There are so many iconic things about Friends, with each of the six primary characters having their own quirks. Chandler had the jokes, and Joey had his food, but nobody was quirkier than Phoebe. Her musical “talent” was such a fun part of the show, and Lisa Kudrow explained why she thought it made sense that her character was actually not great at playing the guitar.
Of all the offbeat Phoebe moments in Friends, she’s arguably best-known for her songs like “Smelly Cat.” Lisa Kudrow opened up about preparing for that part of the role, admitting to Vanity Fair that musicianship wasn’t her strong suit. The actress said:
With Phoebe and the songs at first, you know, I took a guitar lesson or two, and then realized I don't like playing guitar, number one. And my brother's a phenomenal guitar player, and there's real musical talent in my family, but not with me.
Just like Joey said in "The One With Ross And Monica's Cousin," if you get asked in an audition if you can do something, say yes and just figure out how to do it later. In Lisa Kudrow’s case, however, it actually made sense to make the adjustment to the character, rather than have her train to get really good at the guitar. She continued:
And I also just felt like the point of this character, though, is that she thinks she's great, and she loves doing it. It doesn't mean that she's talented, and I think it's even funnier and more worthwhile if she just sort of knows some chords, doesn't really play them well.
It really does speak to the character of Phoebe Buffay that she would play guitar for the love of it, not the money. She even says as much in "The One with the Baby on the Bus," when she takes to busking outside of Central Perk after being replaced inside by a professional musician. It also makes sense that Phoebe never would have had proper guitar lessons, given her rough childhood.
A lot of good stories came out of her being a bad singer/songwriter, too, like when she tried to teach Joey how to play guitar without knowing the names of the chords (“You nailed the old lady!”), how much of a fan Phoebe was of Ross’ awful keyboarding skills, and when she wrote inappropriate songs to play for children.
It really worked out for Lisa Kudrow, when she realized that she didn’t like playing guitar, that it was actually funnier if Phoebe wasn’t great at it either. Those brilliant character details are part of the reason Friends is one of the best sitcoms of all time and remains so popular nearly 22 years after its series finale.
You can stream all 10 seasons of Friends with an HBO Max subscription, and you can also currently catch Lisa Kudrow on The Comeback Season 3, airing at 10:30 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
