Questions and Answers
- Q. How many bluegrass pickers does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. None. They won't touch anything electric. — contributed by Mary Huckins of Dakota Blonde

- Q. Momma, I think I'm in love with a bass player.
A. That's okay Honey. They have meds for that now. — contributed by Duane Webster
- Q. You know, my dear, I insured my voice for fifty thousand dollars. — anonymous singer
- A. That's wonderful. And what did you do with the money? — Miriam Hopkins
- Q. What did you think of the singer's execution?
- A. I'm all for it. — Calvin Coolidge
- Q. How can you make a banjo player's car go faster?
- A. Take the pizza delivery sign off the roof. — contributed by Greg Kunce
- Q. What's the difference between a puppy and a singer-songwriter?
- A. Eventually, the puppy stops whining. —contributed by Ed Skibbe

- Q. What do you call a good musician at a banjo contest?
- A. A visitor.
- Q. What's the difference between a banjo player and an Uzi?
- A. The Uzi only repeats 40 times.
- Q. How many musician jokes are there?
- A. Just one - all the rest are true. — contributed by
Steve Langer
- Q. What's the difference between a soprano and a Rottweiler?
- A. Jewelry. — contributed by Steve Langer
- Q. What does it say on a blue's singer's tombstone?
- A. I didn't wake up this morning ....— contributed by Steve
Langer
- Q. Why can't a gorilla play a bass fiddle?
- A. He's too sensitive. — contributed by Steve Langer
- Q. What's the difference between a motorcycle and a ukulele?
- A You can tune a motorcycle.
- Q. How is a drum kit and a Hoover alike?
- A. They both have a dirtbag on them.
- Q. What do you throw a drowning guitar player?
- A. His amplifier.
- Q. What do you call the guy who hangs out with the musicians
in the band?
- A. The drummer.
- Q. What has 3 legs and an idiot on top of it?
- A. A drum stool.
- Q. Why are harps like elderly parents?
- A. Both are unforgiving and hard to get into and out of cars.
- Q. There are two tuba players sitting in a car. Who's driving?
- A. The policeman.
- Q. What do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?
- A. Everyone is relieved when the case is finally closed.
- Q. Why did the clarinet player marry the accordion player?
- A. Upward mobility.
- Q. What do you call a guitar player who only knows two chords?
- A. A music critic.
- Q. Did you hear about the bass player who accidentally locked the
keys
in his car?
- A. It took him an hour to get the drummer out.
- Q. What's the difference between a drummer and a kaleidoscope?
- A. One produces a random set of patterns designed to entertain
a 4-year-old and the other you aim at a light source and turn.
- Q. What is the difference between a drummer and a monkey?
- A. You can train a monkey.
- Q. How are trumpet players like pirates?
- A. They're both murder on the high Cs.
- Q. How do you define perfect pitch?
- A. When the banjo lands in the MIDDLE of the dumpster.
- Q.What do you call a musician with a college degree?
- A. Night manager at McDonald's.
- Q. What's the last thing a drummer says before he gets kicked
out of a band?
- A. "When do we get to play MY songs?"
- Q. How can you tell if the stage is level?
- A. The banjo player drools out of both sides of his mouth.
- Q. What do you throw a drowning bass player?
- A. His amp.
- Q. How do you reduce wind-drag on a trombonist's car?
- A. Take the Domino's Pizza sign off the roof.
- Q. What do you do if you run over a banjo player?
- A. Back up and hit him again.
- Q. What's the definition of an optimist?
- A. An accordian player with a pager.
- Q. What do all great conductors have in common?
- A. They're all dead.
- Q. What's the perfect weight of a conductor?
- A. Three and one-half pounds, including the urn.
- Q. How many 2nd violinists does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. None, they can't get up that high.
- Q. What do you do if you see a bleeding drummer running around in
your back yard?
- A. Stop laughing and shoot again.
- Q. Why can't chick singers have colostomies?
- A. Because they can't find shoes to match the bag.
- Q. What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?
- A. A vocalist.
- Q. How do you get two bass players to play in unison?
- A. Hand them charts a half-step apart.
