Editing Multi-instrumentalist (section)

{{short description|Musician who plays multiple musical instruments}}
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[[File:Roy Ayers @ Becks Music Box (12 2 2011) (5457445963).jpg|thumb|[[Roy Ayers]] playing keyboard and alto saxophone (2011)]]
A '''multi-instrumentalist''' is a musician who plays two or more [[musical instrument]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=Multi-Instrumentalist|url=http://mw2.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multi-instrumentalist|publisher=Merriam-Webster|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308053633/http://mw2.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multi-instrumentalist|archive-date=2012-03-08}}</ref> often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency.

Also known as '''[[woodwind doubler|doubling]]''', the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where a particular instrument may be employed only briefly or sporadically during a performance. Doubling is not uncommon in [[orchestra]] (e.g., [[flute|flutists]] who double on [[piccolo]]) and jazz ([[saxophone]]/flute players); [[double bass]] players might also perform on [[electric bass]]. In [[music theatre]], a [[pit orchestra]]'s reed players might be required to perform on multiple instruments. Church [[piano]] players are often expected to play the church's [[pipe organ]] or [[Hammond organ]] as well.

In [[popular music]] it is more common than in classical or jazz for performers to be proficient on instruments not from the same family, for instance to play both guitar and keyboards. Many [[bluegrass music]]ians are multi-instrumentalists. Some musicians' unions or associations, such as the [[American Federation of Musicians]], specify a higher rate of [[Wage|pay]] for musicians who double on two or more instruments for a performance or recording.