Do you consider yourself a BASSIST or a MUSICIAN?

[Mog]

Neither. Whats the term...................oh yea, Chancer.
Seriously I never really thought about it. Musician sounds better IMO. Maybe its snobbery on my behalf?
I suppose its kinda like fly tying, which I do a bit of. I tie trout and pike flies but when people ask if I can tie classic salmon flies I say "no, but I can dress classic flies at a reasonable price".

[skankdelvar]

Bass player or musician? I'm a bass player, but my 84yr old Mum likes to think I'm a 'musician'.

Truth is, I'm a licensed purveyor of plod. Says so over the door.

[harvey1-8]

[quote name='silddx' post='910264' date='Jul 30 2010, 01:50 PM']I also see from your last two sentences that despite my protestations to the contrary, you still think I called you a child and are now taking names to yourself, and you think I have put myself on a pedestal. You are wrong.[/quote]

By sand box I mean development server. Sorry, should have made that a bit more clear.

[Pete Academy]

I play guitar, but bass is my main instrument. I make music with the bass, so I'm therefore a musician.

I'm off to make Nige's chicken recipe.

[Linus27]

[quote name='silddx' post='910193' date='Jul 30 2010, 12:52 PM']Interesting you think it pedantic. To me there are fundamental and very important differences. The difference between a mechanic and a composer.[/quote]

Me neither. If someone says what do you do, what hobbies do you have etc, what do you say? Nothing as thats pedantic or do you say play bass or play music, write music etc?

[xilddx]

[quote name='alexharvay' post='910303' date='Jul 30 2010, 02:27 PM']By sand box I mean development server. Sorry, should have made that a bit more clear.[/quote]
Ahh, got you.

Sorry mate. We kind of got to eachother a bit there, apologies for overreacting.

Cheers

[peteb]

Nige, i think that you are in great danger of turning into Scott Thunes here!

By your definition I am both a bass player and a musician, not that I necessarily accept your definition of musician - the lead violinist in an orchestra may not compose or improvise but still may be a stellar musician!

The only instrument that I play to performance level is bass and I play better than I've ever composed so I'm quite happy to be called a bass player!

[xilddx]

[quote name='peteb' post='910404' date='Jul 30 2010, 04:18 PM']Nige, i think that you are in great danger of turning into Scott Thunes here!

By your definition I am both a bass player and a musician, not that I necessarily accept your definition of musician - the lead violinist in an orchestra may not compose or improvise but still may be a stellar musician!

The only instrument that I play to performance level is bass and I play better than I've ever composed so I'm quite happy to be called a bass player![/quote]
It was reading his interview that prompted the post really, but it is something I've thought about for a long time and I have my own thoughts about it.

I know plenty of "people who play instruments" to a high technical level but who are primarily songwriters/composers, often they are multi instrumentalists. I also know "people who play instruments" to a high technical level but who can't compose or write songs, or even improvise much. They need to be told what to play and they play it beautifully.

To my mind these are two completely different types of people. Zappa's ex band members, some of them are very good at composition and make a living at it, some are pretty poor going by what I've heard.

I really believe it's important to make the distinction, especially if you are auditioning band members. It is probably easier to have people who don't have compositional ambitions in your band if you are a control freak and QC all your music yourself. Sometimes you may want band members who can contribute compositionally or improvisationally.

I have to be a mechanic in one of my bands, but that's fine because I can still control the dynamics and the tone choices and that's very important.

The other band allows me to compose my lines and luckily they go down very well. I am very sensitive to the needs of the song, the singer and the writer. I think I have good compositional skills for pop music and I write pop rock songs and lyrics. I'd be crap at jazz or classical or R&B, Hip Hop, blah blah, though, so there is another distinction one can make.

My OP was very poorly worded wasn't it

[Ian Savage]

I play bass, drums and guitar (and sing) to an equally mediocre standard, so I'd class myself as a mediocre musician.

[Heathy]

I have always considered myself to be a pretend pop star.

[peteb]

[quote name='silddx' post='910421' date='Jul 30 2010, 04:49 PM'] It was reading his interview that prompted the post really, but it is something I've thought about for a long time and I have my own thoughts about it.