- Q. What goes with boiled potatoes and sings?
- A. Elvis Parsley — Intermountain Acoustic Musician, Sept.
2006
- Q. Have you always hated bluegrass?
- A. No, only when I'm listening to it. — Intermountain Acoustic
Musician, Sept. 2006
- Q. Did you hear about the near-tragedy at the mall?
- A. There was a power outage, and twelve banjo players were stuck
on the escalators for over four hours.
- Q. Did you hear about the two banjo players who froze to death
in a drive-in movie?
- A. They went to see "Closed for the Winter."
- Q. Since the hunchback of Notre Dame couldn't use a modem to get
on the internet, what did he use?
- A. A Quasimodem — Bangs Tapscott, Intermountain Acoustic Musician,
Feb. 2005
- Q. What did the diarrhetic Bristish blues sceptic say to the porter?
- A. Is there a W. C. Handy? — Bangs Tapscott, Intermountain
Acoustic Musician, Feb. 2005
- Q. Grampa. why do fireflies blink like that?
- A. Flashing lights on and off helps them find a mate.
- Q. Does that work with people?
- A. Not since disco died. — John Allen in "Nest Heads",
8/19/04
- Q. Why is it people like to sing in the shower, but not while
taking a bath?
- A. Simple. You can't be held under water in the shower. —
John Allen in "Nest Heads", 8/17/04
- Q. What is Martha Stewart’s favorite Bluegrass song?
- A. How Mountain Girls Can Live
— contributed by Bob Dolan
- Q. What is the theme song for Betty Crocker’s Bluegrass Bake-off?
- A. Roll in my Sweet Baby’s Arms
— contributed by Bob Dolan
- Q. What was Glenn Miller’s favorite Celtic tune?
- A. In the Mode
— contributed by Bob Dolan
- Q. What was Tarzan’s favorite Bill Monroe song?
- A. In the Vines – of course he liked it played in a swing
style.
— contributed by Bob Dolan
- Q. Why does the musician have to sing for food?
- A. How can he make money from free downloads, dude? — Mark
Parisi in "Off the Mark", Denver Post, April 25, 2004
- Q. What do you call a bluegrass band with drums?
- A. Crabgrass — Bangs Tapscott, Intermountain Acoustic Musician,
April 2004
- Q. Do you know how musicians make a million dollars?
- A. They start with two.
- Q. How do musicians spend their time between gigs?
- A. Saving up for the next gig.
- Q. Did you hear about the dislexic Celtic musician who walked into
a bra? —
Ernie Martinez

- A. Yep, he went home with the booby prize. — Al Ossinger
- Q. Why aren't there any banjos on Star Trek?
- A. Because there are no banjos in the future.
- Q. How many banjo players does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. (from banjo player) Into what? — Bangs Tapscott
- Q. What do you get when you play New Age music backward?
- A. New Age music
- Q. Why do bass players grow moustaches?
- A. So they can use their mothers' IDs to buy beer
- Q. How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. One. Five. One. Five.
- Q. What do a vacuum cleaner and an electric guitar have in common?
- A. You plug them in and they suck.
- Q. How many soundmen does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three.
- Q. What's the difference between a conductor and a sack of fertilizer?
- A. The sack.
- Q. Why are conductors' hearts so coveted for transplants?
- A. They've had such little use.
- If you drop a conductor and a watermelon off the top of a building,
which will hit first?
- A. Who cares?
- Q. What's the difference between a bull and an orchestra?
- A. The bull has the horns up front and the asshole in the back.
- Q. What do you have if you laid all the tenors in the world end
to end?
- A. A good idea.
- Q. What do you call ten baritones at the bottom of the ocean?
- A. A good start.
- Q. How does a chick singer change a light bulb?
- A. She just holds it and the world revolves around her.
- Q. What's the difference between a chick singer and the PLO?
- A. You can negotiate with the PLO.
- Q. How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. None, the piano player can do it with his left hand.
- Q. How can you tell when a bass player is really bad?
- A. Even the bass section notices.
- Q. Why are orchestra intermissions limited to 20 minutes?
