Editing Instrumental

{{short description|Music without vocals}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Other uses}}
{{original research|date=November 2009}}

An '''instrumental''' or '''instrumental song''' is [[music]] without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted [[backup vocals]] in a [[big band]] setting. Through [[Semantic change|semantic widening]], a broader sense of the word [[song]] may refer to instrumentals.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Ozzi |first1=Dan |date=11 April 2018 |title=RLYR's 'Actual Existence' Is 40 Minutes of Beautiful Chaos |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rlyrs-actual-existence-album-stream/ |access-date=26 January 2019 |website=Noisey |publisher=Vice |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernardinelli |first=Federico |date=19 August 2018 |title=Rocking on Banker's Hill, an Interview with El Ten Eleven |url=http://arcticdrones.com/interviews/el-ten-eleven/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126122349/http://arcticdrones.com/interviews/el-ten-eleven/ |archive-date=26 January 2019 |access-date=26 January 2019 |website=Arctic Drones |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Tobias |title=Interview with Jasper TX {{!}} Sweden Experimental interviews |url=http://www.tokafi.com/15questions/interview-jasper-tx/ |access-date=26 January 2019 |website=tokafi.com}}</ref> The music is primarily or exclusively produced using [[musical instrument]]s. An instrumental can exist in [[music notation]], after it is written by a [[composer]]; in the mind of the composer (especially in cases where the composer themselves will perform the piece, as in the case of a [[blues]] solo guitarist or a [[folk music]] fiddle player); as a piece that is performed live by a single instrumentalist or a [[musical ensemble]], which could range in components from a [[duet|duo]] or [[trio (music)|trio]] to a large big band, [[concert band]] or [[orchestra]].

In a song that is otherwise sung, a section that is not sung but which is played by instruments can be called an '''instrumental interlude''', or, if it occurs at the beginning of the song, before the singer starts to sing, an instrumental [[introduction (music)|introduction]]. If the instrumental section highlights the skill, musicality, and often the virtuosity of a particular performer (or group of performers), the section may be called a "solo" (e.g., the [[guitar solo]] that is a key section of [[heavy metal music]] and [[hard rock]] songs). If the instruments are [[percussion instrument]]s, the interlude can be called a percussion interlude or "percussion break". These interludes are a form of [[Break (music)|break]] in the song.

==In popular music==
[[File:Steve Combs Delta Is - 01 - Theme Q.ogg|thumb|Example from [[Free Music Archive]], Steve Combs & Delta Is - "Theme Q",<br />bass, drum, guitar, keyboard,<br />4 min 53 s]] 
In commercial [[popular music]], instrumental tracks are sometimes renderings, [[remix]]es of a corresponding release that features vocals, but they may also be compositions originally conceived without vocals. One example of a genre in which both vocal/instrumental and solely instrumental songs are produced is blues. A [[blues]] band often uses mostly songs that have lyrics that are sung, but during the band's show, they may also perform instrumental songs which only include [[electric guitar]], [[harmonica]], [[upright bass]]/[[electric bass]] and [[drum kit]]. Instrumental versions of songs can also be used to create remixes and [[Mashup (music)|mashups]] or used in [[DJ mix|DJ sets]]. If an instrumental version of a track is not released, it can be created through [[stem separation]]/vocal removal.

