What makes someone a piano\guitar player?
 

Hello, I've been thinking about this very often but I just can't explain it. I have a keyboard in my house and I can play many songs and pieces of music, I learned them by synthesia, I can't read or write music sheet but I noticed that I'm improving because I used to find many songs hard to play but now they're much easier,could this be possible? I mean that playing an instrument will be much easier and you'll be professional if you keep practise and learn songs without even knowing notes\chords\etc. Anyway, I know a lot of artists and bands who know nothing about writing or reading music from sheets. How did they become to what they are now?

What makes them artists if they can't read music sheets? Let's suppose you teached someone how to play thousands of songs on piano but he still can't read music sheets and don't know about chords and stuff. Is he a piano player? I'm just trying hard to express my idea, many singers play piano but they can't read music sheets, so basically there isn't something special about them, they just play what they used to practice! (For example: Chris Martin - Coldplay. Thom Yorke- Radiohead)


I'd be happy to explain more if you want..

If you can play an instrument, you are a player of that instrument. Being a player doesn't denote anything about talent or knowledge of traditional music theory.

^ I agree. I think though, there's a difference between a guitar player and a musician.

What difference would that be exactly?

I sh*tty guitar player is a sh*tty musician.

Well, a guitar player, or anyone who plays an instrument is not a musician. In my opinion a musician is someone who understands the theory behind the music as well as create the music.

So there are no musicians in a badass cover band (I think one exists somewhere) because they don't read music or create original music?

My buddy is an excellent guitar player and multi-instrumentalist and can only barely read music. Does this make him only half a musician?

I'm curious.

Well, i honestly didn't give my full definition. I gave the overly simplified version. The musician, in my opinion, is the guy who has a good understanding of the music. He uses it to create his own music. So a cover band is not a group of musicians. They are players. Unless someone in the band can do the thing I described and just isn't doing them in his cover band.

As for your friend, I don't know him, but I'm going to make the assertion that he understands theory. Cause an inability to read music but understanding theory do not go hand in hand. So if he has a good understanding of theory I would consider him a musician.

That closes out self taught musicians (Keith Moon is a good example) and people who don't adhere to Western music theory. Playing the instrument to make music makes you a musician. It's like I was saying with art in another thread: just because someone is a musician doesn't mean that they're inherently good.

I think that a lot of people have been swindled into thinking this way because of art being in the hands of the elite for so long. It's all democratized now, let's call a spade a spade.

I can't comment on your Keith moon example. But i think if we call anyone who picks up an instrument a musician, it kind of demeans the word. And my definition of the word musician doesn't inherently mean they're good. It simply means they are creating music with an understanding of theory. Just because you understand theory doesn't mean you automatically make good music.