- A. So you don't have to retrain the cellists.
- Q. Why did the bass player get mad at the timpanist?
- A. Because he turned a peg and wouldn't say which one.
- Q. What's the difference between a violist and a dog?
- A. The dog knows when to stop scratching.
- Q. How do you get a violist to play downbow staccato?
- A. Put a tenuto mark over a whole note and mark it solo.
- Q. Why are pianists fingers like lightning?
- a. They rarely strike the same place twice.
- Q. Why is a viola like a Scud missile?
- A. They are both offensive and inaccurate.
- Q. What's the definition of a quarter tone?
- A. A harpist tuning unison strings.
- Q. How can you tell if a violin is out of tune.
- A. The bow is moving.
- Q. What's a tuba for?
- A. About 1 1/2" x 3 1/2"
- Q. How do you make a violin sound like a viola?
- A. Sit in the back and don't play.
- Q. Whats the difference between a dead snake in the road and
a dead trombonist in the road?
- A. Skid marks in front of the snake.
- Q. What's the definition of a gentleman?
- A. Someone who knows how to play the accordian and doesn't.
- Q. How do you make a trombone sound like a French Horn?
- A. Put your hand in the bell and miss a lot of notes.
- Q. How many trumpet players does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. Five: one to handle the bulb and the other four to tell him how
much better they could have done it.
- Q. How do you make a chain saw sound like a bariton sax?
- A. Add vibrato.
- Q. If you were lost in the woods, who would you ask for directions:
an in-tune tenor sax, and out-of-tune tenor sax, or Santa Clause?
- A. the out-of-tune tenor because the other two would prove that
you'd been halluciating.
- Q. How many alto sax players does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. Five: One to handle the bulb and the other four to contemplate
how David Sanborn would have done it.
- Q. What's the difference between a lawnmower and a sproano sax?
- A. You can tune the lawnmower—and the owner's neighbors are
upset if you borrow the lawnmower and don't return it.
- Q. What do you call a bass clarinetist with half a brain?
- A. Gifted.
- Q. What's the definition of a nerd?
- A. Someone who owns his own alto clarinet.
- Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?
- A. To get away from the basoon recital.
- Q. What's the difference between playing an English Horn solo and
wetting your pants?
- A. They both give you a warm feeling but no one else cares.
- Q. How do you get two piccolos to play in unison?
- A. Shoot one.
- Q. Why is it that so few banjo players sing?
- A. By keeping their mouths shut less drool leaks out. —
Bangs Tapscott, Intermountain Acoustic Musician, June 2003
- Q. Bluegrass musician wannabe: "Honey, didn't you remember
to buy me that banjo I wanted for my birthday tomorrow?"
- A. Wife: "I remembered; but unfortunately when I got to the
music store they were still open." — Bangs Tapscott, Intermountain
Acoustic Musician, June 2003
- Q. Banjo player: "Any requests?"
- A. Audience member: "Yeah, hold still while I'm throwing these
bottles at you." — from Intermountain Acoustic Musician,
March 2003
- Q. How many CD producers does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. I don't know. What do you think?
- Q. What is the last line of the national anthem?
- A. "Gentlemen, start your engines."
- Q. What's a weapon, Dad?
- A. An instrument used to hurt somebody
- Q. Should I give up my accordion lessons? — Johnny Hart, in
"B.C.", Dec 15, 2002 Denver Post
- Q. Do you know the Canadian jazz standard?
- A. Take the Train-A
- Q. What do you call parachuting banjo players?
- A. Skeet
- Q. What's the difference between a banjo and a vacuum cleaner?
- A. You can remove the dirtbag from the vacuum cleaner. —
Matt Flinner or David Grier at RockyGrass 2002
- Q: Do you know why violin players have that little cloth tucked
under their chin?
- A: Because violins don't have spit valves.
- Q: What do you call a guy who likes to hand around with musicians?
- A: A drummer. — Richard J. Doherty
- Q. What do you get when you play a Country song backwards?
- A. You get your car back, your house back, your dog back....
- Q. Why do banjo players have 'TGIF' painted inside their shoes?
