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1.3: Who Makes Music?

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    The concept of who, or what, a musician is also varies between cultures. In the same indigenous North American and African cultures there is not a designation for someone who specializes in music. This is because all members of the community make music. The concept is comparable to the act of speaking in our communities. Everyone takes part in speaking. We recognize that some “speakers” or “preachers” have developed the skill but that does not mean that others do not speak. In our own culture the definition of “musician” is a moving target. What level of proficiency or professionalism does one have to achieve before being considered a musician? Is it not true that one who sings in church or at a birthday party is making music and therefore a musician? For the purposes of a world survey of music it is important to broaden the definition of a musician to be anyone who is taking part in music. This can be a virtuoso violinist, a dancer in India, a producer of Hip-Hop or a shower singer.

    This page titled 1.3: Who Makes Music? is shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Todd Mueller, Elizabeth Whittenburg Ozment, Irina Escalante-Chernova, Marc Gilley, Catherine Kilroe-Smith, & Rachael Fischer (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) .