[Top 5] Baldur's Gate 3 Best Instruments (Ranked)

I think everyone at some point has fiddled (get it?) with the idea of becoming a musician. Happy news in Baldur’s Gate 3 your dream of being a SoundCloud rapper can come true. Well, you can become a bard, which is close enough. There are five types of instruments you can main in the game, hand drum, lute, flute, violin and lyre. Beyond the types alone there are special instruments that don’t necessarily have any extra abilities but the lore behind them makes it worth it to pick them up. Some of the best instruments come from characters in the game, making them all the more sentimental. The best instruments in-game are listed below with information of how useful they are.

5.  Kiam Goda’s Kilat Drum (Good)

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Keep the peace with this drum

Hand drums are very fun instruments for people who love to hit things. This is not the best instrument for any kind of solo though, and we all know bards like a good solo. As it is just a drum, the tunes you can play in the game are usually back up parts. 

This is a perfect instrument if you are doing a playthrough with friends. You guys can start a band! The Bumbling Bards or something. This instrument really rounds out a performance and hey someone has to be the backbone. Much like a barbarian, the hand drum may not be the flashiest instrument but it is what keeps the party going.

A Lulutiun hand drum covered in sealskin, like those played at koatulit peace festivals. Kiam Goda was famous for his finger-thumb taradiddles.

• Hand Drum
• Rare
• 1.5 kg
• 90 gp

4. Dostrealt’s Piccolo (Good)

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Don’t let anyone tell you to pipe down

If you’ve ever been in band or have been band adjacent, which I’m pretty sure anyone who plays BG3 has known a band kid, piccolo’s are usually the stuff of nightmares. But in BG3 a piccolo is a cute wooden flute not a tiny silver terror. Flute/piccolo solos are popular for a reason as you get this breathy ethereal sound when you play.

This is the perfect instrument if you are really into ocarinas or panpipes. Aka the desire to be a little woodland creature. The flute is soft and enchanting. It can draw people in as a distraction if that is what you are looking for. It is an instrument that I believe works best on its own, if only because it can get lost in the other instruments. The instrument can be purchased (or stolen) from the Chromatic Scale in Baldur’s Gate.

This petite flute, engraved with drow sigils, is said to have belonged to Captain Dostrealt of the spelljammer flitter 'Erevan's Clutch'.

• Flute
• Rare
• 0.5 kg
• 70 gp

3. Glimmergad’s Selgaunt Fiddle (Excellent)

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Fiddle me this…

Fiddles and violins are the same thing. If people wanna fight about it, that is not my business. But playing a fiddle or violin in Baldur’s Gate 3, that is my business. I believe that the violin is an excellent instrument to main as a bard. It gives the foot stomping folk tune vibe that is intertwined throughout history and fantasy. 

The violin is a versatile instrument, playing joyful tunes and the saddest dirges. It is an instrument that can fit in at any moment on any occasion. The violin also can be part of a band or stand on its own as a solo. This versatility is what makes it so perfect for a bard, as music is intrinsically a part of the class and you want to be able to play as much as possible. You can find this fiddle in the shop, The Chromatic Scale, in Baldur’s Gate.

Glimmergad’s Selgaunt Fiddle:

The notorious gnomish bard Fiddlesticks Glimmergad was said to play violin tunes so sad they made bank guards weep - while his accomplices robbed the bank's vaults.

• Violin
• Rare
• .55 kg
• 100 gp

2. Lihala’s Lute (Excellent)

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This is a special kind of lute

Lutes are probably the most popular in any fantasy setting, they are basically guitars but medieval. It’s giving peasant rock star. It is an instrument that has great range and versatility. But it stands out most as a solo instrument.

This particular lute is special because it comes from a dead woman. But specifically because the sweetest baby angel of an NPC gives it to you after you help her with a song. I am talking about our girl Alfira.  It is her gift to you after helping her make tribute to her dead mentor, Lihala. It's essentially a story item because it intertwines yours and Alfira’s fates, sometimes in good ways, sometimes in horrible, terrible, very bad ways. Alfira can be found in the Druid’s Grove in Act I.

Lihala’s Lute:

This lute's wooden body is worn dull from time and use, but its strings and frets are still in excellent condition.

• Lute
• Story Item
• 1 kg
• 14gp

1. Spider’s Lyre (Best)

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Watch your fingers

Goth girls unite! This lyre is the instrument for those who like dark, spooky things that could possibly kill you. The lyre is a hand held string instrument, similar to a harp. It is aesthetic as all get out, letting your bard stand out from the crowd.

The speciality of this lyre in particular comes in handy when entering Act II. Play it when you enter the shadows and boom. Spooky spider guy at your service. HIs actual name is Kar’niss and he is a drider, drow/spider.  It is very handy when trying to get to Moonrise without dying as he has a Moon Lantern and will be your guide. The Spider’s Lyre is with Minthara in Act I, however you want to acquire it.

Spider’s Lyre:

The strings of this lyre are as sharp as an assassin's blade. Pluck with care, or you may lose a fingertip.

• Lyre
• Story Item
• 1 kg
• 14 gp

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