A musician is a person who plays or composes music. Musicians can be classified by their role in production, including instrument and genre: Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Wikicities has a wiki about Music: Music Look up Music in Wiktionary, the free dictionary All Music Guide: includes a comprehensive and flexible Genre and Style system MusicWiki: A Collaborative Music-related encyclopedia Science of Music: Multimedia exploration of the...

• A singer (also called a vocalist) uses his or her voice.
• An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.
• Composers and songwriters make up music and write it down.
• 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 is culture-specific. Think, for instance, about your own concepts relating to "the heavy metalist", "the folk musician", "the DJ", "the sarangi player", "the female drummer", and so on. See also: performer. In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... The word voice can mean: The human voice. ... A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A songwriter is someone who writes either the lyrics or the music for songs. ... Composition deals with the bits and pieces that make up things. ... A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... A musical ensemble is, by definition, a group of three or more musicians who gather to perform music. ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance (from Old French dance, further history unknown) generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression (see also body language) or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... This article is in need of attention. ... The word culture comes from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor). ... A concept is an abstract, universal idea, notion or entity that serves to designate a category or class of entities, events or relations. ... Heavy metal is a form of music characterized by aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars, generally with grandiose lyrics and virtuosic instrumentation. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ... Sarangi The sarangi is the most important bowed string instrument of Indias Hindustani classical music tradition. ... Female is the BLEEEEP of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces egg cells. ... A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... The performing arts include theater, motion pictures, drama, comedy, music, dance, opera, magic and the marching arts, such as brass bands, etc. ...

Musicians may also be distinguished as amateur or professional. Professional musicians may work freelance, contract with a studio or label, or may be employed by an institution such as a church or business such as a bar. The word amateur has at least two connotations. ... A professional does something as a profession, or receives payment for some activity. ... A freelancer or (freelance worker) is a self-employed person working in a profession or trade in which full-time employment by a single employer is also common. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... A church building is a building used in Christian worship. ... Business refers to at least three closely related commercial topics. ... Categories: Stub ...

Songs may be produced by some animals, including birds. Although many would surely debate whether birds are musicians, their ability to produce variations on the characteristic song of their species is a subject deserving more research (though relating less to music and more to animal communication). The freestyle chatter of even common birds, although lacking the complexity of methods employed by human beings, must be regarded as having some relation to the origins of music. Human beings did not begin producing music by banging away on a keyboard, nor are they the only creatures which respond to (or produce) rhythm and melody. A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (possibly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... In biology, a species is a kind of organism. ... Research is an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviours, or theories, or to make practical applications with the help of such facts, laws or theories. ... Animal communication is any behaviour on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Human beings define themselves in biological, social, and spiritual terms. ... Three Year Old Girl playing with a Keyboard , The musical keyboard, also known as the piano keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers on a musical instrument which produce notes. ... Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ... }} Wiktionary has a definition of: Melody In music, a melody is a series of linear events or a succession, not a simultaneity as in a chord. ...

Types of musicians

• Singer or vocalist
• Composer
• Conductor
• Instrumentalist (a musician who plays a musical instrument).
  • Bassist or Double bassist
  • Bassoonist
  • Cellist
  • Clarinetist
  • Drummer
  • Electronic musician
  • Flutist or Flautist
  • Guitarist
  • Hornist or Horn player
  • Keyboardist or Keyboard player
  • Oboist
  • Organ grinder
  • Pianist
  • Percussionist
  • Recorder player
  • Saxophonist
  • Timpanist
  • Trombonist
  • Trumpeter or Trumpet player
  • Tubist or Tuba player
  • Turntablist or DJ
  • Violinist
  • Violist or Viola player
• Arranger
• Orchestrator
• Record producer

See also: List of musicians by genre In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A bassist is a musician who plays a bass guitar or double bass. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... Bassoon Playing range of a bassoon The bassoon is the tenor member of the woodwind family. ... Alternate meaning: Cello web browser A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human (Uncropped Version) The cello (also violoncello or cello) is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. ... A clarinetist (sometimes also spelled clarinettist) is a musician who plays the clarinet. ... A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... An electronic musician is a musician who composes or plays music from synthetic sounds generated with synthesizers, samplers, drum machines or music sequencers. ... A flutist demonstrates flute-playing technique A flutist is a musician who plays the flute. ... Steve Howe playing lead guitar for Yes in 1977 A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. ... Some important horn players include: Hermann Baumann Dennis Brain Alan Civil Barry Tuckwell ... A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. ... An Oboist is a musician who plays the oboe. ... An Austrian organ grinder with his barrel organ in Vienna The organ grinder was a street musician of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ... A recorder player is a musician who plays a recorder. ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ... Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. ... A trombonist is a musician who plays the trombone. ... A trumpeter may be one of several things: A trumpeter is a musician who plays the trumpet. ... The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ... Turntablism is a subgenre of pop music which emerged from hip hop. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ... A violinist is an instrumentalist who plays the violin. ... Violist is a term sometimes used for a musician who plays the viola. ... In popular music an arrangement is a setting of a piece of music, which may have been composed by the arranger or by someone else. ... For the use of the term orchestration in computer science, see orchestration (computers) Orchestration or arrangement is the study and practice of arranging music for an orchestra or musical ensemble. ... In the music industry, record producer designates a person responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. ... Musicians by artist type List of all-women bands List of bands List of girl groups List of Latino rock musicians Musicians by style and genre List of alternative country musicians List of Australian Aboriginal musicians List of blues musicians List of boogie woogie musicians List of British blues musicians...

Usage note

It should be noted that although in many cases the name of the player is made from the name of the instrument + "ist", it does not work for all instruments. Trumpetist for example is nonsense. There are also widespread differences in the acceptability of some of these terms: for example percussionist is in general and uncontested use whereas violist is not.

Suggested reading:

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

External links

• Lyrics and Chords for Musicians (http://www.vagalume.com.br/) by Vaga-Lume

Wikiquote quotations related to:

Musician