Instrumental

An instrumental in classical music is a piece of music for solo instrument without any added accompaniment. The unadorned nature of the music makes the instrumental the most intimate and in many cases the most poignant genres in music. Music for keyboard predominates. The reason for this is twofold: firstly the wide range of harmonies available (especially the piano) allowing such a virtuosi as Liszt to display his virtuosic skills; secondly the preponderance of the piano in many households right up to the middle of the twentieth century. Following in close second is the violin and like the piano a virtuoso instrument. In addition both instruments have been used in teaching music since time immemorial; resulting in a large quantity of didactic material which has found its way into the concert hall. Other instruments of importance in this genre are the guitar, flute and viola.