Are you a musician?

[Mr Ed]

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

: a composer, conductor, or performer of music; especially : instrumentalist

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/musician

So yes, I'm a musician.

As simple as that.

[benhall.1]

It seems to me like a kind of inverted snobbery to claim not to be a "musician" but to claim to be a "tradition bearer". "A "tradition bearer" in what field?" I am inclined to ask. Presumably in the field of traditional music.

I'm sure the people I know who play trad think of themselves as musicians, whether they can read music, play other genres, or not. Hence why there's a table "Reserved for musicians" in pubs around Ireland and the UK. (Well, at least, in the pubs that have sessions.)

[Mr.Gumby]

to claim to be a "tradition bearer"

To be honest I have never met anybody who tried lay that claim. I have known a few who truly could, and were aware that what they had was important but I think only a right plank would claim to be a tradition bearer.

FWIW, I think a true bearer of the tradition would be more than a repository of music, knowledge folklore, local history and a thorough embedding in the local community would be a first requirement for those worthy of the title.

[benhall.1]

I think only a right plank would claim to be a tradition bearer.

Agreed. It was something implied in the OP.

[highland-piper]

I think to be a musician you need to spend some time working on being one. So the mother singing to her child isn't really a musician any more than the people dancing at a festival are dancers. But if you actively work on it, then you are. If it makes you feel better, or more precise, you can add an adjective. Folk musician; amateur musician; poor musician.

Nearly all musicians are tradition bearers. Classical musicians, especially. Nearly everything they do is part of a tradition. Few of us do anything radically new and different.

[mutepointe]

You folks wrote interesting and varied answers. I'm going to read them again.

The only thing that I have to add is that I have played musical instruments since I was a teenager and am now an old man. It was only when I learned the flute (my 5th instrument), did I consider myself a musician. Everything else was parlor tricks.

[Lost-in-North-Dakota]

There is a quote that goes something like.... "Lady, I'm not an athlete. I'm a baseball player." John Kruk

I identify with that statement. I play with several bands, and probably perform music in public something like 40 times per year, but I really don't consider myself to be a musician.

[whistle1000]

@benhall.1...I am certainly not claiming to be a tradition bearer! I will expand further when I respond to Mr. Gumby..." I think only a right plank would consider themselves a tradition bearer." I agree with that 1000 %! Especially when talking about traditional Irish music. I agree that it could be implied in the OP so I edited the last sentence. I did reference the old masters and they are the tradition bearers that I was talking about. I simply meant, are we merely the players who listen to and try to emulate the tradition bearers? Or musicians? Or both? I guess I could have asked if Micho was a musician, tradition bearer, or both. And me as a "disciple" of Micho, I simply don't consider myself a musician but in a broader scope I guess I am. I have belonged to several musician unions and I guess it says it all there...lol...Regardless of my error. I am enjoying the discussion.

[whistle1000]

@ Mr. Gumby...as I said in the previous post, I have a sense what a tradition bearer is. Especially when it come to traditional Irish music. I have nothing but the utmost respect, bordering on reverence, for those such rare people. I was following an earlier post where you had lots of great photos and sound clips and the discussion was about tradition bearers and the like. Particularly liked the one from 1963? Two masters trading lines and having kinda musical chair type of play with the tune. You're right, only a plank would claim to be one!

@Lost-in-North-Dakota...that's a great quote and a good way to express the gist of what I am getting at! Music is the athlete and baseball is the genre...Love it!

[whistle1000]

@highland-piper...I certainly agree with you that nearly all musicians are tradition bearers. But I am very aware how that label is viewed when it comes to ITM in particular. Not wanting to step on any toes but also not wanting to call you a plank for your input...

[Mr.Gumby]

@ Mr. Gumby...as I said in the previous post, I have a sense what a tradition bearer is. Especially when it come to traditional Irish music. I have nothing but the utmost respect, bordering on reverence, for those such rare people.

I wasn't having a go. In my own thinking 'tradition bearer' is a term that would imply so much more and would apply the rare few. I knew a few, Junior Crehan was one, Martin Rochford, Micho Russell, maybe a few others. They were more than just traditional musicians. Music is just one expression of traditional culture and a 'tradition bearer' in my view would be well rooted in many aspects of the culture.

Anyhow, the 'plank' reference was maybe triggered by a general thing I see on the internet, but let's not go there. But as I said, I wasn't having a go.

[highland-piper]

@highland-piper...I certainly agree with you that nearly all musicians are tradition bearers. But I am very aware how that label is viewed when it comes to ITM in particular. Not wanting to step on any toes but also not wanting to call you a plank for your input...

Google fails me. What is a plank in this context?

It seems like you are trying to draw a distinction where there is no real difference, just degree.

Have you heard this one: There is a band playing down at the pub tonight. They have three musicians and a piper.

[Mr.Gumby]

Plank

[whistle1000]

@Mr. Gumby....Thank's Peter!. I knew you weren't having a go. Never would expect that from you. As I said, I certainly understand the term, Tradition Bearer, in the Irish context. I can't even imagine anybody claiming to be such a thing. I think that term is only something that one's peers and admirers would call you. I cant imagine Micho Russell ever calling himself a tradition bearer. Borderline blasphemy in the Irish context I wold imagine... I am enjoying the discussion though..

[tin tin]

I've just skimmed this thread, but in response to the OP, I strongly disagree that the title of artist or musician should be reserved for the most trained/most celebrated. It's not honorific. If you're creatively inclined, you're an artist. If you play music, you're a musician. If you paint, you're a painter. If you write, you're a writer. And so on.

Of course, some musicians are better, more trained, more recognized, better paid, more creative, etc. than others, but that doesn't negate the rest of us from also being musicians.

If I spend some of my evenings at home playing the flute but then claim I'm not a musician, that smacks of creative blockage or even a form of self-loathing. It means my artistic self is frightened, so I preempt criticism (or hold my own inner critic at bay) by essentially saying, "I play the flute, but I'm no musician, so you can't judge my playing." Au contraire! Your music, your creativity, your artistic self (however it expresses itself) should be nurtured and celebrated. Saying "I'm a musician" is a start.