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Musician or Bass Player?

What do you think of yourself as?

  • Musician

    Votes: 72 17.9%

  • Bass Player

    Votes: 72 17.9%

  • Both

    Votes: 216 53.6%

  • Carrots

    Votes: 43 10.7%
  • Total voters
    403
#81
Kragnorak said:
My conclusion is that this guy may have been a great instrumentalist, but he was not necessarily a great musician. He may even have been an expressive interpreter of the works of others, but he was either unable or unwilling to express himself which is one of the aspects that we take for granted in good musicians.
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Great example, thanks for sharing - was fun to read, and someone else immediately came to my mind :D
Good point, and I agree with you. Still, I'd respect him for his skills, and if he transports the feeling (even if it's not his own) through his playing to me in the audience; I'd feel like listening to a musician.

Like a wizard; hardly any wizard invents his own spell, but as long as he can cast a spell, well: Wizard, to me :D

But I agree, everyone might have his own standards and definition of what makes a musician.
I mean, some people even decide whether others "can play" or not - so, it's only fair to let everyone decide for themselves whether one is a musician in their opinion - or not.

Frankly, if I were the conductor, I'd surely be tempted to think of said clarinist as a non-musician. My standards would be way different from what they are now, since as a conductor I might feel like "Why am I the only one who's working hard and got an understanding on what the music should be like - those lazy, incompetent players just don't get it" - then, I'd rage quit :D
 
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#82
We can load extra meaning onto the word musician if we want. Make it be about versatility and musicianship and professionalism. It doesn't change the common usage of the word. A person who plays a musical instrument is a musicician. Any musical merit beyond that is a bonus.
 
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#83
Being musician requires three things: being able to play an instrument (with reasonable proficiency), knowledge of musical fundamentals (even at a basic level), and continued growth in your skills (whether it be new songs or technique or theory). All three must be present at some level. As a band director, I can say that all of my students are musicians. However, when I go the the elementary school to observe, I see very few "musicians" as there is little in the way of understanding how music works (lots of rote with out further application) or proficiency on any instrument (be it recorders or rhythm instruments). I do see continued growth in skill as they will learn new songs, but that is just a progression of the class not a desire of the student. I consider myself a musician, but when I started n the 4th grade I probably didn't and my teacher probably didn't either. I was just learning an instrument. It probably wasn't until I showed a grasp of the other concepts later in that year that I was probably considered a "musician" (if at least a rudimentary one). Being a musician doesn't mean you are the best or even good enough to get paid for it. It means that you make music and understand how to make music. It means that you continue to further your skill instead of staying on the same (beginner) level. I don't even consider rote learners musicians unless they can apply what they learned in other musical situations.

To those that say "if you play a musical instrument you are a musician" you need to define what playing is. If someone who has never had any sort of musical training walks in to GC off the street and picks up a guitar or sits at a drum set and starts playing does that make them a musician? After all, they are playing, right? Of course it doesn't because they have any knowledge on what they are playing, much less how to play. What about the guy who buys a guitar, never takes a lesson and never tries to actually learn anything; he just knows a three chords and strums them when ever he brings a date back to his place? It that guy a musician? By my standards, no because he hasn't really tried to learn anything beyond three chords. I took a law class in high school, but that doesn't make me a lawyer. I took a free flying lesson once, but that doesn't make me a pilot. Being a musician implies that you have some knowledge as to what you are doing and continue to enhance your skills (even if at a slow pace). You could be self taught or formally trained, but you need know have some sort of idea as to what you are doing before you can be called a musician. At the same time, I believe you can stop being a musician. If you "give up" what ever instrument (or all of them if you play multiple ones) and never pursue music again, you stop being a musician. Again, you aren't playing and you aren't advancing your skills.
 
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#84
Felken said:
I consider myself a bass player. Musician seems more of a title to those who pursue music as a profession. However, I am currently writing my first song, which might make me more worthy of the musician title upon its completion.:D

It started out as jazz funk in Dm that sounded awesome and positive. Now it sounds more like prog jazz fusion because I keep writing licks in 7/8 and 6/8. Also, I somehow managed to make my song sound very depressing...:bored:

I think I'm done for today.:oops:
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Of course your song sounds depressing. You've picked the saddest of all keys.
 
