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What kind of musical instruments do you have in your universe?

I have always figured between older instruments and newer digital stuff the range would be similar to what we have now. I cannot imagine there will be a lot of different types. Now specific instruments of course could be different. Number of holes on a flute reflecting the species that plays it for example. But it is an interesting subject to explore now that you brought it up. Well done. 😁 (y)
 
I think I gave two flippant an answer, because the punchline just came too easily.

PlanetSide, it's largely a matter of culture. Shipboard is different. in a game mechanic where mass of the ship is not nearly as important as the volume, crew have space allotments for their gear, and spacers might tend to travel light. so musical instruments might be small, and probably unpowered. If I ever play an itinerant spacer, my duffle might include a flask, or a tin of spices from my homeworld, and some small instrument. I also considered maybe bits and bobs for gaming {dice, cards}, but I expect those could be 3D printed fairly easily and cheaply.

Something I read that I liked very much in the first few books of SJ McDonald's "Fourth Fleet Irregulars" was where some spacer bars would have small areas for telling 'I was there' true tales of space, storytelling - kind of an Open Mic situation. A few even had special lighting and audio amplification.

I also believe that in confined quarters, silence is a scarce commodity that can be entirely consumed by one person. A respectful crew might be mindful of that and not consume the silence at the expensive others. That shouldn't stop the whole crew, or a large portion of it, from deciding to cut loose periodically. Expect one member of the crew to know that 'perfect' access panel that can be heard throughout the ship when tapped with screwdriver handles.
 
I was extremely close to picking pipes for my character.
It was a shock, and no doubt about that.
Everyone has seen one or more pipers on many a field, and none paid them more note. You either listened to the skirl of the pipes with pride and emotion or you waited for a report from the distant barrel of a sniper's weapon. Either way, there were so many configurations of pipes and materials that serious observation of the instrument itself had been given up as meaningless. Except in formations taking place under extreme security, such as a review of forces by a world leader or very high-level officer.

Because of that, there'd been little to no preparedness when the Sergent Major went down. And, even more so when those moving in to investigate or lend aid spotted the dart in the NCO's neck! With those reacting handfuls of troops moving toward the downed NCO, the rest of the field divided into various zones of moving troop formations and individuals. Some aware "something" had happened and most entirely unaware of the situation. Many individuals and formations moving in the pre-planned patterns they'd practiced for days before the event.

Only after all the forces on the field had been called to halt and order was there a chance to begin scanning the many troopers for an anomaly. And, when it was found, it added to the considerable shock of the murder. the first indicator had been a blurred "something" in two frames of the vid being captured by a camera dedicated to cover the Sergent Major's role in the event. While that would certainly give investigators critical data, like the speed and type of weapon used, the most important data they could determine was the vector traveled by what turned out to be a dart.

There were some maths done, first, to determine the angles of the NCO and the camera filming him. Then, using others in the frames, they could confirm the vector the dart had traveled before striking its target. With that data, investigators could quickly move from the stasis field preserving the Sergent Major's body back along the angle of attack determined. As the team moved, troopers quickly saw them coming and a corridor cleared. Cleared, that is, until they could all see a discarded item on the ground. Moving more quickly, though careful not to contaminate what they'd come on, the investigators all gawked in shock!

It was a set of bag pipes!
The murder weapon seemed to be a blow-dart fired from an extra pipe cosmetically added to the instrument.

Forensics investigators moved in as the attack was officially classified, "Murder by bag pipes"!
 
It was a shock, and no doubt about that.
Everyone has seen one or more pipers on many a field, and none paid them more note. You either listened to the skirl of the pipes with pride and emotion or you waited for a report from the distant barrel of a sniper's weapon. Either way, there were so many configurations of pipes and materials that serious observation of the instrument itself had been given up as meaningless. Except in formations taking place under extreme security, such as a review of forces by a world leader or very high-level officer.

Because of that, there'd been little to no preparedness when the Sergent Major went down. And, even more so when those moving in to investigate or lend aid spotted the dart in the NCO's neck! With those reacting handfuls of troops moving toward the downed NCO, the rest of the field divided into various zones of moving troop formations and individuals. Some aware "something" had happened and most entirely unaware of the situation. Many individuals and formations moving in the pre-planned patterns they'd practiced for days before the event.

Only after all the forces on the field had been called to halt and order was there a chance to begin scanning the many troopers for an anomaly. And, when it was found, it added to the considerable shock of the murder. the first indicator had been a blurred "something" in two frames of the vid being captured by a camera dedicated to cover the Sergent Major's role in the event. While that would certainly give investigators critical data, like the speed and type of weapon used, the most important data they could determine was the vector traveled by what turned out to be a dart.

There were some maths done, first, to determine the angles of the NCO and the camera filming him. Then, using others in the frames, they could confirm the vector the dart had traveled before striking its target. With that data, investigators could quickly move from the stasis field preserving the Sergent Major's body back along the angle of attack determined. As the team moved, troopers quickly saw them coming and a corridor cleared. Cleared, that is, until they could all see a discarded item on the ground. Moving more quickly, though careful not to contaminate what they'd come on, the investigators all gawked in shock!

It was a set of bag pipes!
The murder weapon seemed to be a blow-dart fired from an extra pipe cosmetically added to the instrument.

Forensics investigators moved in as the attack was officially classified, "Murder by bag pipes"!
As opposed to being killed by the sound alone.

But the image that I had in mind, if you are familiar with the story, is "Lost Dorsai", and the song Su Madre.
 
From old notes:

Ok.. let’s do this one up as a Book 1 item.

Darrian Flame Organ (16) Cr200,000. 0.5 Td stored. This is an interactive gravitically-directed flame projector, operating on the same principles used in Darrian Flame Sculptures. It creates a 3m x 3m x 3m projection space, within which one performer can interactively dance in 0G (having directional/orientation control through gestures and sub-vocal commands) within gravitically-controlled flame art. The flames can be controlled to produce sounds and music along with the visual effects, but typically other musical instruments accompany a Flame Organ performance. While it can be pre-programmed and sequenced to allow operation by a single performer, it typically requires an operator in addition to the performer. Stadium versions exist, providing IMAX-sized projection spaces capable of supporting several performers if desired. These cost MCr3 and occupy 10Td when stowed for shipment.

It has been said that there are only three sophonts in the Marches who can play a Flame Organ to its full capabilities, and two of them are on Darrian itself.
 
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"Little Boy Blue..." Basically, anything you see in science fiction is popular somewhere. from the balustrade to the lute. Bonus points for small things that can easily be stored on a starship.
 
In my solo-play journal log titled Down A Peg, a Gvegh Vargr from Duelunagoerrzuez (Knoellighz 1138) plays a Duelean Twelve-string guitar in both acoustic and electric versions, entertaining the crew of the experimental Collector ship, the 300-ton Gatherer. In the story, Dedheksgourz “Dead Hex” is the ship’s Astrogator and procurer of black market goodies. He plays the instrument with his digit pads and plucks or strums with his Vargr claws. He knows a few songs and has the Ship’s computer download more to perform. Being a musician softens the blow of anger from his fellow crew, some of which originate from an opposing polity. Dead Hex was one of my favorite characters on that ship. And he gets the girl in the end. You can find that journal in the Cleon Memorial Library here on COTI.
 
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"Little Boy Blue..." Basically, anything you see in science fiction is popular somewhere. from the balustrade to the lute. Bonus points for small things that can easily be stored on a starship.
The character behind the question owns a yacht, so easy to store is not a big concern, I just want something that he could carry into a bar and play.
 
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