D&D 5E Can Dragonborn play a flute?

[DEFCON 1]

NOSEFLUTE!

 

[iserith]

Personally, I'd play a dragonborn musician as continually frustrated at losing flutes and audience members to errant uses of its breath weapon.

"Please enjoy this performance of 'The Minstrel Boy'..."
*blows the first note*
*fire incinerates the flute and burns several people in the first row*
"Dammit, not again!"

 

[jayoungr]

Do you mean a recorder/tin whistle-style flute or a transverse flute? The former should be easier for a creature with a nonstandard mouth than the latter; it can even be stuck in the side of the mouth if necessary.

Or maybe Dragonborn use an extra attachment to channel the air properly?

 

[Tortoise]

"One time at adventurer camp."

It seems likely that a type of flute suitable to their anatomy would exist. Nose flute sounds reasonable. Just make sure when buying tickets to a show you get back row seats.

 

[thalmin]

Ask your player how he envisions it.

 

[jgsugden]

This falls into the realm of: "Which answer is more fun?" Use that answer. For anything that does not impact balance, the answer should always be more fun.

Some games might decide that a dragonborn that can't play flutes but tries is fun, or that there are special flutes designed for dragonborn, or that that flutes are fine for dragonborn as is.... Just ask what seems more like fun and go with it.

However, dragonborn can not play drums. No rhythm.

 

[Dausuul]

I had a player that created a dragonborn fighter and was giving him a musical instrument, he wanted to use a flute. I looked at the picture in phb and couldn't decide if they had fully functional lips like humans or if it was more reptilian.

They can talk. I'd say they can play the flute.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Pan pipes!
Just like the Fast Show (skip to 4:44) http://youtu.be/66MarlzxfW8
Dragonborn ain't got no rhythm.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

A dragonborn wind instrument would probably need to be carefully made. Depending on the user's breath weapon, I assume reeds would ether char or corrode quickly. A form of metal flute might actually be rather popular due to it's resilience to such things.

 

[Kobold Stew]

The Athenians played the double aulos, a kind of woodwind with a double reed (and so a pipe, though it's often translated as "flute"). Because of the demands of the embouchure (and to prevent unattractive Dizzy-Gillespie-cheeks) they had a strap worn around the head called the phorbeia. I could see some adaptation like that being used to allow lipless individuals to use a flute -- a prosthetic that allowed the instrument to be played.