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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
#121
On a good night I still play trombone far better than bass. But I also play bass well enough to gig in some cool multi-ethnic contexts. I now write a bit, and many years ago I had a sideline writing and contracting for string and horn parts in jingles, demos, B-level recordings, etc. And whenever I listen to anything, of any kind, I can't help but listen analytically.

So even though I have a non-music day gig, gonna vote "musician."
 
#123
I guess it comes down to how you choose to define musician. I have a friend who plays guitar professionally, but insists that he's not a musician, he's a "picker". According to him, a musician can take a sheet of paper with notes written on it and turn it into music. A picker can listen to a recording and figure out his part. A musician can hear a melody and pick up an instrument and play it. A picker can listen to a melody and figure out how to play it. I get his point, although I don't think it's quite correct since there are difficult pieces of music that even a schooled musician with a well developed ear, good reading chops and technical facility may have a bit of trouble with. His distinction is a bit simplistic.

I started out earning a living as a good bass player who didn't know a lot about music beyond bass playing. Over the years I've learned to read & write music, I've studied theory and orchestration, trained my ear to identify most chords quickly, and I can listen to a melody or bass part and write it down without having to pick up an instrument, so I would say that I've become a pretty decent musician whose main instrument is bass.
 
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#124
It's a good question, like the cut dialogue from Pulp Fiction: Are you a Beatles Man, or an Elvis man? Obviously, we are all musicians meaning we make music, but it comes down to how you phrase the question. And now to quote another movie, What is your center? I play guitar, I play keyboards, I sing, I write songs, but in my heart I am a bassist. I think like a bassist, I obsess over bass tone, I prefer to be supportive, I subscribe to Bass Player, and now I am on TalkBass!
 
#128
I picked up the sax when I was in the 4th grade because my friends did. I stopped after a few years because my parents didn't like the band instructor at my elementary school. I then picked up guitar in middle school, and picked up bass in high school. I took a semester of guitar lessons in high school (more so as an excuse for my parents to buy me an acoustic guitar) and bought a cheap drumset as well, so at one point I had my focus on several different instruments at once. However, there came one day that I decided that if I wanted to be be best bassist I could be, I would have to only focus on bass. I would still play other instruments but in my heart I wanted to play bass, and kept at it. I eventually sold the drum kit, and the only guitar I play is my acoustic when I just feel like messing around or working on my song writing. But I devoted myself to bass and am a far better bassist than anything else.

So while I could technically call myself a musician, I refer to myself as a bassist/bass player, because that is where my focus and musical drive live
 
#130
To paraphrase the Supreme Court case on obscenity, "I can't define being a musician but i know it when i see it." When I was in a trio playing guitar, the bass player was one of the hardest working players I'd ever worked with. He practiced daily, took lessons, listened to the right music and desperately wanted to be great. He just didn't have that spark that separates a player from a musician. Just my opinion that there is a difference between playing notes and making music.
 
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#133
Well, at the moment I'd say bass player, because that's what I'm doing. I do help create music (hence the term "musician") but I have little formal training of any kind in technique, reading music, in theory, etc. I have much yet to learn. But I do see that I may feel more comfortable calling myself a musician with a little more time, education and effort.
 
#135
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?
Click to expand...
Q: Musician or Bassist?
A: Yes. Definitely yes.
 
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#136
Joe Nerve said:
Musician.

But I'll up your ante, and call myself an artist.

I play bass, guitar, and sing. I also play a little drums, keyboards, and given enough time with pretty much any instrument - I can get something nice to come out of it. I've also acted in many plays, like to write, draw, and paint. I enjoy creating. In any way I can. I feel that makes me an artist.
Click to expand...
The Artist formerly known as Joe Nerve!
 
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#139
Back when I studied double bass I would have said I'm a musician that happens to play bass. But looking back, that was probably because db really wasn't my instrument. Since I ditched it I still say that I'm a musician and bass guitar player, but the bass player part is much more substantial now.
 
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