Instrument skill



Instrument skills are five similar skills in The Sims 3 each dealing with a different instrument, guitar, bass, drums, piano, and violin. The Guitar skill is available in the base game, Violin skill is added from The Sims 3 Store Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire set, and the other three are featured in The Sims 3: Late Night. These skills are augmented by the Virtuoso traits.

Statistics
Most statistics of each instrument are similar, but they have different titles.
 * Compositions Learned (Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano)
 * Percent of Compositions Known (Violin)
 * Number of times compositions have been performed (Guitar)
 * Compositions Played (Bass, Drums, Piano)
 * Total Played Compositions (Violin)
 * Total Played Medieval Compositions (Violin)
 * Times Watched (Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano)
 * Total Watchers (Violin)
 * Money Made (Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano)
 * Tips Earned (Violin)

Challenges
Most instruments have identical skill challenges. Violin doesn't have skill challenges, however.


 * Master Guitarist/Drummer/Pianist/Bassist
 * Master Guitarists learn to play every song awarded to them and available for purchase at the store. After learning so many songs, they receive a special Master Track!


 * Guitar/Drum/Bass/Piano Star
 * Guitar Stars must play at 10 Parties and Venues in the town to earn their title. Afterward, they earn larger monetary rewards for tips and performances!


 * Money Maker
 * Earn §25,000 playing the instrument to earn a new Master Track to perform. Money can be earned through tips or by completing opportunities.

Abilities
Sims with level 5 or higher instrument skill can learn new compositions by buying and reading sheet music from bookstore. Compositions can only be learned once, and after Sims finish learning it, the sheet music will vanish. Some compositions are available to be learned from completing Master Guitarist/Bassist/Drummer/Pianist and Money Maker challenges.

Unlike the other instruments, Violin skill doesn't have sheet music in the bookstore. Sims will instantly learn violin compositions when they reach higher skill levels. Violin also has 2 types of compositions: normal and medieval composition.

Sims can play for tips at level 5. They can go to a community lot and play for tips to earn money from watching Sims. In addition, they can also play for tips in the subway, which is more efficient because they may earn tips without actual Sims watching them playing. If the Sim has a romantic interest, they can also serenade them with their instrument.

More skilled Sims will create an "Enjoying Music" moodlet when Sims are around. The moodlet effect will be higher if the Sim has higher skills. The moodlet will start appearing with skill level 5 with +15 effect, and the effect will increase by +5 for each skill level. Sims who master the skill will create the moodlet with +40 effect. The effect does not stack with other music sources however, like stereo.