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#88
Pumpkin said:
How many of you think of yourselves as musicians, and how many think of yourselves as bass players? As I work on different things (mainly theory and comp) I find myself asking this question fairly frequently and now I want to know what my fellow TB'ers think about the issue. Do you see a difference? Do you rememember a moment in your playing career when you crossed a threshold between one and the other? How would you define the difference, if you think there is one?
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Both..of course.
 
#90
I'm with those who think that if you play an instrument you're a musician. All bass players are musicians some with more or less skill, ability, talent, expertise etc.

If you play a sport you're an athlete. Maybe someone already said that, didn't read the whole thread. I can see the opposite point of view.........but when I add it up in my own head, that's where I come out.
 
#91
I was inspired to play bass thanks to Iron Maiden's Steve Harris. In interviews Harris claims to have no formal musical education, no knowledge of theory, and in one interview said he didn't know what scales are. Harris has arguably been responsible for inspiring millions of people to take up bass guitar. His band has sold millions of records, travelled the world many times over and played in front of countless millions of people. Does his ignorance of the mechanics of music disqualify him from being considered a musician?
 
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#92
Mike Sorr said:
I was inspired to play bass thanks to Iron Maiden's Steve Harris. In interviews Harris claims to have no formal musical education, no knowledge of theory, and in one interview said he didn't know what scales are. Harris has arguably been responsible for inspiring millions of people to take up bass guitar. His band has sold millions of records, travelled the world many times over and played in front of countless millions of people. Does his ignorance of the mechanics of music disqualify him from being considered a musician?
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IMO, he's a bassist. So is Billy Sheehan.

They are extremely good bassists, but they don't have the musical expertise for me to classify them as musicians.

Like I pointed out in my original post in this thread, most of the players that we admire can't get over the bar I have set.
 
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#93
Interesting question, I think it's all in how you present it. I ran into an old friend years ago, and when our discussion came around to careers she told me she was a writer at one of the venerable comedy academies. Turns out, she was taking writing classes there, and her day job was selling insurance or something.

I don't know about you, but I find it a lot more douchey for somebody to pump up their status, rather than say they're gainfully employed and chasing their dream. I've worked in corporate business to business sales, I sucked at it, I respect anybody who can make a living doing that. At that time I was probably grossing a whopping $15,000 a year in my "glamorous, cool" musician job, playing as a hired gun and teaching lessons. It's surprising to me anyone would feel insecure in response to someone else's job anyway. One of my more glamorous moments was when I had to turn down a European tour with a fairly well known artist because the pay wouldn't cover my obligations back home. On any given week, maybe 10-20% of the work I do is actually playing music. Moving speakers and hunting down payments for insurance certificates is incredibly spirituality fulfilling.

All this is to say, why not just be honest with yourself and the people you meet? I suppose if you play music on any instrument, you're a musician. I think if you're being most honest, if you play one instrument as a hobby or side project without any other musical knowledge or training, you would say that you are a player of that instrument. It depends on the context. I definitely don't think I would lead with "I'm a musician" if someone asked what I did, and I played bass at two bar gigs a month.
 
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#96
Im a bass player first. But i also consider myself a musician. On our newest album recorded all the strings and piano parts. I used virtual instruments and my USB midi controller. Trumpet was actually my first instrument and still have the Bach I started out with and the nicer Yamaha I got in high school. I rarely play trumpet anymore though. Mainly if it's just to practice something to help my niece who just started playing trumpet a year ago. I can play guitar a little. When playing guitar I feel confident about what I want to play but just don't really have a good feel for it like I do with bass. I have big hands and the narrow string spacing makes it difficult. I'm good at strumming chords for example but i can play lead parts a lot better on bass. I play in a band with some guys who are cool enough to allow me to write some of the guitar parts. But i never track guitar for the band. It's better to show our guitar player an idea and let him record it because he's got a better feel for it. My wife plays violin and has two in the house and my youngest brother played cello through school. been really wanting to get an NS Omni bass/bass cello and have it tuned in 4ths eadgc. The fifths tunings on cello and violin aren't to bad if I'm playing a simple Line that only used two strings but 5ths tunings gets confusing to me when trying to incorperate more strings into a line.
 
#100
Slevage said:
All people that own basses are not bass players.

All bas players are musicians? NOT :rollno:
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Who said anything about ownership? Someone who plays the bass is playing a musical instrument. A person who plays a musical instrument is a musician. The word is being sprinkled with professionalism and showmanship and knowledge of musical theory and a bunch of other attributes that are not part of the basic and common usage of the word.
 

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