List of musical instruments for clues

On this page, is a list of musical instruments that was played for each clue on Blue's Clues and Blue's Clues & You!. But on some of the episodes, sound effects played to describe what we're hearing.

Blue's Clues

Season 1

Episodes	First Clue	Second Clue	Third Clue
"Snack Time"	Glockenspiel	Oboe	Tuba
"What Time Is It for Blue?"	Chimes	Mandolin	Cello
"Mailbox's Birthday"	Piano	Güiro (plus a flute when playing music)	Bass
"Blue's Story Time"	Wood Block	Trombone	Bass clarinet
"Blue's Favorite Song"	Bassoon	Banjo	Piano
"What Does Blue Need?"	Bubbles popping sound	Electric guitar	Steel guitar
"Adventures in Art"	Drum Kit	Electric Keyboard	Synthesizer
Blue Goes to the Beach	Guitar	Steel guitar	Whistling
A Snowy Day	Sleigh Bells	Glockenspiel	Cello
The Trying Game	Tuba and Bicycle Horn	Snare Drum	Accordion
Pretend Time	Bass Drum	Singing	Trumpet
Blue Wants to Play a Game	Bassoon	Oboe	Clarinet
The Grow Show!	Maracas	Guitar	Mandolin
Blue Wants to Play a Song Game	Piano	Cymbals	Bass
Magenta Comes Over	Steel Drum	Piano	Maracas
Tickety's Favorite Nursery Rhyme	Bell bongs	Guitar	Flute
What Does Blue Want to Make?	Flute	Bouzouki	Accordion
Blue's News	Maracas	Maracas	Glockenspiel
What Is Blue Afraid Of?	Harp	Cello	Hooting Sound
What Story Does Blue Want to Play?	Bass	Bongo drums	Saxophone

Season 2

Episodes	First Clue	Second Clue	Third Clue
Steve Gets the Sniffles	Mandolin	Tuba	Clarinet
What Does Blue Want to Build?	Violin	Maracas	Glockenspiel
Blue's ABCs	Violin	Bass	Boing sound
Math!	Vibraphone	Bongo drum	Trumpet
What Experiment Does Blue Want to Try?	Piano	Cymbal	Hitting bottles
Blue's Senses	Electric guitar	Harmonica	Choo-Choo sound
What Does Blue Want to Make Out of Recycled Things?	Pan flute	Bongo drum	Rubber bands
Blue's Birthday	Violin	Bongo drum	Talking Drum
What Was Blue's Dream About?	Harp	Piano	Flute
What Does Blue Want to Do with Her Picture?	Ukulele	Trombone	Trumpet
Blue's Sad Day	Xylophone	Saxophone	Xylophone
What Does Blue Want to Do on a Rainy Day?	Cymbals	Snare Drum	Bass Drum
Blue's Surprise at Two O'Clock!	Electric Guitar	Drum Kit	Organ
The Lost Episode!	Marimba	Guitar	Djembe
What Game Does Blue Want to Learn?	Glockenspiel	Clarinet	Djembe
What Did Blue See?	Block	Shamandrum	Prehistoric flute
Nurture!	Piano	Drum	Bass
Blue Is Frustrated	Metal Sounds	Piano	Maracas
What Is Blue Trying to Do?	Trombone	Conga drum	Trumpet
Mechanics!	Flute	Cymbal	Koto

Season 3

Episodes	First Clue	Second Clue	Third Clue
Blue's Big Treasure Hunt	Ukelele	Bass and Rocking Chair Creaking Sound	Steel Guitar
Art Appreciation	Cymbals	Flute	Chimes
Weight and Balance	Oboe	Xylophone	Timpani
What's That Sound?	Water drops	Wind blowing	Boom sound
Animal Behavior!	Kazoo	Xylophone	Bass
Blue's Big Pajama Party	Guitar and Zipper Sound	Mandolin and Lamp Pull Switch Sound	Accordion
Draw Along with Blue	Bass	Guitar	Maracas
Hide and Seek	Clock sounds (tick-tock, ringing)	Violin	Clarinet
Thankful	Accordion	Flute	Drum
Blue's Big Holiday	Bass	Electric Keyboard	Maracas
Pool Party	Bongo drum	Bass	Steel drum
Anatomy	Humming	Clarinet	Xylophone
Signs	Xylophone	Banjo	Cymbals
Nature	Harp	Flute	Bass
Geography	Electric Bass	Piano	Trumpet
Occupations	Xylophone	Bass	Cymbal
Blue's Big Mystery	Bass	Harp	Trumpet and Harmonica
Periwinkle Misses His Friend	Piano	Bass	Ukelele
Blue's Big Musical	Bass	Drum	Piano
What's So Funny?	Xylophone	Xylophone	Xylophone
Blue's Big Costume Party	Keyboard	Glockenspiel	Squeak Sound
Inventions	Bass	Timpani	Kazoo
Blue's Play	Banjo	Bass	Fiddle
Prehistoric Blue	Piano and Glockenspiel	Bongo Drum	Xylophone
The Wrong Shirt	Theremin	drum	Theremin
Words	Piano	Bass	Drum kit
Shy	Piano	Organ	Bass
Magenta Gets Glasses	Acoustic guitar	Electric guitar	Maracas
Environments	Guitar	Maracas	Electric Guitar
Stormy Weather	Bass	Chimes	Jingle bells
Blue's Collection	Guitar	Bass	Bouncing sound
Café Blue	Accordion	Homemade guitar	Accordion

