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Is a DJ a musician

Is a DJ (as described in my opening post) a musician?

  • Yes a DJ is a musician

    Votes: 101 25.3%

  • Nope a DJ is not a musician but something else (post what he is)

    Votes: 250 62.5%

  • Carrots are good musicians. Carrots make good fretboard wood too!

    Votes: 49 12.3%
  • Total voters
    400
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#323
topo morto said:
Do you feel that the musician's basic 'element' of currency has to be a single 'played note' - i.e. a musician has to play each individual note?
Click to expand...

Not always. For example a drummer doesn't play notes. But they physically play an instrument, and with that instrument they can produce a beat. Rather than someone pressing a button on a drum program and there you go.

If the DJ got behind the drum kit, laid down the beat that he /she wanted, recorded it, and used that recording to make a sample to incorporate into their act, then I would definitely say that DJ is a musician, specifically a drummer.

The more I think about it I feel that the term DJ is separate from musician. It's its own thing.
 
#326
There are too many kinds of DJs for this poll to be of much value as it is. I DJed for fifteen years and was a never a "DJ as musician" - I was a "selector" more than anything (I would also beat match but didn't scratch very much). The term "turntablist" emerged to help better define (and separate) those DJs who were using their equipment not to play songs but to manipulate sound. To me turntablists (if you want to call them that) are every bit as much musicians as are, for example, percussionists.
 
#330
Shakin-Slim said:
Not always, but when everything they say clearly comes from a place of ignorance in regard to DJing, how can I feel otherwise? How can you make a quantifying statement about the creativity of being a DJ if you know nothing about it?
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bad form dude, calling people you dont actually know Ignorant because they disagree with your opinion, and for the record (see what I did there) scratching a record on a turntable requires no knowledge of standard music theory as a "musician" would need to have at least some knowledge in to play a given instrument. So maybe they do something "musical" but are they truely a "musician" ? I think thats a bit of a stretch. Why isnt just "DJ" good enough ?
 
#331
bluesblaster said:
bad form dude, calling people you dont actually know Ignorant because they disagree with your opinion, and for the record (see what I did there) scratching a record on a turntable requires no knowledge of standard music theory as a "musician" would need to have at least some knowledge in to play a given instrument.
Click to expand...

That's some ridiculous reasoning right there- going by that, then there would have been no music before the creation of music theory :D Musicians make music- music theory just helps in describing the musical vocabulary.
 
#332
I'm not calling a DJ a musician. I'm old, and cranky, and no logical argument will sway me. A musician can either sing or play a musical instrument. If a DJ is a musician, then I am a massage therapist.

Don't ask.
 
#333
bluesblaster said:
bad form dude, calling people you dont actually know Ignorant because they disagree with your opinion, and for the record (see what I did there) scratching a record on a turntable requires no knowledge of standard music theory as a "musician" would need to have at least some knowledge in to play a given instrument. So maybe they do something "musical" but are they truely a "musician" ? I think thats a bit of a stretch. Why isnt just "DJ" good enough ?
Click to expand...

It's not bad form. It's not even insulting. Ignorant isn't only a term used to deride people, it just means they don't know anything about it. That much comes across clearly in posts. And it's not out of disagreement, it's cause the people who I'm referring to as ignorant, literally are in regard to DJing, and therefore not able to make any sort of quantifying assessment.

Bryan R. Tyler said:
That's some ridiculous reasoning right there- going by that, then there would have been no music before the creation of music theory :D Musicians make music- music theory just helps in describing the musical vocabulary.
Click to expand...

+1

Revolver said:
Well, then I guess we could call every person who owns garage band a musician, too, right? And those people who are great at playing video games "athletes" and (real) "warriors" . . . It would also make people who have Mr. Beer kits "brewmasters" . . .
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These analogies are a non sequitur.
 
#334
Shakin-Slim said:
It's not bad form. It's not even insulting. Ignorant isn't only a term used to deride people, it just means they don't know anything about it. That much comes across clearly in posts. And it's not out of disagreement, it's cause the people who I'm referring to as ignorant, literally are in regard to DJing, and therefore not able to make any sort of quantifying assessment.
Click to expand...

Weak sauce, dude. You're coming from a position that anyone who understands DJs would agree with you. That's presumptuous and belittling. Just because we disagree with you doesn't mean we don't understand DJs.
 
#335
Duuuuuuuuuude said:
Weak sauce, dude. You're coming from a position that anyone who understands DJs would agree with you. That's presumptuous and belittling. Just because we disagree with you doesn't mean we don't understand DJs.
Click to expand...

Once again, it's got nothing to do with opinions. It's to do with posts (statements). If you say something blatantly erroneous in a statement, that means you don't understand, no?

All this "all they do is push buttons" stuff. That's not an opinion, that's a false statement.

I don't have an issue with people not finding DJ's to be musicians, but at least have a reason for it that can be backed up.
 
#336
Shakin-Slim said:
Once again, it's got nothing to do with opinions. It's to do with posts (statements). If you say something blatantly erroneous in a statement, that means you don't understand, no?

All this "all they do is push buttons" stuff. That's not an opinion, that's a false statement.

I don't have an issue with people not finding DJ's to be musicians, but at least have a reason for it that can be backed up.
Click to expand...

My rebuttal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEKvo40sz1Q
 
#337
Shakin-Slim said:
These analogies are a non sequitur.
Click to expand...


According to you, of course . . .

According to some of the arguments presented here, I'd say they are quite analogous.

And while we're at it . . .

Would it be fair to say that anyone who knows how to use one of these "auto-sync-everything" dj software in a competent manner while pumping his index finger to the beat of the music a dj? Hmmm . . .

Being a DJ has its own vibe going, no question about it, but I'd say that a lot of the more creative DJs are more in the sound designing department, than anything else. Some, of course, do incorporate live playing into their scheme, and i'd call those musicians, but not because they just play with faders . . .

Esse Quam Videri . . .
 
#339
Revolver said:
According to you, of course . . .

According to some of the arguments presented here, I'd say they are quite analogous.
Click to expand...

Maybe you could explain : what parallel do you see between a homebrewer and a brewmaster, and a dj and a musician? And is it true of all DJs, or just some?

Analogies often do fall down as a way of communicating because people see different things in them. I could see some ways, for example, in which the DJ is more like the brewmaster...

Revolver said:
Would it be fair to say that anyone who knows how to use one of these "auto-sync-everything" dj software in a competent manner while pumping his index finger to the beat of the music a dj? Hmmm . . .
Click to expand...

If they're choosing a good sequence of tracks, and responding to the crowd, then why not? I think most people agree that doesn't get you up to 'musician' though.
 
#340
Duuuuuuuuuude said:
My rebuttal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEKvo40sz1Q
Click to expand...

Obviously I'm not talking about every DJ. There are as many fake musicians as there are fake DJs.

I've sort of had enough of this thread, but I'd just like to say that not all DJ's do that ^, not all DJs just push buttons, not all DJs use software to do the hard work for them.

Some, like J Dilla, wouldn't even use the quantize feature on his MPC, which most everyone does use. When someone like Questlove is losing studio gigs on big name albums to Dilla, cause he could do it better on the MPC, you know the cat's a musician.
 
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