Are Djs Musicians?

i have been having this discussion with my boy for a while now and i was wondering if ppl think of DJs as musicians, or the ppl that bring the music to us?

musician \\Mu*si\"cian\\, n. [F. musicien.] One skilled in the art or science of music; esp., a skilled singer, or performer on a musical instrument.
musician n 1: someone who plays a musical instrument

no one can argue that turntablists are musicians in that respect...

but the definition its self fails to take into account that a turntable is used these days as a musical instrument ....

Cheers
Josh Purcell - Biggie.co.nz - Shadow Systems - Lovinthat.com

but what makes a turntable a musical instrument? is a CD player a musical instrument?

Granted - it is used differently, but still...

ahh lets not get too wanky on defintions
(yes I realise I started it...my bad)

heres what a friend said on the topic....


\"I was thinking about this the other day and came to a conclusion.

The closest thing you could compare dj\'ing to would be photography.
Think about this. A painter or other artist creates something from scratch and that is his/ her art. This would be the musicians, producers, etc.
Now a photographer on the other hand, takes images of something that\'s already there. He didn\'t necessarily create the content, but his art is in the way he presents it. This is the dj.

Now as far as musical talent, I believe you need a good ear and knowledge of structure, but that\'s about it. Unless you\'re a turntablist which, if you\'ve done your studies, should have a good knowledge of rhythm and things similar to what a drummer should know.

This is not to piss anyone off, but I was a musician first (guitar, piano, keys, etc.) and a dj second. And I honestly don\'t think that it has a lot to do with musical talent per se. But it does help a lot if you have it.\"
gjg21 - 2nd November 07:24 - djsource

http://www.sohh.com/thewire/read.php?contentID=2298

k you make a good point and have pretty much summed up my boys argument on the matter.

we are all entertainers


we help people to have a good time

we are musicians in a very loose sense of the
word. However I would rather not be labelled a
musician for the pure fact that I can not play any
instruments, and would be unfair to those with
genuine talent. Entertainer is fine thanks!
That said, skill is still fundamental.

would you call a singer who doesnt write his/her own songs a musician?

I don\'t give a fuck whether a DJ is a musician or not quite frankly..

..I do know it takes a lot of skill to play well, and that there\'s music involved



Why pigeon hole

Dr J - it was a question that i thought was an interesting on to answer, and purely wondered what ppl thought on the matter. it doesnt mean that everyhting said here is taken as gospel. if u didnt \"give a fuck\" why post in here at all???

As far as I can read it,a musician is someone who brings music to the people,be it in the way of creating,remixing,producing or replaying the tunes.
If a band plays cover songs during a performance,does that make them appear to be any less a musician during those songs??I think not.
Why should a dj be any different-we shape and alter what the people hear,with the end result being the feelings and emotion those people have whilst listening,and even after the event.
Isn\'t this what going to a performance by ANY form of musician is about-the moods concieved by the individual about a piece of music.This should not be governed by the format in which it is presented.
Feelings people??

Whoa

Don\'t take it to heart, I wasn\'t being abrasive just because of the \'naughty word\' honey

Chill..!

I\'m saying I think we don\'t need to know whether a DJ is a musician or not, because it harms what it really is. People categorise things too much, and this is a prime example.

not trying to categorise anything, it is a debate that has been going on for a while, and it isn;t intended to \"pigeon hole\" anything or anyone.

i agree ppl categorise too much, but this is about the definitnion of the dj not whether they are one or not!

go and watch hang the dj


then decide for urself. i think that dj who also produce there own tunes are musicans e.g Lottie paul Van dyk

as for the other well yes in away they still are. becuase the still have to no which songs to mix in and which songs will work with others.

Well, in that case, I think they are

I\'m sorry a bulk of my posts seem to get on your wick Caz.. Can\'t work it out :p~

I think DJ\'s are mucisians of a type

.. Not getting too wanky about it .. but a turntable is used in a lot of preformances for producers and for bands ... its just another tool to use .. it can be used to make a filling ground noise IE scratching, loops etc etc and I think that the days of general musicians shunning it are gone .. but thers always a few
I write and produce and DJ ... I also write non-dance music ... and find DJ\'s and there general roll is a very important part to the music life cycle ...

cheers
Josh Purcell - Biggie - Shadow Systems - Lovinthat.com

one thing I will say is my spelling needs work haha

I think the phototgrapher comparison is a good one. Photographers can still be considered artists but not in the same way that a painter can. A DJ can be considered a musician but not in the same way a piano player/composer can