I know plenty of "people who play instruments" to a high technical level but who are primarily songwriters/composers, often they are multi instrumentalists. I also know "people who play instruments" to a high technical level but who can't compose or write songs, or even improvise much. They need to be told what to play and they play it beautifully.

To my mind these are two completely different types of people. Zappa's ex band members, some of them are very good at composition and make a living at it, some are pretty poor going by what I've heard.

I really believe it's important to make the distinction, especially if you are auditioning band members. It is probably easier to have people who don't have compositional ambitions in your band if you are a control freak and QC all your music yourself. Sometimes you may want band members who can contribute compositionally or improvisationally.

I have to be a mechanic in one of my bands, but that's fine because I can still control the dynamics and the tone choices and that's very important.

The other band allows me to compose my lines and luckily they go down very well. I am very sensitive to the needs of the song, the singer and the writer. I think I have good compositional skills for pop music and I write pop rock songs and lyrics. I'd be crap at jazz or classical or R&B, Hip Hop, blah blah, though, so there is another distinction one can make.

My OP was very poorly worded wasn't it [/quote]
I think that you can over intellectualise what being a musician is about? You're role in a band is likely to change from gig to gig (as you say above).

If you want to be successful at any level and you want to be the guy that people call for a gig then you need to: learn to play; know enough about music to understand how to put a bass part together; and be the sort of person who the rest of the band can stand being stuck in a van with on a 5 hour trip to Carlisle or wherever!

This applies at any level (witness Scott Thunes and Zappa again)! Doesn’t matter how good a player is – if they can’t get on with other musicians, they won’t work! What most bands want is to work with someone who can play who they can have a beer with (but preferably not a raging alcoholic)!!

[ironside1966]

Bass player
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsyF2nzMh0&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsyF2nzMh0...feature=related[/url]
Musician
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/MarloweDK#p/u/90/6vQa6PjEX1E"]http://www.youtube.com/user/MarloweDK#p/u/90/6vQa6PjEX1E[/url]

[steve-soar]

[quote name='ironside1966' post='910641' date='Jul 30 2010, 08:30 PM']Bass player
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsyF2nzMh0&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsyF2nzMh0...feature=related[/url]
Musician
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/MarloweDK#p/u/90/6vQa6PjEX1E"]http://www.youtube.com/user/MarloweDK#p/u/90/6vQa6PjEX1E[/url][/quote]Re- bass player, a little bit of sick came into my mouth.

[steve-soar]

Started off as a bass player, became a musician.
Bricklayer to architect if you will.

[Lord Sausage]

[size=3]Not to sound pretentious, although it probably will, I consider myself a musician. When i write bass parts for songs i thing purely in terms of compsition and harmony. Not what bass lick, trick, tone etc i will use. I study all aspects of music. However my principal technical ability in music is on the bass guitar.
The best thing i heard on this subject was from a lecturer whilst i was a college. He was a genius and could play anything. He said that initially when asked what he did he would always say he was a piano player. This led to people always sying to him 'oh do you know this Tune, do you know that tune' etc. Eventually he started getting fed up of this so when people used to ask him what he did he started saying he was a musician. This led to him almost invariably being asked 'Really.....What type of drugs do you take?[/size]

Edited July 30, 2010 by Lord Sausage

[risingson]

[quote name='ironside1966' post='910641' date='Jul 30 2010, 08:30 PM']Bass player
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsyF2nzMh0&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsyF2nzMh0...feature=related[/url]
Musician
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/MarloweDK#p/u/90/6vQa6PjEX1E"]http://www.youtube.com/user/MarloweDK#p/u/90/6vQa6PjEX1E[/url][/quote]

I get your point, but actually I reckon they're both bass players until they're in a band. Then the first one will still be the bass player... and MarloweDK would be the musician that ties everyone else together.

[AndyTravis]

I'm a Bass Player...

A 'Musician' to me is a loose term, like 'artist' for a geezer who paints pretty pictures, paid or otherwise.

[ironside1966]

I would consider myself as a musician
I play a few instruments but bass Electric bass is the one I play to the highest standard.
I understand dynamics and structure the lines that I play add something positive to the piece of music it often starts to grove rather than sound static I can be inventive and different when needed but truly understand that the role of the bass is supportive. I am a team player, part of an ensemble.
How the bass sounds with the band both tone wise is music wise is more important to me.
But most of all I am a musician because I know when not to play and leave.








