Are singers actually musicians?

Primarily for my fun and amusement, I thought I'd open up this:
 

 
So, what do you think?  Is someone who only sings considered a musician or not?  In other words, do you feel that the human voice IS an instrument or that only those that play an instrument are musicians?
 
This should be interesting! 

Hi,
 
Hard to say ... I think that many singers, are more poetry addicts than they are musicians, and folks like Bob Dylan, Roy Harper, even Peter Hammill, all sing what they feel and most of the music is about helping define what they say.
 
As such, I think of them more as actors, than I do musicians, although I sincerely doubt that either of them do not know music at all ... they probably do better than we think.
 
But a singer, has to have some kind of musical ability, and it comes in the area of timing, however, if the music is made to support the words themselves (think Peter Hammill or Kate Bush), I tend to think that they define the music around what they wish to say, not the beat, or anything else. Thus, I suppose, that one could say that some of them are not musicians.
 
I won't discuss the rock'n'roll side of things as I do think that many singers are not musicians, but have a good feel for what they are doing, and while you and I can think this is cheating, it works in most rock music on the radio .. in what I know call MOS!

Karyn
Singers do at least require a sense of pitch.

Drummers, however, don't. So I'd say singers are musicians.

Yeah ... though listening to Peter Hammill or a Roy Harper, or even Bob Dylan, I don't think they are specifically working a "pitch" as such, as most of the music is specifically rounded out to their words ... as opposed to most other rock music, where words are added to the music (a la Mick Jagger) and yeah, at that point I think that having a good pitch sense is a great thing, and I would say that most singers have some of it in one form or another. I often think that PH kinda creates a pitch for himself off his words first and the music blends in to it, and this makes for a singing style that is really hard for many folks to listen to as it comes off non-melodic more times than otherwise, and this is the part that is difficult to learn to listen to. 
 
I tend to think that many of the pop styled singers, though, are actually very good at pitch ... 
 
Honestly, I do not know about these mechanics as much as I should or would like to, in order to discuss it more clearly ... but I have no issues with folks like Roy, or Peter, flying out on their own, and sometimes you wonder how the heck does the music fit, and yet ... it works.

Yes.

Karyn
Singers do at least require a sense of pitch.

Drummers, however, don't. So I'd say singers are musicians.

Hahahaha ... gotta love it ... with this logic it sounds like drummers are not musicians ... love it!
 
Time to go read Robert Wyatt's book and get drunk on it! AND, my favorite line EVAH is in that book and it is about Syd Barrett!
 

KenB123
What about birds (I.e., feathered type). They can sound like music to one's ears? There are songs about it..."Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing". Can birds be considered musical? I guess so. Are they musicians?

What about Rap vocalists? Poetic. But little melody. Is there a line to be drawn?

Yeah, but how many birds have you used on a song? ... wait ... that didn't sound right!
 
As for rap ... one must be really bored to have to say something!

Depends on the singer.  Just like it depends on the guitar player.  Or keyboard player.  Or, hell, anything.
 

Yes , singers are musicians .
I've heard singers that have sent chills up and down my spine and put a lump in my throat just by singing .
 
Kenny

I say yes.
 
Jesse Q. Screed

Mesh

kennywtelejazz
No , singers are NOT musicians .
I've heard things that have sent chills up and down my spine and put a lump in my throat just by attempting to sing .
 

Yoko'd.

Now, now, let's be fair.  Yoko is NOT a singer.  Comparing her to nails on a chalkboard would be unfair to the chalkboard. 

Mesh

kennywtelejazz
No , singers are NOT musicians .
I've heard things that have sent chills up and down my spine and put a lump in my throat just by attempting to sing .
 

Yoko'd.

 
I guess I must have forgotten ...
 
.........This is The Coffee House......
 

 



Kenny

rbecker
Are Sonar users musicians?

Don't be silly......they're all Loopers.
 

There are different levels of musicianship.  Cave men banged bark, was the cave man a musician?  Is ozzy osbourne a musician?