Instrument – Skill progression guide (post–December patch)
In my rotational play I’m testing different money-making skills with Zois dedicated to a single skill. Since I wrote everything down for future reference, I’m sharing my Instrument notes here as they might be useful if you’re considering investing into this skill.
Settings: 96-minute day
Context: measurements are post–December update.
Quick Summary
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Level 0 → Level 1 is always very short in this game and not representative of the overall leveling pace.
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From Level 1 onward, my leveling pace was roughly ~3 in-game hours per level both by playing instruments and (later) by composing.
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Composing is still the better route (in my opinion) because it requires far less micromanagement and can generate income via selling tracks, while playing requires repeating short actions and typically doesn’t pay.
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Still worth playing if you want to complete the Pro Musician Ambition, since some ambition steps are tied to actually playing instruments.
General notes
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Composing is not available at Level 1.
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As you level, more acoustic play options unlock on all three instruments, but I didn’t see a major change to skill-gain speed from those options alone (the big changes were composing speed + sell values).
Unlocks (Compositions on PC)
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Level 2: Jingle, Folk Song
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Level 4: Classical, Hip-Hop
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Level 8: Jazz, Movie Score
Core progression table (post-update)
| Phase | Best practical method | Typical time to level up | Time to finish 1 composition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 0 → Level 1 | Playing instruments | ~10 min | — | Very short “starter” level |
| Level 1 → Level 2 | Playing instruments | ~3h | — | ~12 sessions at ~15–16 min; composing not available yet |
| Level 2 → Level 3 | Composing (PC) | ~3h | ~5h | Level-up happens around ~50-60% progress |
| Level 3 → Level 6 | Composing (PC) | ~3h per level | ~3h40m | Level-up tends to hit around ~80% progress |
| Level 6 → Level 9 | Composing (PC) | ~3h per level | ~2h30m | Big drop in composition completion time |
| Level 9 → Level 10 | Composing (PC) | ~3h | ~1h15m | Fastest completion time observed |
| Level 10 | Composing (PC) | — | ~1h15m | Competition + best quality payouts |
Practice session timing (playing instruments)
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One “play instrument” session took about 15–16 minutes (in my run).
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From Level 1 onward, leveling by playing was around ~3 hours per level, but requires repeating the action many times (more micromanagement).
Sell observations (examples from my run)
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Level 3: Medium sold for 37 Mew
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Level 4: Medium sold for 37 Mew
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Level 5: Bad sold for 20 Mew
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Level 6: Good sold for 100 Mew
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Level 9: Good sold for 150 Mew
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Level 10 (quality examples): Bad 30, Medium 75, Good 150, Excellent 225, Perfect 750 (all Mew)
Level 10 features
Music Competition (Sundays)
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Available at Level 10
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Can be entered on Sundays
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Outcome in my run: win 1000 Mew or get nothing (luck-based)
Important side note: “Playing for tips”
In my testing, tips seem to depend on the Performance skill, not on Instrument skill.
I could receive tips with low Instrument (even Level 1) as long as Performance was high enough.
So if your goal is tips, Instrument skill alone may not be the route to go.
How long to max (practical observation)
With normal life activities still happening (daily schedule + relationships), I reached Level 10 in ~3 in-game days in my post December-update run.