Space

[ironside1966]

FWIW I have both grade 8 doulble bass and
theory and harmony.

Edited July 30, 2010 by ironside1966

[Bilbo]

After 30 years of playing, thousands of gigs, dozens of recordings, I STILL want so much to be a musician. Despite intellectually knowing that I can play the bass and contribute to the performance of music, I continue to struggle emotionally about feeling able to define myself as a musician. I think it may be something to do with not being a pro or with never having recorded anything I would consider to be more than charity shop fodder. I kind of feel that, if I can just deliver something worthy, I may be able to say 'I am a jazz musician'. As it is its more like 'I am trying to be a jazz musician'.

I guess I am a bit screwed up!

[peteb]

Bilbo, you think too much - you're obviously a musician!

[Marvin]

I don't consider myself to be either, as I don't feel I'm good enough (yet). If asked I generally say I'm learning to play bass guitar.

[GarethFlatlands]

"mu·si·cian
   /myuˈzɪʃən/[myoo-zish-uhn]
–noun
1. a person who makes music a profession, esp. as a performer of music.
2. any person, whether professional or not, skilled in music."

I think I'm somewhere in between definitions 1 and 2....

Edited August 1, 2010 by GarethFlatlands

[Doddy]

If someone asks me what I do for a living,I say that I'm a musician. If I'm asked what I play,I say
I'm a Bass player.
I never use the term bassist though,I always say bass player.

[Telebass]

[quote name='silddx' post='910216' date='Jul 30 2010, 01:07 PM']I know exactly what you mean "Oh, you mean like a bass guitar?"

However, I meant this thread to be about how you consider [b]yourself[/b]. I should have said something like "are you a mechanic or a composer?" but folks would take that ill [/quote]


[quote name='silddx' post='910421' date='Jul 30 2010, 04:49 PM'] It was reading his interview that prompted the post really, but it is something I've thought about for a long time and I have my own thoughts about it.

I know plenty of "people who play instruments" to a high technical level but who are primarily songwriters/composers, often they are multi instrumentalists. I also know "people who play instruments" to a high technical level but who can't compose or write songs, or even improvise much. They need to be told what to play and they play it beautifully.

To my mind these are two completely different types of people. Zappa's ex band members, some of them are very good at composition and make a living at it, some are pretty poor going by what I've heard.

I really believe it's important to make the distinction, especially if you are auditioning band members. It is probably easier to have people who don't have compositional ambitions in your band if you are a control freak and QC all your music yourself. Sometimes you may want band members who can contribute compositionally or improvisationally.

I have to be a mechanic in one of my bands, but that's fine because I can still control the dynamics and the tone choices and that's very important.

The other band allows me to compose my lines and luckily they go down very well. I am very sensitive to the needs of the song, the singer and the writer. I think I have good compositional skills for pop music and I write pop rock songs and lyrics. I'd be crap at jazz or classical or R&B, Hip Hop, blah blah, though, so there is another distinction one can make.

My OP was very poorly worded wasn't it [/quote]

If, by your definition, you need to be a composer to be musician, then I'd have to disagree. No-one would call most orchestral players anything other than musicians, but a great many of them are probably not composers. Indeed, my personal experience with some orchestral or formally trained brass musicians is that they can do little but read and play what is put in front of them, no improvising ability whatsoever, and you have seen this too. My view of me is that I am a musician who plays electric bass. I play no other instruments, and am not formally trained. I could read a chart, given enough time. I would consider myself a better musician as my skillset improved, certainly, but just because I'm a pub band bass player does not disqualify me from being a musician. I've been off for surgery lately, and my band has had to use a dep. He's perfectly serviceable as a replacement, but the band sounds completely different. Therefore, we each add something different to the band. But we don't happen to formally compose that difference.

Neither does doing it for a living, or not, make any difference.

Or, to put it another way, it's of no importance, in the greater scheme of things, to make the distinction.
You play, you're a musician, period. But there's always, as I said above, room to be a [b][i]better[/i][/b] musician.
My only personal pedantry is that I do not use he term "bass guitar". That has 6 strings tuned EADGBE...