==Number-one instrumentals==
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Title
! Artist
! Country
! Reached number-one
|-
|"[[Frenesi]]"
|[[Artie Shaw]]
|US
|1940
|-
|"[[Song of the Volga Boatmen]]"<ref>{{cite web |title=Number Ones - Mar 1941 |url=https://tsort.info/music/n1c941.htm |access-date=14 December 2022 |publisher=tsort.info}}</ref>
|[[Glenn Miller]]
|US
|1941
|-
|[[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)|Piano Concerto in B Flat]]
|[[Freddy Martin]]
|US
|1941
|-
|"[[A String of Pearls (song)|A String of Pearls]]"
|[[Glenn Miller]]
|US
|1942
|-
|"[[Moonlight Cocktail]]"
|[[Glenn Miller]]
|US
|1942
|-
|"[[Heartaches (song)|Heartaches]]"
|[[Ted Weems]]
|US
|1947
|-
|"[[Twelfth Street Rag]]"
|[[Pee Wee Hunt]]
|US
|1948
|-
|"[[Blue Tango]]"
|[[Leroy Anderson]]
|US
|1952
|-
|"[[The Song from Moulin Rouge]]"<ref name="mantovani">{{cite web |last=Huey |first=Steve |title=Mantovani: Biography |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=mantovani-mn0000953998/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=14 May 2010 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref><ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers">{{cite web|url=http://ukcharts.20m.com/inst1.html|title=Instrumental #1s|publisher=ukcharts.20m.com}}</ref>
|[[Mantovani]]
|UK
|1953
|-
|"{{Lang|de|[[Oh Mein Papa]]|italic=no}}"<ref name="oh mein papa" group="note">Contains several vocal interjections of the title.</ref><ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="eddie calvert">{{cite web|title=Eddie Calvert: Biography|first=Sharon|last=Mawer|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p184907/biography|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=14 May 2010}}</ref>
|[[Eddie Calvert]]
|UK
|1954
|-
|"[[Let's Have Another Party]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="winifred atwell">{{cite web |last=Mawer |first=Sharon |title=Winifred Atwell: Biography |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=winifred-atwell-mn0000573685/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=14 May 2010 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
|[[Winifred Atwell]]
|UK
|1954
|-
|"[[Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="eddie calvert"/>
|[[Pérez Prado]]
|UK
|1955
|-
|"[[Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)]]"<ref name="perez prado">{{cite web |last=Huey |first=Steve |title=Pérez Prado: Biography |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=pérez-prado-mn0000310383/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=14 May 2010 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
|[[Pérez Prado]]
|US
|1955
|-
|"[[Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)]]"<ref name="eddie calvert"/>
|[[Eddie Calvert]]
|UK
|1955
|-
|"[[Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)]]"
|[[Pérez Prado]]
|Germany
|1955
|-
|"[[Autumn Leaves (1945 song)|Autumn Leaves]]"
|[[Roger Williams (pianist)|Roger Williams]]
|US
|1955
|-
|"{{Lang|pt|[[Lisbon Antigua]]|italic=no}}"
|[[Nelson Riddle]]
|US
|1956
|-
|"[[The Poor People of Paris#Les Baxter version|The Poor People of Paris]]"
|[[Les Baxter]]
|US
|1956
|-
|"[[The Poor People of Paris#Winifred Atwell version|The Poor People of Paris]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="winifred atwell"/>
|[[Winifred Atwell]]
|UK
|1956
|-
|"[[Moonglow and Theme from Picnic|Moonglow and Theme from ''Picnic'']]"
|[[Morris Stoloff]]
|US
|1956
|-
|"[[Tequila (Champs song)|Tequila]]"<ref group="note" name="tequila">Features vocal interjections of the title at the end of each chorus.</ref>
|[[The Champs]]
|US
|1958
|-
|"[[Patricia (Perez Prado song)|Patricia]]"<ref name="perez prado"/>
|[[Pérez Prado]]
|US
|1958
|-
|"[[Patricia (Perez Prado song)|Patricia]]"
|[[Pérez Prado]]
|Germany
|1958
|-
|"[[Hoots Mon]]"<ref group="note" name="hoots mon">Contains several Scottish-sounding grunts at the end of each chorus and immediately beforehand.</ref><ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="lord rockingham's xi">{{cite web|title=Lord Rockingham's XI: Biography|first=Sharon|last=Mawer|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p808812/biography|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=14 May 2010}}</ref>
|[[Lord Rockingham's XI]]
|UK
|1958
|-
|"[[Side Saddle]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="russ conway">{{cite news|title=Pianist Russ Conway dies|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1027037.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=13 May 2010|date=16 November 2000}}</ref>
|[[Russ Conway]]
|UK
|1959
|-
|"[[The Happy Organ]]"<ref name="mojo"/>
|[[Dave "Baby" Cortez]]
|US
|1959
|-
|"[[Roulette (instrumental)|Roulette]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="russ conway"/>
|[[Russ Conway]]
|UK
|1959
|-
|"[[Sleep Walk]]"
|[[Santo & Johnny]]
|US
|1959
|-
|"[[Theme from A Summer Place#Percy Faith version|Theme from ''A Summer Place'']]"<ref name="tunecaster">{{cite web|url=http://tunecaster.com/charts/music/instrumental-top-10.html|title=All Instrumental Top 20 Songs, every top 20 instrumental, Dec 1959 - Jun 1962|publisher=Tunecaster}}</ref>
|[[Percy Faith]]
|US
|1960
|-
