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Do you consider yourself to be a musician????


EdBega

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Myself I do not though I recently covered a song for the first time which I had only heard several times and thought it was as good as anything I've played numerous times till I was sick of it.

 

For me ... I may have reached a new plateau for myself problem is I don't have much interest in playing it again but it felt pretty damn good at the time.

 

To me a musician can play the same thing over and over again and still be able to put something into it which I can not.

 

So if you do feel you are a musician maybe explain what that means to you ...

 

 

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I am exactly like you. I don't think musically, only technical forced movements developed from repetition and study.

 

I'm playing out at a bar for only the second time in my life tomorrow at a jam, living the fantasy. Somebody will clap, maybe nod their head along with the rhythm. But its really not me being a musician.

 

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I guess it is all how one defines 'musician.' In my mind, yes, I am a musician. I can play my instrument of choice competently and musically, and I can get music out of instruments that are not my primary instrument. I tend to downplay my ability, because I know how many guitarists out there are far more advanced than I am. Yet, to quite a few people who know me, I am the 'Guitarman,' and to a couple, lol, their 'Guru.' I am not the most technically proficient (I am still half-assedly learning to Travis pick), but I can play passionately and move people, and do it well. I received a lot of that affirmation post-hoc, from people who caught up to me on Facebook I used to know a long time ago, who tell me I could PLAY. I always thought I was a hack, and compared to some, I am. Give me a guitar, and I can alter your emotions. That is, of course, you're not another guitar player sitting there watching me thinking 'pfffffft!' hahahahaha!

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There are some terms that I think need to be granted by peers - photographer (vs picture taker), artist (vs painter), luthier (vs guitar builder), musician (vs guitar player). I dabble in a several of those, but consider myself on the "vs" side.

 

For me, a musician not only has completely mastered her instrument, she also understands the music she plays on it.

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You mean you're all imposters on the HCAG forum? I used to play and with feeling. Today I play with frustration over being deaf in one ear and crippled hands from arthritis. If you play and enjoy playing and FEEL what you play I think you are a musician. You don't have to be doing it publically either.

 

BigAl

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Honestly, I'd rather practice than consider the question. :)

 

Or stop to answer it.

 

Today I'm going to play all through and catch up on some things. I might even tab a score a couple people have asked me for...nah.

 

The non-musician - Doesn't sight-read a score to play a song. Depends on ear training and other self-taught skills that have effectively created a fake musician out of him, but he somewhow thinks he's earned the title of musician. He's missing the key element for being a universal participant and contributor to music through his lack of sight-reading skills, which he usually passes off as a non-issue. Yet, he can't simply jump into any score-dependent mix. He's limited. A musician is not limited. But, we do get out egos bruised easily and would rather argue ourselves musicians than suffer the humility.

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Or stop to answer it.

 

Today I'm going to play all through and catch up on some things. I might even tab a score a couple people have asked me for...nah.

 

The non-musician - Doesn't sight-read a score to play a song. Depends on ear training and other self-taught skills that have effectively created a fake musician out of him, but he somewhow thinks he's earned the title of musician. He's missing the key element for being a universal participant and contributor to music through his lack of sight-reading skills, which he usually passes off as a non-issue. Yet, he can't simply jump into any score-dependent mix. He's limited. A musician is not limited. But, we do get out egos bruised easily and would rather argue ourselves musicians than suffer the humility.

 

 

According to your definition, someone like Paul McCartney isn't a 'musician.' Riiiiight.

 

"A musician (or instrumentalist) is a person who plays a musical instrument or is musically talented,[1] or one who composes, conducts, or performs music."

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According to your definition, someone like Paul McCartney isn't a 'musician.' Riiiiight.

 

"A musician (or instrumentalist) is a person who plays a musical instrument or is musically talented,[1] or one who composes, conducts, or performs music."

 

That is an interesting comment. I was listening to Al De Meola's new album covering songs from the Beattle's White Album and thinking to my self that both the Beattles and De Meola define what I think of when I hear the term "musician". It would take me forever to learn to play one of those songs even close (I've been trying for years to play Blackbird so it sounds right).

 

In my book, De Meola, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, and yes Sir Paul are musicians whether they are playing original compositions or covering an old standard.

