Musician

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Instrumentalist" redirects here. For followers of the philosophy, see instrumentalism. For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine).

A musician is a person who plays or composes music. Musicians can be classified by their role in creating or performing music:

A singer (or vocalist) uses his or her voice as an instrument.
An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.
Both singer and instrumentalist can be improvisers, who create real time music.
Composers and songwriters write music.
A conductor coordinates a musical ensemble.

Musicians may also dance or produce choreography. The concept of the musician and the status of the musician in society varies from culture to culture.

Musicians can be either amateur or professional. Professional musicians are paid musicians who use performing as their main source of income. They may work freelance, enter into a contract with a studio or record label, be employed by a professional ensemble such as a symphony orchestra, or be employed by an institution such as a church or business (such as a bar). An amateur musician is someone for whom music is a pastime and not their main occupation.

For most musicians, attaining a high level of proficiency requires constant practice to develop the skills needed to perform their chosen style. For example, constantly practicing scales and modes is widely regared within jazz as one of the main components of becoming a strong improviser.

1 Types of musicians
2 Usage note
3 Suggested reading
4 External links
5 See also

[edit] Types of musicians

Singer (vocalist)
Composer
Conductor
Improviser
Instrumentalist
- Accordionist
- Drummer
- Bassist or Double bassist
- Bassoonist
- Bandurist (Bandura player)
- Bouzouki player
- Cellist
- Clarinetist
- Euphoniumist
- Electronic musician
- Flutist (Flautist)
- Guitarist
- Hornist (Horn player)
- Keyboardist (Keyboard player)
- Oboist
- Organ grinder
- Organist
- Pianist
- Percussionist
- Recorder player
- Saxophonist
- Sawyer (musical saw player)
- Sitarist
- Timpanist
- Trombonist
- Trumpeter (also Trumpet player)
- Tubist (Tuba player)
- Turntablist (DJ)
- Uillean piper
- Violinist
- Violist (Viola player)
Arranger
Orchestrator
Record producer

[edit] Usage note

Many times a musician can be named according to his or her instrument (a violinist, for example, is one who plays violin.) The "-ist" suffix is most common, though not universal (e.g. "trumpeter," not "trumpetist.")

[edit] Suggested reading

A. P. Merriam, Anthropology of Music, 1964
John Blacking, How Musical is Man?, 1973
Sheila Whiteley, Music, Identity & Sexuality, London: Routledge 2000

[edit] External links

This article or section may contain external links that promote sites existing primarily to sell goods or services, having objectionable amounts of advertising, or requiring payment to view the relevant content — otherwise known as spam.
If you are familiar with the content of the external links, please help by removing promotional links, in accordance with Wikipedia:External links. (you can help!)

Self Made Star Helping Independent Musicians Reach For The Stars!
www.ubl.com Ultimate Band List, online resource for musicians.
www.artistdirect.com Online music portal, info about musicians and reviews.
moture.co.uk Musician portal.
ILiveMusic.com Resources for people that do music for a living.
Real Music Production Resources for musicians and music teachers.
Lyrics and Chords for Musicians by Vaga-Lume
God's Pocket Forums
NINJAM Music Collaboration
MusData.com International music artist directory and orchestra database.
TheIdealMusician.com Everything Musician.
Linked Musicians Social networking website for the live music industry.
Dancing About Architecture - portal to the best music writing online
Articles For Musicians - excellent articles for musicians (beginners & advanced)