OK, yes I AM SERIOUS as I am a musician as I play piano/keyboards, guitar and violin and have done so for over 50 years. I have also played in many many Bands, Cabaret, Folk, Rock and a little bit of Jazz on guitar and on keyboards.I was a musician for maybe 30 years before I discovered BIAB.

ALL my songs, with a few exceptions are composed on piano or guitar. At the moment an old Technics p60 and an Ibanez 12 str or heritage Les Paul, amongst other guitars/keyboards.

Pressing play IMHO does not enhance what I PLAY ,it enhances my original song idea by providing me with the instrumentation I CANNOT play or afford to have hanging around in my house, in case I need that specific instrument. So BIAB, to me, is a "band of musicians" that provide me with the instrumentation that I feel the song requires and many times BIAB gives me ideas for an alternative take on MY song and I have learnt a lot of playing skills from using the Melodist and Soloist. Musical ideas I would never have thought of without BIAB. Sometimes the chord sequences provided by "pressing play" have given me ideas also.

BUT you say
Quote:

Maybe I am in the wrong place. If the accepted definition of a “musician” is anyone who can use BIAB, …… then I definitely am in the wrong place. I hope not, but maybe so.
I find that kind of statement unbelievable!
That would cover the “loop” users and folks who can only use BIAB or another program to create music. That still doesn’t make you a “musician”. You have to earn that title by actually learning to play an instrument. It shouldn’t be “granted” to someone who hasn’t learned to play.

I would assume that many owners of BIAB, and forumites, may fit into this category and take offence.

Quote:

Saying that anyone who can use BIAB is a musician is OFFENSIVE to anyone who can actually play an instrument!

SO from that statement you say that I am somehow offending myself, which I find offensive. It was just my opinion that this wonderful program, BIAB, is in my arsenal of musical instruments as I have spent many many years learning how to make musical sounds out of it to MY satisfaction, so TO ME it IS an instrument.
So I STILL stick to my statement and say: "A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument ". Thanks initially to BIAB my computer is now adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds and by the above definition becomes an instrument. For clarity I ignore the presence of my D.A.W., virtual instruments and say, by choice, I do not use the Real Instrs and Real Drums as I prefer the flexibilty afforded by MIDI.

Is a singer not a musician because they do not play a physical instrument, but they "play" the voice? Was Pavarotti a musican or just a singer? And by the same rote was Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols a musician as he also portrayed his idea of music by his vocal chords? He definitely wasnt a singer IMHO . Is THIS MAN making music as a musician or is it just a man with a wood saw and a bow??

I believe that the term Music Programer has existed since the 1980's and the advent of the mega synths by Yamaha, MOOG, Korg etc. I too spent time programing synths using system exclusive albeit MT32, TG100 and DX7 but gave up as I had to press the reset button too often. I too have used loops from ACID and the EJAY series.

I feel I have to give you the advice I received from an old teacher who said "Read what is actually written NOT what you THINK is written, two different things".
But then that is the alleged beauty of the Internetz, anonymity.
But no offense taken.

Alyn

My showcase songs

My story