Musician

A musician is a person who plays a musical instrument or is musically talented.[1] Anyone who composes, conducts, or performs music is referred to as a musician.[2] A musician who plays a musical instrument is also known as an instrumentalist. A person who is able to play a number of instruments is called a multi-instrumentalist. A musician may perform on their own (a soloist) or as part of a group, band or orchestra.

For other uses, see Musician (disambiguation).
"Instrumentalist" redirects here. For the philosophical position on science, see Instrumentalism.
Guy Pratt, a professional session musician, playing bass guitar.

Musicians can specialize in any musical style, and some musicians play in a variety of different styles depending on cultures and background. Examples of a musician's possible skills include performing, conducting, singing, rapping, producing, composing, arranging, and the orchestration of music.[3]

Musicians by era

Medieval
Further information: Medieval music

In the Middle Ages, instrumental musicians performed with soft ensembles inside and loud instruments outdoors. Many European musicians of this time catered to the Roman Catholic Church, and they provided arrangements structured around Gregorian chant structure and Masses from church texts.[4]

Notable musicians

Renaissance
Further information: Renaissance music

[5]Renaissance musicians produced music that could be played during masses in churches and important chapels. Vocal pieces were in Latin—the language of church texts of the time—and typically were Church-polyphonic or "made up of several simultaneous melodies." By the end of the 16th century, however, patronage split among many areas: the Catholic Church, Protestant churches, royal courts, wealthy amateurs, and music printing—all provided income sources for composers.[6]

Notable musicians

Baroque
Further information: Baroque music

The Baroque period (about 1600 to 1750) introduced heavy use of counterpoint and basso continuo characteristics. Vocal and instrumental "color" became more important compared with the Renaissance style of music, and emphasized much of the volume, texture and pace of each piece.[7]

Notable musicians

Classical
Further information: Classical music

Classical music was created by musicians who lived during a time of a rising middle class. Many middle-class inhabitants of France at the time lived under long-time absolute monarchies. Because of this, much of the music was performed in environments that were more constrained compared with the flourishing times of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.[8]

Notable musicians

Romantic
Further information: Romantic music

The foundation of Romantic period music coincides with what is often called the age of revolutions, an age of upheavals in political, economic, social, and military traditions. This age included the initial transformations of the Industrial Revolution. A revolutionary energy was also at the core of Romanticism, which quite consciously set out to transform not only the theory and practice of poetry and art, but the common perception of the world. Some major Romantic Period precepts survive, and still affect modern culture.[9]

Notable musicians

20th to 21st centuries
Further information: 20th-century music

The world transitioned from 19th-century Romanticism to 20th century Modernism, bringing major musical changes. In 20th-century music, composers and musicians rejected the emotion-dominated Romantic period, and strove to represent the world the way they perceived it. Musicians wrote to be "...objective, while objects existed on their own terms. While past eras concentrated on spirituality, this new period placed emphasis on physicality and things that were concrete."[10]

The advent of audio recording and mass media in the 20th century caused a boom of all kinds of music—pop, electronic, dance, rock, folk, country and all forms of classical music.[11]

gollark: They're both better. QED.
gollark: You mean single player?
gollark: Multiplayer with nobody on it?
gollark: The sound of potatOS formatting your drives.
gollark: How is buying a super bow going to allow you to payback your loans?

See also

References
  1. "Musician". Oxford Dictionary.
  2. "Musician". MacMillan Dictionary.
  3. "Types of Musician". About MusicSchools.com.
  4. "[https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-glam-reports-radio-s-27785402/episode/super-star-singer-andrea-desmond-returns-29525867/ Andrea Desmond] WKIM FM 61.1 Radio Show - The Middle Ages". Encyclopedia Britannica. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  5. Dowland, John, 1563?-1626, composer., The best of John Dowland ., OCLC 907378778, retrieved 7 June 2020CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. "Music in the Renaissance". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  7. "The Baroque Era". Oracle Education Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012.
  8. "Unit IV 1750–1914". West Forsyth HS History.
  9. "Romanticism". Brooklyn College.
  10. "The 20th Century". Fine Arts Society Radio. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  11. Blanning, Tim "The Triumph of Music; The Rise of Composers, Musicians and Their Art" Harvard University Press 2008, ISBN 9780674057098

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