5 of the World’s Best Selling Instruments.

Music is utterly wonderful, particularly the process of finding the perfect mix of instruments to create the ideal beats to carry the lyrics.

There are five major types of musical instruments: percussion, woodwind, string, brass, and keyboard. On the other hand, music has three main components: rhythm, melody, and harmony—all delivered by a combination of these instruments. 

Most bands have a drum kit, assorted guitars (electric, bass, acoustic), and piano. And this varies as different bands select the best instruments for their music genres.

This handy article reveals what these 5 best selling instruments are.

And if you’d like to find out which are the best selling products on eBay that you should sell on Sheepbuy, read this in-depth piece.

Which is the world’s best selling instrument?

There’s a thin line between the harmonica and the guitar in the absence of verifiable sales statistics. According to musicians (Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen) and some music experts, it’s a harmonica. 

But in terms of retail value, the guitar is dominant, plus it’s the most popular instrument in the US.

5 best selling instruments globally

Besides listening to music, playing an instrument is quite thrilling. Being able to strum, drum, or pound your favorite tunes is a fantastic pastime, especially if surrounded by close family or friends. Playing is also therapeutic and a boon to your mental health.

Globally, music instruments are used as an income-generating activity or for expression in places of worship, weddings, and all manner of high convergence events.

Whatever your reasons, here’s a list of 5 of the best selling instruments.

1. Guitars 

The guitar’s history dates back to 4000 years and the instrument is defined as having “a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides.” Its origins are not clear; however, its roots are in Spain, where it’s thought to have been invented by the people of Malaga. 

The early guitar was a tiny four-course instrument, from which its distant cousin, the ukulele, is derived. Today, there are 3 main types of guitar: acoustic, electric, and bass. The acoustic is the one that most people are familiar with.

People love the guitar because it’s portable, can produce more than one note at a time, and isn’t complex. Thus making it popular and an obvious choice for beginners. 

At the same time, the popularity of live performances for pop and rock and roll music has continuously pushed the retail values for the guitar. The electric guitar especially has been popularised on tv shows and movies. There are video games for people to play the guitar, such as guitar hero, which are extremely popular.

A good ballpark cost for a decent guitar is $200 and $800. Find out how to start a guitar flipping business by checking out this article.

2. Harmonica 

This is one of the easiest instruments to play. It originated from ‘Sheng’, a Chinese musical instrument that has been around for 5000 years. In 1821, Christian Friedrich Buschmann discovered modern harmonica. 

Initially, this modern harmonica was a simple wind instrument made of vibrating plates with metal arranged horizontally and an unfavorable design that could only produce chromatic wind tones. 

Eventually, it was modified into a better musical instrument. One of the best harmonica designs at that time was made by Richter. In 1826, Richter developed variations of the harmonica with 10 fixed holes and 20 vibrating plates with the separation of blown and inhaled plates. 

The tone produced by Richter’s harmonica was later known as the diatonic note and became the standard harmonica tone.

On Amazon, The Swan Techno Geek Harmonica is one of the best selling instruments. It has 24 holes with 48 tones on the key of C and lets you produce music anywhere you want to go.

A good beginner, pro-quality, 10-hole diatonic harmonica is $35-$90. A good quality, chromatic harmonica, will cost somewhere between $120-$250. 

3. Piano

Pianos are extremely versatile and can be played in almost any music genre. The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori of Italy. He is credited for switching out the plucking mechanism with a hammer to create the modern piano around the year 1700.

The best part about a piano is that it can be played solo and has given the world some of the most mind-blowing concerts and compositions imaginable. Think of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier’ Sonata and Schubert’s Fantasie in C.

While it’s quite expensive, many music producers, artists, and conductors rely on it to balance out their music and create amazing harmonies. Pianos come in three versions:

• Upright pianos:

An upright piano costs between $3000 – $6500 on average. High-end upright pianos average around $10,000 – $25,000. Entry-level grand pianos cost between $7000 – 30,000.

• Grand pianos

The word grand was initially used to describe its size and then, later on, to differentiate it from the upright. It’s also distinct for it’s louder and fuller expression. 

Entry-level grand pianos costs between $7000 – 30,000. High-end grand pianos such as Steinway, Bosendorfer, and Yamaha can cost between $65,000 – $190,000.

• Electric pianos:

These pianos don’t require tuning, are light, and usually more versatile in terms of sound – with the added bonus that they come with headphone sockets for quiet practice sessions. To keep the noise down when playing, this is the best choice. Prices range between $500 up to $7,000.

4. Drum

A drum is a percussion instrument that produces sound either by being struck, shaken, scraped or rubbed and is, in fact, just one member of the percussion family. Drums and percussion instruments are the oldest musical instruments in history. They haven’t changed much in the course of a few thousand years.

Innovation rightly created the electric drum in the early 1970s. The most significant advantage to electronic drums is the amount of drum and percussion sounds you can program, as well as the built-in, complete drum sets.

Drums are highly popular because they allow the player to lose themselves in the moment. They’re also versatile and relevant to multiple music genres,

A drum retails for $300 and $1,000 on average. The price is determined by the quality of shells and custom builds, hardware. For the handmade drums, the price depends on different tiers of quality and the number of shells.

5. Violin

Also known as a fiddle, it’s a bowed stringed musical instrument that evolved during the Renaissance from earlier bowed instruments. The violin is considered one of the most beautiful sound-producing instruments in the world and one of the oldest, which has been around for centuries. It’s also probably the best known and most widely distributed musical instrument in the world.

Most historians agree that today’s violin emerged in the early 16th century in northern Italy, an area which would maintain the violin-making tradition over the coming centuries. Its expressive tones suit a variety of musical styles, from fast and furious to slow and sanguine. Whether sounding sweet or sad, playful, or melancholy, the violin’s ability to evoke almost any mood has made it widely appealing.

Most users begin at six years which explains why it’s the best instrument for children to start.

A violin sells from $100 to $100,000 and more. However, for beginners, you can set a budget from $400-$2,000.

What is the most commonly played musical instrument?

Incredibly, the piano is played by 21 million Americans perhaps because of its flexibility –it’s played in almost all genres accompanied or solo.

If you’d like to learn how to play, the best piano for you really depends on what type of piano you’re after, what playing level you’re at, and how you’re looking to use it.

To begin, go for a traditional piano, and once you gain substantial expertise, you can then advance to the electric one.

Conclusion

I hope that this article has pleasantly surprised you with this list of 5 of the world’s best-selling instruments. At least you know what they are, why they’re bestsellers, and how much they’re likely to cost you. 

Most of them are responsible for most of the world’s most amazing music bringing immense joy to people globally.

If you decide to get one of them, enjoy it and good luck!

Before you leave, if you’re thinking about selling your musical instruments, consider listing on Sheepbuy. Unlike eBay or other marketplaces, Sheepbuy doesn’t charge a commission on sales, and there are no premium store fees. On our basic tier, you can have up to three active listings at any given time, free of charge. For more information on Sheepbuy’s tiers, click here. 

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