My musical knowledge is scant, but adequate for what I do. Those threads about chords, etc. had me a little lost. I wouldn't know a 13th or 9th chord if one hit me over the head and pushed me over the other one.
When I mention to folks that I have a web site where I post my music and they ask me if I'm a musician, I usually reply "well, I play music".

Its funny. For me, its impossible to compare between differnt skills /talents or genres or preferences in music.

I can be impressed by skilled instrumentalists, as well as good vocalists. I can be amazed by a good drummer (brubeck's take five, anyone?), i can be energixed by a good 160 bpm metal track. Good triphop (massive attack) makes me feel the groove and totally get lost in the rythms and music. Albinioni can make me cry, Good productions by Alan Wilder can have me listing to the same record three times in a row, totally spellbound.

My friend Stefan (Guitarist in chrome) is one of the most talanted guitarists i have ever known. He plays classical spanish nylon stringed guitar, 12-strings, he kicks ass at jazz, he is a very good pianist, playing blues, jazz and rock. Here comes the interesting part.

YOu often stumble across the opinion that looping is not musician-worthy. Very often when we talk about ideas for Chrome, we decide (by HIS choice) to pick out a few loops of guitar, and then loop it, sometimes we even record it in wrong key, just so we can pitch it into the right key.

We are not doing this because he is not a good guitarist, but because of the feel: looped instruments, and when you hear the pitch, gives a more machine/industrial feel to it. More pounding, more groovy. The same thing is for drum loops: Record the drums, pick out a loop, and slow down the tempo, making it a few fractions of a second wrong length, loop it, and you get this wonderful loop feel.

Sometimes, the repeating and monotony of loops is desired. Other times, you just love a good live guitar performance.

For me, the combination of both is best: Monotone beats and a firm rythm/guitar/base section, and vidid live vocals, for instance.



Perhaps this means that there is a difference between a good arranger/producer and a good musician, but for me, its not important. Anything that will make me feel something when I listen to music is good, and whoever made it, or how, is a bit irrelevant.


my 0.02 USD =)

Sometimes ya feel like a nut, sometimes ya don't.

A little kid that has a pet cat that paws at the keyboard and she say's, " my little kitty
is a great musician!" and she expands that it has written many songs and can sing too.
Well who is going to tell her that the cat is not a musician, a song writer nor a vocalist.....not me. But I won't be calling that cat should I need a musician, song writer or vocalist.

She has a little boyfriend that is wiz with computers and has some programs that generate songs
and he likes to play them for her and he says, " Here is a song I wrote" and she says, "you are such a
great musician".  Well I'm not going to tell either one that I may have much different thoughts. There is no
way I'd say a word to hurt them in anyway.
I think it would be great to hang around and see the little guy work it out when she want's him to record
a song with her cat on piano.

One may call themselves anything they want and others will do the same....real simple. Real life.

I can honestly say I've never ever called anybody a musician. I've always referred to them by the instrument
they play or as a vocalist.  "Musician" to me means many things other than just playing an instrument.
Because that is the truth we all have probably heard someone say, "he/she is a well rounded musician" or
" he/she is a musician's musician"......I guess that's getting close to "Master" musician....I have no idea
what that means because I think most are in agreement that nobody will ever "master" an instrument.

So call that cat a musician if ya want....all's cool.   Just don't call him/ her a "bag" around here. Don't want to
see you sent to the corner.

I often refer to my son as the guitarist, bassist, vocalist, violinist, marmibaist, trombonist, tubaist, mandolinist, pianist, synthist, bandonianist and percussionist as well as composerist, arrangerist and producerist.

Musicianist just does not seem make sense to most people.

No pun in ten did.

So Mother Nature is a musician then?

Jonbouy

craigb


So Mother Nature is a musician then?

She uses some kind of algorithm like a deluxe version of Band in a Box so I'm not sure if she counts.

She can sure get down though, and REALLY knows how to use her 'waves' collection.

+1 LOL!
 
I'm sooo guilty of both -- ha ha!  With B.I.B., I can create 10,000 songs an hour and throw them all into the LL-Maximizer for some edge ...
 
-- Using samples -- ha ha!
-- Selecting grooves -- ha ha!
-- Cheating during compositions -- ha ha!
-- Relying on other band-members to redeem my sorry performances -- ha ha!
-- Collab'ing with others because I'm not a great musician -- ha ha!
-- Once a valid cup-of-tea transforming into cup-of-turd (and vice/versa) ... depending on so many ifs ands buts
 
Ah the little devil in my head which accuses and excuses -- ha ha!:  you/I are /are-not great musicians!  When does it go away -- ha ha!
 
-- One neurotic minute I'm a hacking self-loathing fake, the next I'm God's inexpendable rock-king of the universe -- ha ha!
 
Truth is, I'm not even sure what music is -- ha ha!  But, I'll fight like an idiot when you discover me cheating in my songs -- ha ha!
 
Do real singers use melodyne -- LOL?

The last band I was in, the guitar player was tone deaf. Yet, he was a walking encyclopedia of 60 ~ 70's rock. I was amazed at the songs he had memorized and could play, especially since he couldn't learn them by ear.

I found out he was tone deaf when he started playing G on the verses on Smoke On The Water. He didn't believe me that it was Gm. No he wasn't the bass player. :). Next practice he leaned over to me in the middle of the song and said, "I looked it up in my sheet music last night and you were right, it is a minor." Was he a musician? I'd lean toward no/maybe.
I played 40's ~ 60's oldies/country live for almost 20 years, but when I joined the band with the tone deaf guy doing hard rock, I was lost. I have a tape of my first practice with them and I say, "Just give me the key and I can figure it out from there." Oh baby was I wrong. :( Am I musician? I'd say yes because I eventually did figure out the music and was able to determine keys/arrangement ... etc. I can play the lead of Hotel California and never saw sheet music or tab for it and couldn't tell you the notes I was playing.

I think there's different levels of musicians, but I would consider anyone who can hear the difference when they are out of tune or something isn't right arrangement wise, a musician.

Professional vs. Amateur is a different discussion. There's a lot of historic bands that the members never had any formal musical training and can't read sheet music.

backwoods


Maybe a musician is someone who lists it as their occupation at census time.

A real musician knows to avoid putting it on their car insurance application form though...