- A. To remind them, 'toes go in first'. — Intermountain
Acoustic Musician, February 2002
- Q. Why do bluegrass pickers die with their boots on?
- A. So they won't stub their toes when they kick the bucket.
- Q. What's the difference between a run-over skunk and a run-over
banjo player?
- A. There's a remote chance the skunk was on its way to a gig.
- Q. What's the difference between a banjo and a South American
Macaw?
- A. One is loud, obnoxious and noisy. The other is a bird.
- Q. How many jazz bassists does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. All of them are too laid back to bother to change it.
- Q: Two guys are standing on the curb when a taxi pulls up. One is
holding a pair of drumsticks, and the other is carrying a guitar.
Who is the professional musician?
- A: The taxi driver.
- Q: Imagine a singer, a piano player, a bass player, and a drummer
sitting around a table. If you drop a hundred-dollar bill in the middle
and tell them they're free to take it, who's getting it?
- A: The piano player. Why? The bass player is too slow. For the singer,
it's too little money, and the drummer didn't get the assignment.
- Q: What would a musician do if he won a million dollars?
- A: Continue to play gigs until the money ran out.
- Q: What's the difference between a musician and a mutual fund?
- A: The mutual fund eventually matures and earns money.
- Q: How many folk singers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
- A: Two. One to change the bulb, and one to write a song about how
good the old lightbulb was.
- Q: Do you know how many jazz musicians it takes to change a lightbulb?
- A1: No, big daddy, but hum a few bars and I'll fake it.
- A2: Twenty. One to hold the bulb, two to turn the ladder, and seventeen
in on the guest list.
- Q. What is the definition of "optimism"?
- A. A banjo player with an answering machine.
- Q: What do you do when a guitar player shows up at your door?
- A: Pay him for the pizza.
- Q: How do you know when there are banjo players at your door?
- A: They can't find the key, the knock has no rhythm, and they don't
know
when to come in.
- Q: What's the difference between a banjo and an onion?
- A: It brings tears to your eyes when you chop up an onion.
- Q: What's the difference between a banjo and a trampoline?
- A: You take off your shoes when you jump on a trampoline.
- Q. What's the Alaska state song?
- A. I Only Have Ice for You
- —Jim Jones
- Q. Why does a drummer have twice the brains of a horse?
- A. So he won't crap in the street during a parade. — heard
at the 2001 RockyGrass Academy "Advanced" bass class
- Q. What's the best thing to play on a bass?
- A. Poker
- —heard at the 2001 RockyGrass Academy "Advanced"
bass class
- Q. Why did it take the banjo player two days to wash one basement
window?
- A. It took him a day and a half just to dig the hole to put the
ladder in.
- Q. How many banjo players does it take to eat a possum?
- A. Two: one to eat and one to watch for cars
- Q. What's the difference between a banjo player and Dr. Scholl's
footpads?
- A. Dr. Scholl's footpads buck up the feet.
- Q. Why can't a gorilla play a hoedown fiddle?
- A. He's too sensitive
- Q. How do guitar flatpickers traditionally greet each other?
- A. "Hi. I'm better than you."
- Q. What's the difference between bluegrass musicians and government
bonds?
- A. Government bonds eventually mature
- Q: What's the range of a 6 string bass?
- A: 25 yards if you have a good arm.
- Q:How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?
- A: None...Roland now makes a machine that does it perfectly.
- Q. What is the difference between at cello and a coffin?
- A. With a coffin, the dead person is on the inside.
- Q. Did you know a violin and a viola are the same size?
- A. Yeah, the violin player's head is bigger.
- Q. How can you tell when a musician is well-hung?
- A. When you can just barely slip your finger in between his neck
and the noose.
- Q: What's the difference between a violin and a fiddle?
- A: A violin never had beer spilled on it.
- Q: How do you shut up a drummer?
- A: Put sheet music in front of him
- Q: What do you call a dozen oboes in a pile?
- A: Kindling.
- Q: Why do bagpipers walk while they play?
- A: To get away from the noise.
- Q: What's the new slogan for the democratic party?
- A: It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
- Q: What do you get when you cross a long-haired, long-nosed dog
with a cantaloupe?