Season 4

Episodes	First Clue	Second Clue	Third Clue
Imagine Nation	Electric Keyboard	Bass Guitar	Synthesizer
Adventure	Crumhorn	Timpani	Trumpet and Trombone
The Anything Box	Fairground Organ	Drum Kit	Clarinet
Superfriends	Bubbles popping	Water sloshing	Shaker
What's New, Blue?	Accordion	Mandolin	Humming
Blue's New Place	Bass	Piano	Harmonica
Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper Day	Maracas	Blue singing	Bass
The Baby's Here!	Maracas	Guitar	Theremin
Making Changes	Saxophone	Singing	Trumpet
Bugs!	Violin	Flute	Bass
¡Un Día Con Plum!	Classical Guitar	Castanets	Bongo drums
What's Inside?	Piano	Bass	Music Box
Blocks	Xylophone	Xylophone	Xylophone
Let's Boogie	Bassoon	Flute	Clarinet
Blue's Backyard Ballgame Bonanza	Trombone	Jug	Trumpet
Let's Plant	Synthesizer	Clarinet	Bass Guitar
Rhyme Time	Ukulele	Lap Steel Guitar	Vibraphone/Glockenspiel
Puppets	Tin Whistle	Bodhran	Drones (Bagpipes)
Blue's Book Nook	Ukulele	Bass	Whistling
Joe's First Day	Trombone	Oboe	Quack sound
Joe Gets a Clue	Piano	Saxophone	Bass
Steve Goes to College	Xylophone	Trumpet	Ringing noise and Triangle

Season 5

Episodes	First Clue	Second Clue	Third Clue
"Can You Help?"	Violin	Timpani	Harp
"Colors Everywhere!"	Electric guitar	Bass	Banjo
"The Snack Chart"	Drum Kit	Bass Guitar	Electronic Keyboard
"The Big Book About Us"	Bass	Electric Guitar	Organ
"Playing Store"	Keyboard	Trumpet	Bass
"Patience"	Wood Block	Cowbell	Flute
"Joe's Surprise Party"	Güiro	Bassoon	Shaker
"I'm So Happy!"	Bass	Electric guitar	Violin
"The Boat Float"	Accordion	Piccolo	Siren Sound
"Bedtime Business"	Cello	Accordion	Castanets
"Shape Searchers"	Cash Register Sound	Snare Drum	Marimba
"Blue Goes to the Doctor"	Piano	Flute	Trombone
"Contraptions!"	Triangle	PVC Pipes	Flute
"A Brand New Game"	Flute	Drum	Harp
"A Surprise Guest"	Piano	Trumpet	Trombone
"Dress Up Day"	Fiddle	Violin	Bass
"Blue's Big Band"	Cuica	Thumb Piano	Thumb Piano
"Up, Down, All Around!"	Bass	Piano	Bells
"Story Wall"	Banjo	Bass Guitar	Music Box
"The Alphabet Train"	Drum	Wood Block	Saxophone
"Numbers Everywhere!"	Trombone	Trumpet	Trombone
"Blue's Predictions"	Cello	Ukulele	Fairground Organ
"The Scavenger Hunt"	Organ	Bass	Drum Kit
"Let's Write!"	Organ	Wood Block	Saxophone
"Magenta's Messages"	Triangle	Bass	Saxophone
"Blue's First Holiday" (In the flashback video)	Jingle Bells	Bass	Piano

Season 7

Episodes	First Clue	Second Clue	Third Clue
Blue's School	Accordion	Mandolin	Clarinet
Something To Do Blue	Piano	Cello	Violin
Meet Blue's Baby Brother	Keyboard	Synthesizer	Guitar

Trivia

• The music for the clues is also sometimes part of the music of the closing sequence of the episode.
• The music for the clues in "Bugs!" is the same as the one for the butterfly from "Nurture!".
• The music for the 1st clue in "Blue's Collection" (a red stripe) was used earlier in promos for watching Blue's Clues every weekday. Click here to see all 5 of them.
• The music for the 3rd clue in "Shape Searchers" (food) has a slightly similar tune to Healthy Snacks.