What Is A Musician?

Reading a sample of “The Music Lesson” by Victor Hooten, I found validation for what I’ve been saying all along:

“You are just a bass player. That means you play the bass guitar. A true musician, like me, plays Music and uses particular instruments as tools to do so. I know that Music is inside me and not inside the instrument. This understanding allows me to use any instrument, or no instrument at all, to play my Music. I am a true musician, and one day, you too shall be.”

And goes on to compare a musician with a writer:

“A true writer can write using a typewriter, a pen, a pencil, or anything else that he chooses. You wouldn’t call him a pencil writer, would you? Your understanding that the writing utensil is just a tool allows you to see past it and into the truth of what he is–a writer. The story is in the writer, is it not? Or is it in the pencil? Your problem is this: You have been trying to tell your story with a bass guitar instead of through it.”

Bravo! In too many music circles, people are being judged for using their DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) as their main instrument instead of a guitar or piano or whatever. Being treated like they’re not a *real* musician.

My very first instrument was an electric organ. *Electric” – did you catch that? I’ve been using electronic instruments since I was 7 years old. Yet, I’m being treated as if my music isn’t *real* music. I’ve been involved with computers since my first *real* job in 1976. Boomers are often criticized for not knowing computers or understanding electronic music. But not this one. Old or new, they’re all just tools.

I may also play a piano riff and mix it inside my music. Or even a guitar riff (Yes, I have two guitar–acoustic and electric). I may even use a loop. Gasp! (as if the “professionals” don’t). Because it’s all about experimenting with different tools for the sake of the song. The *music.”

I love music, all kinds of music. And a DAW gives me the power to focus on the music and not just one instrument, which I always found so boring! I don’t play any one instrument well! I got too bored to just focus on that one instrument. Especially the violin – lol! But I love the sound of all these instruments. And I love mixing many sounds together to make music.

In my great grandfather’s day, they didn’t have DAWs. But loving music, he crafted several instruments and played them all. Those are the tools he had. And these are the tools I have (acoustic, electronic, and digital instruments). I’m so thrilled to have these tools. Because it’s all about the music.

None of this addresses the whole AI situation. But, perhaps, there’s room for that, too. If viewed as just another tool.

And now I need to download the rest of that book.