How to you know you're a "Guitarist" rather than someone who "plays guitar"

[IndianaGeo]

The title question has been one that's nagged me for years. I never considered myself a 'guitar player', as such, for many years until a few years ago when I started doing Travis style fingerpicking. It seemed to me to take my playing to another, more interesting, level (for me personally). I'd always been a bit mystified by that style until I learned it. I felt a bit more confident in that specific skill and it seemed to separate me (at least in my own mind) from a lot of other players. I feel only slightly more comfortable saying that I'm a 'guitar player' now, but I do feel I've reach a somewhat higher level. So my question is: IF it has happened to you, when did you feel you crossed over from a person who plays guitar into the realm of being 'a guitar player'?

IG

[Bingoccc]

I don't make that separation. The exception would be if someone were asked what they do for a living. Then some would answer guitar player and some not. Otherwise I think we're all in this together.

[paulisdead]

Well you don't think about it- it just happens.
Don't think we need that distinction between the two; I mean, for but one example, David Bowie played guitar and wrote songs on his 12-string, but he is not ever known to be a 'guitarist.' And he has done fairly well.

[hovishead]

Being a guitarist doesn't mean that you are good at guitar. Anyone that plays guitar is a guitarist.

[Irish Pennant]

IMO
My separation point is musician and player. A guitar player and guitarist is one and the same. A musician to me is someone that knows music, not just plays it.

[tbeltrans]

It is interesting how, at least in American culture, we tend to identify ourselves AS what we do. I became aware of this as I watched people with (whether we admit it or not) a rather large ego identification to their work, and then the person gets laid off or retires. Suddenly, that person's identity is gone,and this makes the situation far more difficult than it would otherwise be. Since that realization, I try to keep a separation between who I am as a person and what I do for a living or hobby. I AM me, and I worked for many years in software engineering. I AM me, and I enjoy playing guitar. Keep it simple.

Tony

[Inyo]

Deleted by author.

[Glennwillow]

I might describe myself as a "guitar player," for example, to my doctor and why I care about osteoarthritis in my finger joints. That's about the only person I can think of where I have used that descriptive word about myself. I have never used the word "guitarist," though in my mind the two words are essentially synonymous.

- Glenn

[muscmp]

i figured this to be at least a 3 yr. old zombie thread.

i don't make any differentiation between the two.

play music!

[ewalling]

I entered the zone when I realized that a Somogyi was not, in fact, a Japanese motorbike, and that there existed deadlier forms of GAS than the one produced by a chicken vindaloo and four pints of lager on Friday night!

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Inyo

It's a semantics thing. In common parlance, "guitarist" signifies professional musician status, while one who "plays guitar" is an amateur, regardless of relative level of proficiency or mastery.

Simple as that. Certainly no need for studious lucubrations to determine the difference, IMOPE (in my own personal estimation).

All this kind of stuff in this forum (and in the main acoustic forum), really strike me as what is sometimes called "avoidance". It can be more fun to find something, really ANYTHING, to do other than practice guitar, and talking about it in some way (no matter how odd) does achieve that. There is always a reason for these silly things, whether those of us doing the thing realize it or not. There are a lot of threads for which the only question is WTF?

So I am not just pointing fingers at others - I just got a stack of 8 Rolly Brown DVDs that represent probably years of effort, and here I am in yet another silly thread. It can really be embarrassing sometimes, especially when I know what I am doing and am honest enough to admit it. Many probably wouldn't.

Tony

[dagobert]

I am a musician who happens to play guitar.

[Mr Bill]

[QUOTE=Inyo;4664272]It's a semantics thing. In common parlance, "guitarist" signifies professional musician status, while one who "plays guitar" is an amateur, regardless of relative level of proficiency or mastery.QUOTE]

I guess my question on this definition is: where's the cutoff point? Would 100% of your income be derived from playing guitar? 75%? What if only 1/3 of your income came from playing guitar - are you a guitarist?

Glen Campbell was asked once if he played bass. He replied, "Yeah, I play bass. But I'm not a bass player." I think what he was saying is that he made money playing bass (touring with the Beach Boys for instance) but there were others much better than him.

I dunno. Everyone's mileage varies on this one.

[Acoustigator]

Generally, when someone asks I say "I'm a musican". If they query further into what instrument I play, I say "I play guitar" or "I'm a guitarist."

[flaggerphil]

I don't know...I don't think I've ever hit the stage of "guitarist." I'm a guy who plays guitar.