|"[[Apache (instrumental)#The Shadows version|Apache]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="mojo">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2009/12/whatever_happened_to_the_hit_i.html|title=Whatever Happened To The Hit Instrumental?|last=McNair|first=James|date=10 December 2009|journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|access-date=19 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091220043210/http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2009/12/whatever_happened_to_the_hit_i.html|archive-date=20 December 2009}}</ref><ref name="the shadows2">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4480704.stm | work=BBC News | title=The Shadows founder member dies | date=29 November 2005}}</ref>
|[[The Shadows]]
|UK
|1960
|-
|"[[Wonderland by Night]]"<ref name="tunecaster"/>
|[[Bert Kaempfert]]
|US
|1961
|-
|"[[Calcutta (song)|Calcutta]]"<ref name="tunecaster"/>
|[[Lawrence Welk]]
|US
|1961
|-
|"[[On the Rebound]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name=Telegraph>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233809|title=Country Music Hall of Fame To Welcome Floyd Cramer and Carl Smith|publisher=[[Broadcast Music Incorporated]]|access-date=13 May 2010|date=13 August 2003}}</ref>
|[[Floyd Cramer]]
|UK
|1961
|-
|"[[Kon-Tiki (song)|Kon-Tiki]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite news|last=Boynton|first=Graham|title=Hank Marvin: 'We should have taken Harrison's advice and sung'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/6231899/Hank-Marvin-We-should-have-taken-Harrisons-advice-and-sung.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/6231899/Hank-Marvin-We-should-have-taken-Harrisons-advice-and-sung.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=13 May 2010|date=25 September 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
|[[The Shadows]]
|UK
|1961
|-
|"[[Mexico (instrumental)|Mexico]]"
|[[Bob Moore (musician)|Bob Moore]]
|Germany
|1962
|-
|"[[Wonderful Land]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="mojo"/>
|[[The Shadows]]
|UK
|1962
|-
|"[[Nut Rocker]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="nut rocker">{{Cite news|last=Perrone|first=Pierre|title=Obituary: Earl Palmer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/sep/23/popandrock.usa|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=14 May 2010|date=23 September 2008|location=London}}</ref>
|[[B. Bumble and the Stingers]]
|UK
|1962
|-
|"[[Stranger on the Shore]]"
|[[Acker Bilk]]
|US/UK<br><ref group="note" name="stranger on the shore">[[Stranger on the Shore]] hit #1 on the end of year UK charts, but NOT the weekly UK charts. Despite this, it is the highest selling instrumental single worldwide and in the UK; in the US, this honor falls to [[Meco]]'s [[Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band]].</ref>
|1962
|-
|"[[The Stripper]]"<ref name="tunecaster"/>
|[[David Rose (musician)|David Rose]]
|US
|1962
|-
|"[[Telstar (instrumental)|Telstar]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="mojo"/>
|[[The Tornados]]
|UK
|1962
|-
|"[[Telstar (instrumental)|Telstar]]"<ref name="tunecaster2">{{cite web|url=http://tunecaster.com/charts/music/instrumental-top-10-2.html|title=All Instrumental Top 20 Songs, every top 20 instrumental, Sep 1962 - Oct 1966|publisher=Tunecaster}}</ref>
|[[The Tornados]]
|US
|1962
|-
|"[[Dance On!]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="the shadows">{{Cite journal|title=Rhythm magazine|url=http://www.brianbennettmusic.co.uk/art_rhythm.php|journal=[[Rhythm (music magazine)|Rhythm]]|date=March 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226120035/http://www.brianbennettmusic.co.uk/art_rhythm.php|archive-date=26 February 2012}}</ref>
|[[The Shadows]]
|UK
|1963
|-
|"[[Diamonds (instrumental)|Diamonds]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="the shadows2"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |title=Jet Harris – Biography |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=jet-harris-mn0000340734/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=19 December 2009 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
|[[Jet Harris]] and [[Tony Meehan]]
|UK
|1963
|-
|"[[Telstar (instrumental)|Telstar]]"
|[[The Tornados]]
|France
|1963
|-
|"[[Foot Tapper]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="the shadows"/>
|[[The Shadows]]
|UK
|1963
|-
|"{{lang|it|[[Il Silenzio (song)|Il Silenzio]]|italic=no}}"
|[[Nini Rosso]]
|Germany
|1965
|-
|"[[A Taste of Honey (song)|A Taste of Honey]]"<ref name="tunecaster2"/>
|[[Herb Alpert|Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass]]
|US
|1965
|-
|"[[L'amour est bleu#Paul Mauriat version|Love is Blue]]"<ref name="tunecaster3">{{cite web|url=http://tunecaster.com/charts/music/instrumental-top-10-3.html|title=All Instrumental Top 20 Songs, every top 20 instrumental, Oct 1966 - Jun 1973|publisher=[[Tunecaster]]}}</ref>
|[[Paul Mauriat]]
|US
|1968
|-
|"[[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (theme)#Hugo Montenegro version|The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]]"<ref name="tunecaster3"/>
|[[Hugo Montenegro]]
|US
|1968
|-
|"[[Grazing in the Grass#Hugh Masekela recording|Grazing in the Grass]]"<ref name="tunecaster3"/>
|[[Hugh Masekela]]
|US
|1968
|-
|"[[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (theme)#Hugo Montenegro version|The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=Hugo Montenegro: Biography |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=hugo-montenegro-mn0000227352/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=14 May 2010 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
|[[Hugo Montenegro]], his Orchestra and Chorus
|UK
|1968
|-