- A: A melon collie baby
- Q: Why is a resonator banjo better than an open-back banjo?
- A: It crunches more when you run over it with a truck.
- Q: What do you get when you cross a mandolin player with a parking
meter?
- A: A parking meter that speeds up.
- Q: How do you fix a broken tuba?
- A: With a tuba glue.
- Q: What do you call a beautiful woman on a trombonist's arm?
- A: A tattoo.
- Q: What do you call a guitar player with two brain cells?
- A: Pregnant.
- Q: What do you call a drummer in a three-piece suit?
- A: "The Defendant"
- Q: What do clarinetists use for birth control?
- A: Their personalities.
- Q: What did the drummer get on his I.Q. Test?
- A: Saliva.
- Q: What do you call a jazz musician who's just broken up with
his girlfriend?
- A: Homeless.
- Q: What's the similarity between a drummer and a philosopher?
- A: They both perceive time as an abstract concept.
- Q: What is the difference between a drummer and a vacuum cleaner?
- A: You have to plug one of them in before it sucks.
- Q: Why do some people have an instant aversion to banjo players?
- A: It saves time in the long run.
- Q: What's the difference between a guitar player and a large
pizza?
- A: A large pizza can feed a family of four.
- Q: Why are music jokes so short?
- A: So the bass player can understand them.
- Q: How are musicians like linoleum?
- A: Lay them once and you can walk on them forever.
- Q: What's the difference between a jet airplane and a trumpet?
- A : About three decibels.
- Q: What's the latest crime wave in New York City?
- A: Drive-by trombone solos.
- Q: What's the definition of a minor second interval?
- A: Two Soprano Sax players reading off the same part.
- Q: What is another term for trombone?
- A: A wind driven, manually operated, pitch approximator.
- Q: How do you get an oboist to play A flat?
- A: Take the batteries out of his electronic tuner.
- Q: What is the dynamic range of a bass trombone?
- A: On or off.
- Q: What's the difference between a SCUD missile and a bad oboist?
- A: A bad oboist can kill you.
- Q: Why do clarinetists leave their cases on the dashboard?
- A: So they can park in the handicapped zones.
- Q: What's the difference between a girl singer and a pit bull?
- A: Lipstick.
- Q: Why do people play trombone?
- A: Because they can't move their fingers and read music at the
same time.
- Q: How does a violist's brain cell die?
- A: Alone.
- Q: How do you stop the spread of AIDS?
- A: Let BMG distribute it.
- Q: What do you call a guitar player that only knows two chords?
- A: A music critic.
- Q: How do you keep your violin from being stolen?
- A: Put it in a viola case.
- Q: What do a bass solo and premature ejaculation have in common?
- A: You know it's coming and there's nothing you can do about it.
- Q: What will you never say about a banjo player?
- A: That's the banjo player's new Porsche.
- Q: What do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?
- A: Everyone is relieved when the case is closed.
- Q: Why are harps like elderly parents?
- A: Both are unforgiving and hard to get into and out of cars.
- Q: How many trumpet players does it take to pave a driveway?
- A: Seven- if you lay them out correctly.
- Q: What's the first thing a girl singer does in the morning?
- A: Puts on her clothes and goes home.
- Q : What's the difference between an oboe and a bassoon?
- A: You can hit a baseball further with a bassoon.
- Q: What's the difference between a mountain dulcimer and a hammered
dulcimer?
- A: The hammered dulcimer burns longer.
- Q: How are a banjo player and a blind javelin thrower alike?
- A: Both command immediate attention and alarm, and force everyone
to move out of range.
- Q: What's the difference between a Wagnerian soprano and a baby
elephant?
- A: Eleven pounds.
- Q: Why are violist's fingers like lightning?
- A: They rarely strike the same spot twice.
- Q: What's the difference between alto clef and Greek?
- A: Some conductors actually read Greek.
- Q: How does a young man become a member of a high school chorus?
- A: On the first day of school he turns into the wrong classroom.
- Q: What is the difference between a violist and a prostitute?
- A. Prostitutes have a better sense of rhythm.
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