As we all await the decision that will decide our next President, I pondered to myself… how many of our Presidents have been musically talented? Of course we all remembered Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on late night television, but there had to be others.

Interestingly enough, only 13 of our 45 Presidents have been able to play an instrument. The first was Thomas Jefferson, who played both cello and violin. Tyler and Lincoln both also played the violin. John Quincy Adams was the only woodwind player in the group. Flute was his instrument of choice. These were all common “parlor” instruments of the time.

As time wore on, the instruments changed. Chester Alan Arthur played the banjo, Roosevelt and Wilson were both competent singers, while Coolidge and Reagan both enjoyed playing the Harmonica. Truman was an accomplished pianist whereas Nixon was the lone accordion player in the group.

My favorite was Harding though. He was a true musical bi-partisan. As 29th president of the United States, he organized the Citizen’s Cornet Band, which would perform at both Republican and Democratic rallies. He once remarked that, “I played every instrument but the slide trombone and the E-flat cornet.”

Sources: https://nafme.org/the-most-musical-united-states-presidents/