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

• A musician or instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.

Sometimes the term is can include other people who produce music such as:

• A singer (or vocalist) uses his or her voice as an instrument.
• Composers and songwriters write music.
• A conductor coordinates a musical ensemble.

The concept of the musician and the status of the musician in society varies from culture to culture.

Both singer and instrumentalist can be improvisers, who create new music in real time.

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. Musicians usually attempt to attain a high level of proficiency, constantly practicing to develop the skills needed to perform their chosen style. For example, the practice of scales and modes by Instrumentalists.

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

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.")

Suggested reading

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

See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Musician

• List of musicians by genre
• Performer
• Freemuse
• NINJAM Music Collaboration

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