Quote:
Originally Posted by JonathanD  So what is a "player" and what is a "Musician"?
I always thought a musician was someone whos #1 priority in life(they spend a greater percentage of their day playing music than anything else) was playing music. Often getting paid for their time.
A player is anyone who plays an instrument.
These are my definitions...however I assume you have different definitions. It seems to me that you are defining the words in your argument, however using a word in its own definition is a cyclical path which I choose to avoid, could you make yourself a little more clear? |
The problem is that everyone defines what makes a musician differently. Here are some examples from other threads:
"I was once told that if you play Bass, you're a Bass player, and if you got paid for it, you were a musician ... I don't beleive that, but, hey, it's someone's ***hole idea" -c_joseph_lier
"A person with musical talents of any kind that puts their heart, mind, soul, and spirit into their instrument that aspires to learn technique AND music styling and is 100% dedicated." -Samthebassist
"Me- Just because you play an instrument, doesnt mean you're a musician
Nick- Uhh yeah it does" -Samthebassist (nick)
"a composer, conductor, or professional performer of music" -Webster's dictionary
"You have to be regularly employed for playing it, and making more money doing so than what covers your expenses, except in the special case of you just starting out in the field and not yet making money, but you realistically will be soon and you are trying to make money at it." -Dave Muscato
"I'm involved with three different band projects.
I practice every day even if just for an hour.
I make very little money for all of this.
I still consider myself a musician." -dvh
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So some people define a musician in terms of making money, some people seem to think that if you consider yourself to be a musician then you are, some people think if you're devoted to music then you are..
Personally, I don't have a concrete definition. Part of it comes down to what you play when you're not getting paid for it. Maybe you play in a popular cover band for money, but what do you play when you're by yourself? If you're playing covers in your spare time, why is that? If you play 100% covers (or close) at all your gigs, and all your practice time is playing covers, and that's all you want out of music, then I have a hard time considering you a musician. You can consider yourself a musician all day if you want, I don't. SORRY. (I'm not trying to convince anyone that I'm right, but that's how I feel.)
Does that mean I consider anyone who tries to write originals a musician? No, it doesn't take any knowledge of music or an ear for what sounds good to do that. You can write an "original" without being original. Everyone has categories of music that they choose to denigrate or ignore (country, rap, screamo, boy bands). Is that a bad thing? If people aren't allowed to have their own defined sense of taste, then I guess everyone should like that same music right? Do they?
I originally posted on this thread to clarify a point windemule had tried to make, and a few people didn't understand. ("I don't understand the fascination. I admire the preparation that must have gone into these performances, but being able to replicate a complex line doesn't seem to me to have much to do with actually playing music."). I wasn't intending to change everyone's opinion about what a musician is to them, I was trying to explain the "other side" of the "argument". You can think a musician is whatever you want, I won't try to stop you.
something to think about...
"Electric Bass players have been traditionally considered the janitors of the music world by "real" musicians for decades." -Lesfunk
"You say "all you're doing is arguing semantics" like it's a bad thing. The whole point of this thread is semantics, isn't it? Semantics is "the study of meanings of words in language." If we're not going to get into semantics, what's the point of this thread? lol" -Dave Muscato
(btw, do you consider Britney Spears a musician? Why or why not? How about Wesley Willis?)