|"[[Albatross (composition)|Albatross]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="mojo"/>
|[[Fleetwood Mac]]
|UK
|1969
|-
|"[[Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet|Love Theme from ''Romeo and Juliet'']]"<ref name="tunecaster3"/>
|[[Henry Mancini]]
|US
|1969
|-
|"[[Amazing Grace#Recorded versions|Amazing Grace]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="mojo"/>
|[[Royal Scots Dragoon Guards]]
|UK
|1972
|-
|"[[Popcorn (instrumental)#Hot Butter version|Popcorn]]"
|[[Hot Butter]]
|France
|1972
|-
|"[[Mouldy Old Dough]]"<ref name="mouldy old dough" group="note">Contains vocal interjections before, during, and immediately after the choruses.</ref><ref name=mojo/>
|[[Lieutenant Pigeon]]
|UK
|1972
|-
|"[[Frankenstein (instrumental)|Frankenstein]]"<ref name="tunecaster3"/>
|[[Edgar Winter|The Edgar Winter Group]]
|US
|1973
|-
|"[[Eye Level]]"<ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref name="mojo"/>
|[[Simon Park Orchestra]]
|UK
|1973
|-
|"[[Love's Theme]]"<ref name="tunecaster4">{{cite web|url=http://tunecaster.com/charts/music/instrumental-top-10-4.html|title=All Instrumental Top 20 Songs, every top 20 instrumental, Nov 1973 - now|publisher=[[Tunecaster]]}}</ref>
|[[The Love Unlimited Orchestra]]
|US
|1974
|-
|"[[TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)]]"<ref group="note" name="tsop">Contains vocals at the beginning and during the fade-out.</ref>
|[[MFSB]] featuring [[The Three Degrees]]
|US
|1974
|-
|"[[Pick Up the Pieces (Average White Band song)|Pick Up the Pieces]]"<ref name="pick up the pieces" group="note">Contains vocal interjections at the end of the second and third verses.</ref><ref name="tunecaster4"/>
|[[Average White Band]]
|US
|1975
|-
|"[[The Hustle (song)|The Hustle]]"<ref name="the hustle" group="note">Contains vocal interjections of "do the hustle!" at the end of each chorus.</ref><ref name="tunecaster4"/>
|[[Van McCoy]] and the Soul City Symphony
|US
|1975
|-
|"[[Fly, Robin, Fly]]"<ref name="fly robin fly" group="note">Contains vocal interjections of the title at the end of each chorus and "up, up to the sky" as an ending.</ref>
|[[Silver Convention]]
|US
|1975
|-
|"[[Theme from S.W.A.T.|Theme from ''S.W.A.T.'']]"<ref name="tunecaster4"/>
|[[Rhythm Heritage]]
|US
|1976
|-
|"[[A Fifth of Beethoven]]"<ref name="tunecaster4"/>
|[[Walter Murphy]]
|US
|1976
|-
|"[[Gonna Fly Now]]"<ref name="gonna fly now" group="note">Contains vocals, which total thirty words and thus contains the most lyrics of any song classified as an instrumental which has hit number 1.</ref>
|[[Bill Conti]]
|US
|1977
|-
|"[[Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band]]"<ref name="stranger on the shore" group="note"/>
|[[Meco]]
|US
|1977
|-
|"[[Rise (instrumental)|Rise]]"<ref name="tunecaster4"/>
|[[Herb Alpert]]
|US
|1979
|-
|"[[One Step Beyond (song)|One Step Beyond]]"<ref name="beyond" group="note">Includes spoken introduction, and background chant of, "Here we go" at several points during the song.</ref>
|[[Madness (band)|Madness]]
|France
|1980
|-
|"[[Chariots of Fire (instrumental)|Chariots of Fire]]"<ref name="tunecaster4"/>
|[[Vangelis]]
|US
|1982
|-
|"[[Miami Vice Theme|''Miami Vice'' Theme]]"<ref name="tunecaster4"/>
|[[Jan Hammer]]
|US
|1985
|-
|"[[Song of Ocarina]]"
|Jean-Philippe Audin and [[Diego Modena]]
|France
|1992
|-
|"[[Doop (song)|Doop]]"<ref name="doop" group="note">Contains, during its choruses, several nonsensical vocal interjections of the title.</ref><ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/zoom.php?id=703|title=All the No.1s: Doop &ndash; Doop|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=19 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105003621/http://theofficialcharts.com/zoom.php?id=703|archive-date=5 January 2010}}</ref>
|[[Doop (band)|Doop]]
|UK
|1994
|-
|"[[The X-Files (composition)|The X-Files]]"
|[[Mark Snow]]
|France
|1996
|-
|"[[Flat Beat]]"<ref name="flat beat" group="note">At the beginning, before the main piece begins, it features the lyrics "Oh yeah, I used to know Quentin, he's a real, he's a real jerk".</ref><ref name="uk instrumental chart toppers"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Siegler|first=Dylan|date=April 2000|title=Mr. Oizo|journal=[[CMJ|CMJ New Music Monthly]]|publisher=College Media Inc.|issue=80|page=39|issn=1074-6978|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GCoEAAAAMBAJ&q=Flat+Beat+instrumental+1999&pg=PA39}}</ref>
|[[Mr. Oizo]]
|UK
|1999
|-
|"[[Seek Bromance|Bromance]]"<ref name="bromance" group="note">Bromance was an instrumental before being re-released as "Seek Bromance" with vocals by Amanda Wilson from the song "Love U Seek" by Italian DJ Samuele Sartini.</ref>
|Tim Berg ([[Avicii]])
|Belgium (Flanders)
|2010
|-
|"[[Harlem Shake (song)|Harlem Shake]]"<ref name="harlem shake" group="note">Contains samples of the lines "Con los terroristas" from a remix of the 2006 reggaeton single "Maldades" by Héctor Delgado and "Do the Harlem shake" from "Miller Time" by Plastic Little.</ref>
|[[Baauer]]
|Australia/New Zealand
|2013
|-
|"[[Harlem Shake (song)|Harlem Shake]]"
|[[Baauer]]
|US
|2013
|-
|"[[Animals (Martin Garrix song)|Animals]]"<ref name="animals" group="note">"We're the fucking animals" is said twice.</ref>
|[[Martin Garrix]]
|Belgium (Flanders)
|2013
|-
|"[[Animals (Martin Garrix song)|Animals]]"
|[[Martin Garrix]]
|Belgium (Wallonia)
|2013
|-
|"[[Animals (Martin Garrix song)|Animals]]"
|[[Martin Garrix]]
|Scotland/UK
|2013
|}