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No. I barely consider myself a "guitarist," let alone a "musician." I play some, I write songs, I have some grasp of theory, but I don't think of myself as a "musician." And don't get me started on playing bass; I can play a bit but I'm no "bassist."

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Okay. I do think of myself as a musician. The only qualification missing is mastery, which imo is an unattainable goal. Anyway, whether anyone else thinks I'm a musician is less important to me than whether they enjoy the music.

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'Musician' is not a value judgement. You play musical instruments, and/or compose music, you are a musician. I think most dictionaries support that definition. Whether or not you are a good musician is another story.

 

The real question is: Are DJs musicians? I vote no.

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Or stop to answer it.

 

Today I'm going to play all through and catch up on some things. I might even tab a score a couple people have asked me for...nah.

 

The non-musician - Doesn't sight-read a score to play a song. Depends on ear training and other self-taught skills that have effectively created a fake musician out of him, but he somewhow thinks he's earned the title of musician. He's missing the key element for being a universal participant and contributor to music through his lack of sight-reading skills, which he usually passes off as a non-issue. Yet, he can't simply jump into any score-dependent mix. He's limited. A musician is not limited. But, we do get out egos bruised easily and would rather argue ourselves musicians than suffer the humility.

 

Here is a story by a "non -musician " who couldn't read music. His name was Les Paul

Big Band: “I Can’t Read Music!”

“One day I was supposed to have the day off and the phone rings and it’s Waring and he says, ‘is this the guest artist? Hey, you know you’re on in a half-hour? Didn’t anybody tell you?’ I say, ‘No, I’ll be right in.’ So I jump in the car, get down to the Vanderbilt Theater, and I don’t even have time to put my uniform on. I just put the jacket on, and the rest is Levi’s with a screwdriver sticking out of the back pocket. They got music written for me that’s four pages long and says ‘Melody in F’ on it. So I said to Frank Howard, the piano player — we’re on the air now, coast to coast — ‘my God, I never told Fred, but I can’t read music. Cue me when I’m supposed to come in, okay?’

“But what the piano player never thought to tell me was that Stinky Davis had made this arrangement, and he’s a clarinet player. He wrote it in B-flat. ‘Melody in F in B-flat! And, of course, I hit the first note, which is in F, because I’m in the key of F. So as fast as hell I heard it was B-flat and go right up there and play it. Luckily I knew the lead of the song. So I finished my part and it came off fine. I laid the guitar down and the piano players says, ‘You’re not done yet.’ And I say, ‘What happens next?’ He says, ‘You’ve got an eight-bar ending to play.’ I say, ‘What key is it in?’ He says, “The same key.’

“So at the end of the arrangement the band stops cold and I let go with the longest run that I knew. Went all the way down the guitar, all the way up the guitar, come down and hit a chord — but I still had a couple more bars to go. I went back up and hit another one, and the band hit their big chord, and it came off fine. I walked off and said, ‘Don’t ever tell me there isn’t a God.’

“I’m sitting backstage reading Dick Tracy in the dressing room, and Fred Waring came up and put his arm around me, and he says, ‘Without a doubt, you’re the greatest musician I’ve got. You read that off at sight. I’ve never seen anybody do that.’

“I realized that Fred couldn’t read music, either. That’s a true story. That time with Fred Waring was just the greatest education, the biggest break in my life.”

Here,s the whole article if you're interested.

http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/les-paul-on-les-paul-1002-2012.aspx

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But this mastery thing is bugging me. To my mind mastery of an instrument would involve mastering all the different styles that could be played on it. That just doesn't seem possible to me.

 

I'd say it was possible, IF you started playing and studying classical music very young, and had an aptitude for it. As well, you would need to be able to improvise, not just play back what is written on the page. I've known a few classically-trained musicians who couldn't improvise to save their lives.

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i make music, at least i try to in giving the best i can

 

I'm not a professional, i do not get money for it, i'm not on the radio, i do not play on the big stage, i do not have an album to share

 

but

i make music

 

what others call it hmm....

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If you play a musical instrument you are, by definition, a musician. I extend that to anyone who sings or composes.

 

How good a musician one is, of course, is a matter of conjecture.

 

Almost everyone is a musician by that definition, most people sing..

 

Would a kazoo player qualify?

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