Here’s something that’s been bothering me since I started DJing: does being a DJ qualify as being a musician?
Let’s face it. DJing in it’s purist form means playing other people’s music. However, not everyone can mix songs, and few people can do it very well. There certainly is a level of skill required.
I’m not trying to say one way or another. I’m still on the fence about it.
I played guitar for about six years. I quit playing because I wanted to focus on producing electronic music. A lot of people would argue that making music on the computer doesn’t qualify me as a musician, since I technically am not “playing” anything. “Composer” might be a better word.
I’m not trying to hit any nerves. I’m just curious what you guys have to say about this. So let’s hear it. Do you Disc Jockeys consider yourselves to be musicians?
Is Celine Dion a musician? No, she is a singer. I am a DJ. We both use other peoples music to earn a living (her standard of “living” is higher than mine…).
And I like “producer”, “arranger” or “composer” for EDM. You may play certain parts, but it is the arrangers ear and producer’s bag-o-tricks that sets one track apart from the chaff.
Well…i have played about 6 traditional instruments in my life (at school where i had 8 years of music lessons), played in a band as a drummer…and have also written a few electronic tracks.
I have not made money off this…but I do consider myself a musician…but not professionally.
The Musicians Union in the UK which is very prominent organisation classifies DJs as Musicians.
Ive played Guitar all my life so i am a musician and i know the difference between writing music and performing it and DJing but where does the divide fall between being a DJ and playing someone elses music and being a musician in a covers band and playing someone else music..?
DJs ARE musicians. Not the same as composing musicians or session musicians but still musicians .
Its like the stupid arguement that skateboarding isnt a sport. Of course its is, just cus its not a team sport or physical doesnt mean its not a sport. Its more of a sport, more entertaining and more skillfull than throwing a javelin.
sarasin puts it well, we are ARTISTS. But if you take that literally someone will say artists create stuff not simply perform. Thats the problem when people start to take words literally and take them apart… The word fails.
DJ doesnt mean Disc Jockey anymore its a convenient term of reference. The meaning expands with the art form.
So does the meaning of Musician.
I would argue that some DJ’s are more musician than others. You have the guys that just mix and don’t do anything else and you have the cue point jugglers and remixers. The “lazy” DJ’s still make decisions on what to play and can change the mood of a room by their selections, but I think they’re less of a musician than someone who does lots of cue point juggling and uses fx to change a song.
Being a good DJ requires talent and lots of practice just like what is required to be a good musician.
When I said artist, I meant that a DJ puts together a set, selecting tracks and weaving them together. So the art is in the performance, not dropping a needle on a record.
I think being a DJ and a musician are two completely different things to the extent of which as a DJ you do not need to deem yourself a musician.
A musician plays one, or multiple, instruments usually as part of an ensemble.
A DJ fuses two or more audio sources in various styles.
Likewise being a controllerist and a DJ are two different things in my opinion. They, of course, cross over and in that scenario you therefore become a DJ and controllerist, not just either or…
As someone who writes music you could be an artist, singer, composer, producer, arranger etc… Which entirely depends on your methods of making music, they are all separate terms, and rightfully have different meanings.
My (long-winded) point is that a DJ isn’t a musician. Your a DJ. You don’t need to ‘qualify’ yourself as a musician.
Kinda like in baseball, it’s not the act of hitting a ball, but doing so the right way… I guess. That was a poor analogy but I can’t think of anything better.
I wasn’t suggesting that we all should grab a dictionary and see if we qualify under the accepted meaning of the word (abbreviation?) “DJ.” I used the word “qualify” loosely.
For the sake of not giving DJ Pauly D too much credit, no lol.
However, it depends on how much work you put into it. People who take time splitting tracks apart, sampling, reconstructing, blending with other tracks (using harmonic mixing, and music theory principles), and almost creating a whole new track in the transition alone, thats justified.
Skilled scratching, turntablism, complex routines, all that absolutely qualifies as a musician.
I can see how a dj might be considered a musician under union terms, as you are on stage performing, and are subjected to the same benefits and risks, but I think being a musician implies the ability to understand and create music with a musical instrument. I play several instruments in several bands, and consider myself a musician and a DJ.
I consider myself a musician, but I’ve also been singing in auditioned groups and shows since I was 11 and have played guitar since a really bad breakup.
I don’t think DJs are musicians just by DJing. They do musical things; I enjoy doing it; and i respect DJs for what we do…but we’re not musicians just by DJing. Artistic Directors would be a better title, but they’re not musicians either.
Nowadays most DJs tend to have a producing background, or do some producing in the background, so it’s becoming more and more intertwined if you ask me.
musician - A person who arranges sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm.
Sorry to dredge the dictionary but this seems pretty clear to me?
DJ’s are musicians in this sense but it always harks back to semantics in these arguments (controllerists not being DJ’s as they don’t use a disk being the classic), language evolves and terms change based on current things. The term - Musician - in the old sense came about as all there was then was people who played instruments but these things have to change.
A DJ uses music as the term above states, therefore is a musician, all you haters roll with it!!!
For the sake of discussion, I guess you could argue that DJs don’t exactly arrange music as much as they play music. But on the other hand a DJ does “arrange” the order of tracks, and with the rising popularity of controllerism, they also play with the structure of individual tracks. Just a thought.
Not everyone who DJ’s is a musician. Not everyone who plays the Guitar is a musician.
Also, the term DJ as a musician is much too broad. A DJ who just goes and plays songs and not much else is in no way shape or form a musician. A DJ who REMIXES or PRODUCES music I would consider a musician. (granted he UNDERSTANDS music)
For the record, I play the guitar, drums, and piano - and have for most of my life. I understand music theory, song structure, scales, keys, etc. For a DJ to succesfully turn an existing song into a remix, he should know all these terms and how to use them. Also understanding these terms will help you better structure your DJ set.
To sum it up, some DJ’s are musicians. Not all. And this applies to any instrument.
