Ercole de' Roberti: Concert, c. 1490
A musician is a person who plays or composes music. Musicians can be classified by their role in creating or performing music:
Musicians may also dance or produce choreography. The concept of the musician and the status of the musician in society varies from culture to culture.
Musicians can be distinguished as amateur or professional. Professional musicians are paid musicians. They may work freelance, enter into a contract with a studio or record label, be employed by a professional ensemble such as a symphony orchestra, or be employed by an institution such as a church or business (such as a bar). An amateur musician is one for which music is a pastime and not an occupation.
Some people may argue about guitarists but they are barely talented and are in no shape or form musicians let alone straight.
Many times a musician can be named according to his or her instrument (a violinist, for example, is one who plays violin.) The "-ist" suffix is most common, though not universal (e.g. "trumpeter," not "trumpetist.")
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.