FWIW, I have been playing musical instruments since the age of 2 but I have always considered my voice to be my primary instrument. I do play guitar and bass in a very simple folk / country way but only to support my voice; I am well educated and well-rounded in music theory; I am honoured to be one of the PG Beta testers; I am often visitng my local music shop for something or other (I managed to go through 3 G strings in December and I do NOT mean underwear!); I can discuss music with the best; I try to help and promote local artists; from time-to-time, I contribute to the forum here; I am co-founding a folk club in Vienna and I have been asked to manage a couple of artists; I sing when I can (last was a Traditional Irish Christmas Party before Christmas for which I put my own band together with me on vox and guitar, a flautist, a bodhran player and a bassman), whether for money or fun, and I write my own songs...

Am I a musician? I think so but I would not DARE to call myself an instrumentalist! Yet, it can be very confusing when talking to classical musicians who consider musicians to be instrumentalists. I guess it depends on your definition.

Another dictionary definition I came across stated that a musician was somebody who 'makes money from music'? That would include all the music industry execs, recording studios, management agents, even Colonel Parker! However, that also suggests that all the amateur musicians out there are not musicians at all because they do not make money from it...

Everybody must have heard this old joke before:

Q: What do you call somebody who hangs out with musicians?
A: A drummer! Boom boom!

For that matter, how do you define a songwriter?

Follow That Dream

Sam
Karaoke King

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Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what