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Are DJs Musicians?
- Thread starter Jazzdogg
- Start date
We communicate in writing and English is not everyone's native language. So without emoji you inevitably take the risk of being misunderstood.
That watermelon's in a bunch of bands. Perhaps that is a musician.
But bagpipes are diatonic. Surely they can't be real instruments if you can't play Donna Lee on them.
I think it has more to do with whether one can accept that instruments develop and evolve all the time. There's also the question of what constitutes music. I'm told the piano was something of a game changer in that respect. But it was logically laid out and easy to learn by the rules. Which rules get broken all the time as people get bored of hearing the same old sounds and seek new and exciting music.
The invention of electronic music has opened up timbral possiblities that have no precedent. So there are no rules. Least I'm not aware of anyone trying to codify the process beyond describing the means of production. But that doesn't mean that electronic sound production is a chaotic game of chance. A lot of thought goes into those soundscapes. At the risk of offending people, I'd suggest that those saying it can't be music because there are no rules are telling me more about their own creativity than anyone else's.
If samplers, with their built in synth engines, are the pianofortes of this stage of development, maybe think of turntables and mixers as the harmonicas.
Could have been, but it certainly didn't sound like one given the DOOFUS thing.
See this:
We communicate in writing and English is not everyone's native language. So without emoji you inevitably take the risk of being misunderstood.
There's acoustic instruments and electronic instruments. Anything that produces a sound without electricity is an acoustic instrument, so I'm including Bass guitars, Fender Rhodes, even clavinets as acoustic instruments. Acoustic instruments have an inherent individual sound character, and are velocity sensitive in infinite ways. Electronic instruments can try to mimic acoustic instruments but can never succeed as the can only copy, albeit quite convincingly, especially where the Piano is concerned, due to it being a percussive instrument, whereas synths / samplers fail in properly emulating wind instruments.
Zawinul used synths to great effect, creating new sounds, which imo is a much more musical approach to electronic music, and it worked fantastically in the context of Weather Report. As for people getting bored hearing 'the same old sounds'....................
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Also, a DJs 'kit' description could be appropriately described as a 'sound manipulation device'. With the exception of true synthesisers (not samplers), you're playing back prerecorded samples, and some may call that an musical instrument, whereas I wouldn't. As for DJs being musicians, of course they can be, if they have studied music, (self taught or lessons). I would imagine most creative DJs have at least some rudimentary skill at playing a traditional instrument, anyway.
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More to the point; You're not a musician if you can't play donna Lee on your chosen instrument, be that bass, piano, or Berimbau.
I was an on-air DJ for a radio station in Montana, also online radio. I also happen to be a musician. I understand that I'm a fringe example.
The question would then be does the DJ in question also play an instrument? And there's your answer.
The second question follows: is the scratch player in a band a musician?
Thirdly, I like birds.
The question would then be does the DJ in question also play an instrument? And there's your answer.
The second question follows: is the scratch player in a band a musician?
Thirdly, I like birds.
You do realise you just defined turntables as acoustic instruments? Don't know too many would agree with you.
That's what I said.
If playing samples makes someone not a musician, you've just fired , conservatively, 95% of keyboardists who plug in.
That's why I voted 'expert poser' on your poll!
back on topic: New music is always based on influences from the past combined with new ideas.
Electric guitar rock & roll was the devil's music (just after jazz had been the devil"s music)
Djs do their stuff and the "good" ones don't have huge gigs. (IMO)
They do their underground gigs in places that are known to support artists.
There is a lot of mainstream bs (gotta play to survive) but there is and was always crazy stuff
worth to explore!
Wise
This is what I call a political answer: All wise words revolving around the core, but no answer to the question.
Also, a DJs 'kit' description could be described as a 'sound manipulation device'. With the exception of true synthesisers (no samples), you're playing back prerecorded samples, and some may call that an musical instrument, whereas I wouldn't. As for DJs being musicians, of course they can be, if they have studied music, (self taught or lessons).
Never said playing samples doesn't make someone a musician, read my post.
A turntable uses records to make sound. Records = recordings, samples, yes. I suppose you could argue that as the sound of the vinyl recording is being amplified, it's an acoustic instrument, but I'm not going to debate that with you. Anything that makes a sound can be used in music, but it doesn't make it a musical instrument, just a sound source. Yes?
Never said playing samples doesn't make someone a musician, read my post.
A turntable uses records to make sound. Records = recordings, samples, yes. I suppose you could argue that as the sound of the vinyl recording is being amplified, it's an acoustic instrument, but I'm not going to debate that with you. Anything that makes a sound can be used in music, but it doesn't make it a musical instrument, just a sound source. Yes?
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I also stated that if the DJ had recordings of nature sounds or jets flying overhead (both of which are sounds and not written music) or any other sort of samples that were not already music, and used them to create music that would be considered art/music and be acceptable. Just playing records doesn't make you a musician any more than flushing a toilet makes you a plumber. Victor Wooten's work with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones had him managing to play the bass as percussion. Bobby McFerrin used his voice and body to create an orchestral effect. Les Paul multitracked guitars in order to sound like a whole band. The imagination and creativity of using technology or unusual mechanisms to make music is nothing new. If there is a DJ who uses a turntable to make music then he/she is indeed a musician. If they are using it as a home stereo, they are not musicians for doing so.
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Yes, but, "If there is a DJ who uses a turntable to make music then he/she is indeed a musician", really depends on ones own understanding of what qualifies for music, (organised sounds of pitch and rhythm) and what a musician is.
Good point. The thread should be worded to reflect that. "Are DJs traditionally accepted musicians?" or something. There is a grey area as to what is and isn't music. The busy signal on the phone is a monotone rhythm but it isn't exactly a dance tune. Maybe that's music to some people. Most posters here actually play an instrument and have at least a rudimentary knowledge of music. By posing the question here you'll most likely get a different response than you would if you asked a group of non musicians.
Seriously?
I should say that I used to be a musician, but one day scratching was all it took for me to forget years of musical training.
