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Comment by Sharlin | Hacker News Reader

That much is obvious and everyone learns it like on the first week of English learning, of course. It’s the various cases where that simple rule doesn’t apply that are difficult.

"I play the piano"

And then there are those cases where you actually use neither!

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Instruments are interesting when it comes to articles. I'm wondering if it's a leftover for when people would play in orchestras.

> What do you play (in the orchestra)?

> I play the piano (in the orchestra).

Using 'the' here feels quite formal, as if you belong to something, or it's a career choice.

> Play any instruments?

> ah, I play guitar (casually)

> Yes, I play the guitar (for a band, or at least I larp as doing so)

When it comes to 'a/an', we should assume that there's an element of randomness, or irrelevance as to which one precisely.

> What you doing tonight? Playing guitar

> What you doing tonight? Playing a guitar

> What you doing tonight? Playing the guitar.

The second option doesn't sound natural interestingly, as 'tonight' in the question implies there's a plan. Playing 'an' instrument, therefore, comes off as more spontaneous; playing 'any' instrument which just happens to be there.

And "There is a piano in the lobby."

I see this as consistent. When you say "I play the piano" you are really saying, "There are many instruments – banjo, trumpet, clarinet, and piano. I play the piano". Saying "I play a piano" is also correct. But the inference is that you are referring to one particular piano.

In the sentence "There is a piano in the lobby" you are saying "There are many objects in the lobby. Among them is a piano, one of many in the world".

But it's still where the generic, simplistic application of the rule of "the for distinct, a for generic" fails.

When "you can play the piano", you can play any piano. When "there is a piano in the lobby", it's distinctively a very specific one.

So I would go on a limb and claim: whether you use the or a is also philosophical in nature :)

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