I see your hc of Snape having a clarinet. And I raise you Snape playing violin and piano
Oh baby this is gonna be one long ass post because music is my passion and I think A LOT about musical headcanons of Snape.
I think we all agree that Snape didn’t learn to play an instrument during his childhood. His parents wouldn’t have had the money to pay for the lessons or the instrument itself, but I always imagine that Snape had a great interest in learning some kind of instrument. He has this enorm thirst for knowledge in every aspect and I think music wasn’t excluded in that. Also because playing an instrument has a certain status (meaning you have enough money to learn it) and Snape craved this status.
I like to imagine that he first realized how badly he wanted to play an instrument when he visited the Malfoy manner and saw the huge collection of instruments there. He saw Malfoy playing the piano, too and ever since the thought never let him go.
But I think he didn’t start learning playing until his time as a teacher in Hogwarts. We don’t really know what he was up to as a death eater. But I imagine he wasn’t in a really good place mentally and he barely thought about it anymore.
Now let’s talk instruments:
I can totally 100% imagine Snape playing either piano or violin! Both instruments have this elegance, the whole exterior is simply beautiful and matches Snape perfectly.
I can see him hunched over (specifically hunched, remember in Snape worst memory the way he was hunched over his paper, his nose almost touching the paper) the piano tiles in deep concentration while he learns a new piece. His brows are furrowed and he clicks his tongue every time his fingers accidentally hit the wrong tile or a difficult combination doesn’t work at first try. Then when his muscle memory kicks in and his elegant, long finger hit the right tone almost on their own, he sits upright, takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and starts playing the piece. He loves the sound and being able to create this harmony fills him with pride. His fingers almost dance across the black and white of the piano and it all relaxes him fully. If he starts learning a piece he won’t stop practicing before he got it perfectly. Even if that means a sleepless night.
I don’t know much about playing the violin, but the sound has something melancholic to it and I think that matches Snape’s persona very well. When I think about Snape playing the violin I see the scene from Sherlock in which he stands by the window and plays this melancholic melody over and over again thinking about Irene. (Irene’s theme)
I think while playing the violin he thinks about lily a lot. Her tragic loss, their friendship and their love (wether platonic or not). I see his regret mirrored in the sound of the violin but also new hope.
And here’s why I specifically said clarinet;
first of all it’s a long, elegant, black instrument with many many details and buttons. Just think about it haha!
But the sound of the clarinet is very smooth it reminds me of the smoothness of Snape’s voice. (An example time: 1:44 starts the clarinet solo) It’s also a rather deep instrument. It reaches quite low tones which resonates in the chest and spreads warmth (for me at least).
The clarinet is also a common instrument in jazz and I really like the idea of snape turning on the gramophone and playing some jazz to relax to it.
While playing I also like to imagine him rather hunched in concentration. His fingers pressing the buttons smoothly and precisely, the veins in his hands and forearms prominent. You can see every tendon in his hand move, while his eyes are closed in concentration. The tip of the clarinet placed on his lips.
To make a specific sound you have to flick your tongue at the tip. And it takes some skill… playing the clarinet requires precise finger and tongue movements… just. Think. About. It. Gaaaaaah!
Okay thank you for joining my long ass daydream about Snape playing instruments. I’m sorry for not adding ‘read more’ but I’m writing this on my phone! AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK AND IF YOU HAVE ANY HEADCANON IN THIS DIRECTION! 🖤🖤🖤