Musician or Player

[b-squared]

Man, this is right up there with the "Chicken or the Egg" deal!

Bill B.

[RDuke]

I have a pretty limited range, but within it I sing okay. So far the stuff I'm working on now is about half instrumental, half lyrical. My feeling is when you don't offer vocals/lyrics in you songs, your instrumental and arrangement work needs to be much stronger to make up for it. Either way, it also helps to give an audience something they remember, short-term anyway. By that I mean, play 'em a song, then ask them to repeat a bar or two of it. Having said that, friends and such have seemed more receptive to the vocal/lyical tunes than to my instrumentals. Musically, they're just not as complex as the instrumentals, but seem to give folks more than can latch on to, if you get my drift. Then again, maybe my stronger suit is the full compliment of writing, singing, and playing. BTW, is a singer who doesn't play an instrument a musician?

Rick

[GTLee]

Hmmmmm, is it the same difference between a violin and a fiddle?

[alchu]

I think, really, that it's easier to just go back to the dictionary definition and leave it at that. Whatever we come up with as a definition will be rejected by society as a whole, anyway. Britney is a talented entertainer, and a mediocre musician. but she's a musician regardless.

[Mike A.]

Here's my original post from the thread that this thread was born of. Up until this point I had stated that with such a distinction being made, one would not be hearing any musicians on the upcoming TGF CD. Furthermore, it was added by GordonLHau and jira that there were a few musicians that we all know and love who have admitted to not knowing anything about reading/writing music or understanding elements "key" to being a musician as defined by some of our TGF bretheren. That's when I chimed in with this:

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Gordon and jira-

You guys beat me to the punch!!!! I was also going to mention B.B. and DD since I've also personally heard them say the same thing. Furthermore, I'll add Phil Keaggy to the list. I've seen him play many times and each time he amazes me with his confessions of his lack of musical knowledge. He's admitted to not knowing how people tune their guitar with the "harmonic beats per minute" thing and that he doesen't know what "pick sweeps" are and that he doesn't have a firm grasp on his scales and that he's not firmly grounded in technical music theory.

To me, that's not the true measure of a musician.

A musician in one is able to play what's on his heart and communicates his thoughts and emotions through his instrument.

Did you get that? No amount of technical knowledge will ever replace that. No mathematical relations or chord progression layouts. No amount of theory of any kind. There are tons of excellent musicians out there that would be ruled out using that kind of thinking.

I agree there is some sort of distinction between player and musician. But it's a matter of the heart guaged by intent. We might be able to see the difference but cannot judge how or when that change happens.

That's how I see it..........
-Mike A.
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......now I feel represented again................
-Mike A.

[cotten]

There are only two kinds of people:

Those that divide people into groups,


And those that don't.

cotten

[tbondo]

What cotten said.

[tdp1]

To label me is to negate me...........

[tenthumbs]

At this point.....neither. But I'm trying

[ironreed]

When I was a kid and picked up my first clarinet and started to play and started to practice, I was a player. When I started the oboe--only a year later--I put my heart and emotions into music, and I became a musician... It's really a moot point anyway, the label will not change one's love for music.

[Orphan]

I'm a playerician.

[teleplyr]

Who Cares?

[leftydude]

I like Taylor guitars. I Play Music on them. I like the left handed ones better.

[Brett Valentine]

I used to have that viewpoint. I've kind of changed my mind about it now. For me, a musician is someone who can convey real beauty from their instrument. Someone who can reach another listener. I think there must be some awareness of the "technique" of music, be it learned through formal training or by experience.

I also think it applies more to someone who pursues music more than casually. Not to say one is better than the other, just someone who does so even on a semi-serious basis, but still, not exclusively.

The difference is are they musicians or "trained" musicians. The "trained" qualifier suggests some schooling, whether private or through school.

A "guitar player" can be a musician.

Someone who plays guitar can be tapped into that inner place that allows them to make "profound music" that can touch someone's heart, and do it only on a "casual" basis. That ability makes them a musician.

It's a bit amorphous. . .

Brett