When do we put "the" before musical instruments?
E.g:She plays the violin.
She's holding a violin.
Why we used the in the first example but not in the second?

Thanks.

Question

When do we put "the" before musical instruments?
E.g:She plays the violin.
      She's holding a violin.
Why we used the in the first example but not in the second?

Thanks.

Answer

It is just the way we say things.
"She plays violin." = "She plays the violin." = "The instrument she plays is a violin."
It means that she plays an instrument and the instrument is a violin and she plays it in general.  It could be at any time.

"She plays a violin." could also be used to mean she often plays violin.  However, it is used more to refer to a particular place and time.
"She plays a violin in the orchestra."  = "She plays violin in the orchestra."
You also might be referring to a particular time.
"Last night, she played a violin."  Note that there is no hard rule.  We could have said "Last night, she played the violin." - without talking about a particular violin.

In slang "She plays a mean violin" = "She plays the violin very well."
Hope this isn't too confusing.

Answer

This is a stock phrase - to play the violin, to play the euphonium.

If we use 'a', the violin could be any violin (indefinite).

Non perdere l'opportunità di imparare una lingua comodamente da casa tua. Esplora la nostra selezione di insegnanti di lingue esperti e iscriviti subito alla tua prima lezione!