==Borderline cases==
{{unref section|date=January 2019}}
Some recordings which include brief or non-musical use of the human voice are typically considered instrumentals. Examples include songs with the following:
* Short verbal interjections (as in "[[Tequila (Champs song)|Tequila]]", "[[Topsy (instrumental)|Topsy]]", "[[Wipe Out (instrumental)|Wipe Out]]", "[[The Hustle (song)|The Hustle]]", or "[[Bentley Rhythm Ace (album)|Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out]]")
* Repetitive [[Non-lexical vocables in music|nonsense]] words (e.g., "la la..." (as in "[[Calcutta (song)|Calcutta]]") or "[[Woo-Hoo (Rock-A-Teens song)|Woo Hoo]]")
* Non-musical spoken passages in the background of the track (e.g., "[[To Live Is to Die]]" by [[Metallica]] or "[[Desolation of Eden|Wasteland]]" by [[Chelsea Grin]])
* Wordless vocal effects, such as [[drone (music)|drones]] (e.g., "[[Rockit (song)|Rockit]]" or "[[Flying (Beatles instrumental)|Flying]]")
* [[Vocal percussion]], such as beatbox [[B-sides]] on rap singles
* [[Screaming (music)|Yelling]] (e.g. "[[Cry for a Shadow]]")
* [[Yodeling]] (e.g., "[[Hocus Pocus (song)|Hocus Pocus]]")
* [[Whistling]] (e.g., "[[I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman]]" or "[[Colonel Bogey March]]")
* Spoken statements at the end of the track (e.g., "[[God Bless the Children of the Beast]]" by [[Mötley Crüe]] or "[[For the Love of God (instrumental)|For the Love of God]]" by [[Steve Vai]])
* Non-musical vocal recordings taken from other media (e.g., "[[Vampires (Godsmack song)|Vampires]]" by [[Godsmack]])
* [[Field recording]]s which may or may not contain non-lyrical words (e.g., many songs by [[Godspeed You! Black Emperor]] and other [[post-rock]] bands)

