What is your instrument’s name?

Have you ever been asked, “What is your instrument’s name?” You might have had a fellow director or student refer to his/her trumpet as a squeaky cheek exploder or a tuba as an elephant burp gun. Then there are instruments with questionable names like Didgeridoo or Sackbut. Some musicians refer to their instrument as he or she. After meeting 1000’s of musicians, we learned quite a few people name their instrument. Sometimes they are hilarious. Sometimes they are sentimental and heartfelt, like one student who named her violin after her late grandfather, with whom she always enjoyed playing music when he was alive. Some musicians become one with their instruments and these instruments almost become an extension of themselves.

Known by many as the most famous of it’s kind to ever exist, Eric Clapton’s Stratocaster was named Blackie. He had to name the guitar because he created it from three different Stratocasters.

B.B. King named his guitars Lucille. According to many sources, B.B. King ran into a burning building to retrieve his beloved $30 Gibson guitar that he had left inside. The next day, King learned that the two men who started the fire had been fighting over a woman named Lucille, who worked at music hall. King named that guitar, and every guitar he owned ever after, Lucille, as a reminder to himself to never again do something as stupid as to run into a burning building or fight over women.  Apparently, Lucille must not have been true!

Check out this article in National Geographic, Even Albert Einstein gave a name to his cherished violin: Lina.

So, maybe there is something to naming your instrument. What is your instrument’s name?