What would be your definition of a musician?

[DefiantCatz70]

Years ago I did a few gigs, in a punk rock band.....these days I'm happily married with children, but with a long days work and looking forward to being with my family, I get a couple of hours to go into my little studio and create pieces of music, with a midi controller.

A work mate happens to be a guitarist in a band and regularly taunts in a jokey way that his a proper musician, and that to be at your full potential, you need to perform your music live.

At this moment in time I'm quiet happy to be doing what I like, not sure if I'm getting into a lazy situation and should be breaking my comfort zone.....So my question is What would be your definition of a musician?

And because I'm just creating music by myself, should I release it with my real name or create a band name, like you do with user names?

[studiocat]

To a lot of people it's the ability to cut & paste loops and have a solid working knowledge of Auto-Tune. Actually everyone that desires to create music is a musician IMHO. Defining an accomplished musician is another matter entirely!

[Harry_HH]

I can't see any reason to find a "final" definition to "the musician". Always when you play or create music (or create just in your head) you can call yourself a musician. (Only situation when someone may really demand the definition is when you have to put your profession to offcial paper such as taxt declaration or passport).
And what is your publication policy, how you use your own name, invented name (like many artist have done) or a "collective brand" name, is of course up to you, may depend e.g. your motive to separate your "artist me" from the burgeois profession. H.

[cryophonik]

Actually everyone that desires to create music is a musician IMHO.

I disagree. Simply having the desire isn't enough. A musician is someone who actually makes music.

As for the OP,ignore your coworker and just make music without worrying about what some insecure idiot thinks.

[leggie]

Actually everyone that desires to create music is a musician IMHO.

I disagree. Simply having the desire isn't enough. A musician is someone who actually makes music.

What ?! what is actual music ?

[cryophonik]

Actually everyone that desires to create music is a musician IMHO.

I disagree. Simply having the desire isn't enough. A musician is someone who actually makes music.

What ?! what is actual music ?

Maybe you should re-read what I wrote. I didn't say someone who makes "actual music", I said someone who "actually makes music" (i.e., not someone who just 'desires to create music"). Whether that person's compositions or performances are good or bad is subjective, but the minimum requirement of being a musician is actually making music.

[leggie]

POPCORN!!!!!

I respect your view, feel free to post up some actual music from youtube as examples or indeed some actual examples of non-musicianship.

[Sepheritoh]

Bring out the pop corn.

Go ahead. Create your music and even sell it. Call yourself a musician. Your friend is just an a@&hole

[Aloysius]

Very few Punks were ever considered to be real musicians anyway, so ...

[cryophonik]

POPCORN!!!!!

I respect your view, feel free to post up some actual music from youtube as examples or indeed some actual examples of non-musicianship.

WTF are you talking about? Anybody who has music on youtube is a musician by my definition (or by Webster's definition, for that matter). Either you have some serious reading comprehension issues, or you are just looking for an argument. Either way, why don't you go play with your youtube videos while the adults have a conversation, OK?

[leggie]

Bit hostile..I thought I was talking to adults.

Was interested if my loops and mixes albeit far from finished made it OK to say I'm a musician when asked what I do.

you need to chill out man

[Sendy]

We say so-and-so is a musician when they make music. A much more important word in this sentence is the verb "to be". Once you've nailed what "to be" means (without using self-referential terms) and it's something we can all agree on then we can move on to the small issue of what "musician" means

[Aloysius]

As Sendy hinted. The answer is hidden in the sound of one hand clapping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqt36O03SRw

[Meffy]

What a perfect time to reach back in time, grab some of that punk ethic, and bring it back to the present. Who cares what someone else thinks about how valid your music is? Even if he's joking it's a destructive attitude IMO.

[cryophonik]

Bit hostile..I thought I was talking to adults.

No, you were inferring things that I neither wrote, nor do I believe. As I said plainly, a musician is someone who makes music.

Was interested if my loops and mixes albeit far from finished made it OK to say I'm a musician when asked what I do.

If you make music, you're a musician. That doesn't necessarily mean that you are a "professional musician", but if someone asks you what you do, and your response is that you are a musician, there's a good chance that he/she may assume that your career/profession is a musician and that you have achieved some preconceived level of proficiency and/or earn a substantial portion of your income through music performance or composition. So, you may want to clarify whether that is or isn't the case when asked. Or not, whatever.

you need to chill out man

I'm quite possibly the chillest person you would ever meet, but I don't keep quiet when someone is taking my words out of context or implying that I meant something other than what I wrote.