your main hand while you play.
- A single note particle appears above your head with each note, so everyone can tell it is you.
The four Lutes that are not instruments
Instrument Station is shared with four Bard weapons. They are not instruments and cannot be played.
| Item | What it is |
|---|---|
| Iron Lute | Bard weapon: shares the station and the Bard gate, but has no note keyboard. |
| Steel Lute | Bard weapon: shares the station and the Bard gate, but has no note keyboard. |
| Abyssalite Lute | Bard weapon: shares the station and the Bard gate, but has no note keyboard. |
| Mythril Lute | Bard weapon: shares the station and the Bard gate, but has no note keyboard. |
Commands
| Command | Aliases | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
/instruments keybinds | None | Prints the full note and chord layout for the instrument currently in your off-hand. | You must be holding an instrument in your off-hand, or it just tells you so. Permission instruments.use, default true - no normal player is ever blocked. |
/instruments list | None | Prints the name of every instrument that exists on the server. | Needs nothing in hand. Permission instruments.use, default true - no normal player is ever blocked. |
FAQ
- "My instrument makes no sound."
- Three things, in order. One: your Jukebox/Note Blocks volume slider must not be at zero: notes play in the Records category, not Master or Ambient. Two: the instrument must be in your off-hand. Three: press 1–8; slot 9 is the reset slot and plays nothing.
- "Can I craft an instrument without being a Bard?"
- No: all nine recipes require the Bard class.
- "Can I play an instrument without being a Bard?"
- Yes. The instrument items carry no class requirement and no stat requirement of any kind, and nothing checks your class when you press a key. Instruments are tradeable, so a non-Bard handed one plays it exactly as well as its maker.
- "Do I need a permission?"
- No. Both instrument commands are available to every player.