Songs including actual musical—rhythmic, melodic, and lyrical—vocals might still be categorized as instrumentals if the vocals appear only as a short part of an extended piece (e.g., "[[Unchained Melody]]" (Les Baxter), "[[Batman Theme]]", "[[TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)]]", "[[Pick Up the Pieces (Average White Band song)|Pick Up the Pieces]]", "The Hustle", "[[Fly, Robin, Fly]]", "[[Get Up and Boogie (song)|Get Up and Boogie]]", "[[Do It Any Way You Wanna]]", and "[[Gonna Fly Now]]"), though this definition is loose and subjective.

Falling just outside of that definition is "[[Theme from Shaft|Theme from ''Shaft'']]" by [[Isaac Hayes]].

"[[Better Off Alone]]", which began as an instrumental by [[DJ Jurgen]], had vocals by [[Judith Pronk]], who would become a seminal part of [[Alice Deejay]], added in later releases of the track.

==See also==
* [[A cappella]], vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment
* [[Backing track]], a pre-recorded music that singers sing along to or a [[karaoke]] without vocals
* [[Beautiful music]]
* [[Easy listening]]
* [[Instrumental hip hop]]
* [[Instrumental rock]]
* [[medley (music)|Medley]]
* [[List of rock instrumentals]]
* [[Post-rock]]
* [[Smooth jazz]]

==Notes==
<references group="note"/>

==References==
<references />

{{Wiktionary}}
{{commons category|Instrumental music}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Instrumentals| ]]
[[Category:Music-related lists]]
[[Category:Musical compositions]]
[[Category:Song forms]]