Are you a musician?

[mofonyx]

Basically, I'm just curious how many head-fiers are musicians. You don't have to be a professional musician, just a musician in general.

Do you believe that only musicians can truly appreciate music?
Does having an exposure to playing music pave a way towards your audiophilia?

If I wasn't into playing the saxophone or piano myself, I don't think that I would venture so far into this hobby. I would probably stop at the Koss KSC75.

I "play" the saxophone, piano and turntables. I don't see the turntables as a musical instrument, but if you choose to vote "yes" because you're a turntablist or a DJ, fine with me

 

[stewtheking]

As a musician, I think that anybody can appreciate it, but IMO it takes some form of active involvement to really understand music.

 

[Contrastique]

No, i am not a musician. I used to play different kinds of flute though (I am not sure what you call them in english so I don't try). I played piano, drums, violin and clarinet for 6 weeks to try it out but sticked with the "dwarsfluit" for several years. Besides that i followed a balleyclass for like 7 or 8 years and sang in a choir.
My family is all into music and my brother makes music himself, so I can not truly say that I would have gotten here without my background. You will never know I guess.
But my background made me appreciate music on a higher level than most people I have around.

 

[Advil]

I sing in a choir, but that doesn't count as being a musician... i don't think.

 

[bperboy]

Violinist for about 13 years. I think I have discovered that I enjoy listening to music much more than playing it, mostly because the professionals sound so much better than I do.

 

[EnOYiN]

Yup, I am. I have been playing guitar for about a 12 years. Aside from that I can play a bit of bass, drums, cello, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, violin, djembe, piano, organ, harmonica, accordion (no melodion) and errr, well kazoo of course. Maybe some other things I can think of right now, but that doesn't really matter either way.

I own most of the things listed here except for the violin and the piano.

I think that if you are a musician you listen to music in an other way than when you would when you are not. You might be listening to the more technical aspect of it than the actual music. Whether this is an advantage I can not say since I don't know how I would listen to music if I wouldn't be able to play anything at all. (obviously)

Edit: Hah, I can sing a bit as well, I nearly forgot about that.

Edit Part II:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Contrastique /img/forum/go_quote.gif the "dwarsfluit"

That would be German or transverse flute.

I am going to give you a Dutch/ English dictionary at the meet Indra.

 

[Contrastique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bperboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Violinist for about 13 years. I think I have discovered that I enjoy listening to music much more than playing it, mostly because the professionals sound so much better than I do.

I like that more also, because when listening music I can drift away on the tunes and when making it you have to practice real hard to achieve a highqual sound wich you can enjoy. When you do good you can get immediate gratification though.

 

[goldenratiophi]

Been playing piano for 10 years, and a little guitar.

 

[Killercrush]

Playing bass guitar since 2003.

It helps understanding music so much more because you train your ears alot.

 

[robm321]

I've been playing guitar since Jr. High which was a long time ago. I only play from time to time now, but I think it has contributed to my musical diversity and audiophile tendancies.

 

[feh1325]

been playing sax for 6 years strong
alto sax, that is

 

[mofonyx]

Well on my end, as a musician (saxophone and piano) I have grown to appreciate the complexities and the "class" of the piece being played to me. If you're not playing the instrument (i.e. in my case - guitar, which I have always wanted to pick up, maybe next year), you will find everything played before you to be complex or simple, depending on the general way in which you look at things.

I feel that being a musician allows me to appreciate what I listen to in greater depth. Basically agreeing on Stew's point that you require active involvement to really understand the effort being put into music.

 

[wafflesomd]

Yup, tuba for six years so far, and we'll see how far I get with it in college.

 

[flamerz]

I wish there was a "slightly" option.

 

[jules650]

I think being a musician helps you enjoy certain genres. For example, I don't think that many non-guitarists appreciate instrumental (guitar) rock/shred. Having said that I used to be an instrumental rock fan but got a little tired of the genre a few years back.

Being a musician has helped me appreciate certain nuances in music that non-musicians may not pick up. I'm also learning something new every day that I listen to music.