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DJs - performance artists or musicians?
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| holycow24 |
I went to Bowery Ballroom last night (thurs night) to see Mr. Scruff with a few friends, one of whom absolutely adores Mr. Scruff. I was talking to him about DJs and he said that he considers a DJ a performance artist, not a musician. I can kind of see why he would think that, but I'm not sure that I agree with him.
I was wondering what you think? |
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| pyro264jb |
Who is Mr Scruff?
~ hes wrong |
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| holycow24 |
Mr. Scruff (www.mrscruff.com) is a DJ i'd never heard of before last week, and he spins jazz/hip hop/fusion.
anyway my friend is the one who considers DJs performance artists, not mr. scruff. sorry for the unclearness... i'm a little lethargic at the moment. :o |
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| sym |
My opinion may be biased, but I consider DJ's to be musicians. This is why.
DJs create moods by playing certain songs. Track selection along with the correct beatmatching and timing and knowing what to play allow to DJ to control the crowd. Sure a DJ isn't actually making the songs up there, but he is creating a mood with them. Another fact is that songs that aren't so good by themselves can be amazing when the correct DJ plays them right. I believe in alot of cases, the DJ makes the song work or not. In this genre especially, I consider a DJ a musician. |
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| dj tek |
| quote: | Originally posted by sym
My opinion may be biased, but I consider DJ's to be musicians. This is why.
DJs create moods by playing certain songs. Track selection along with the correct beatmatching and timing and knowing what to play allow to DJ to control the crowd. Sure a DJ isn't actually making the songs up there, but he is creating a mood with them. Another fact is that songs that aren't so good by themselves can be amazing when the correct DJ plays them right. I believe in alot of cases, the DJ makes the song work or not. In this genre especially, I consider a DJ a musician. |
Agrees to the fullest mothaing extent:) |
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| Dinaire Force 1 |
| To me, a Dj is both |
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| Christopher B |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dinaire Force 1
To me, a Dj is both |
Agreed. To quote a book I read on the subject, a DJ is actually what one might call a metamusician. In other words, they take different forms of already existing music, and by blending it into their set as a cohesive whole, a new kind of music is created.
A DJ is a performing artist on more than one level. First, mixing two songs together takes skill, and in itself is definitely an art. Next, by playing these tunes in a certain order, knowhing which track fits when, and getting the crowd stimulated is another art entirely.
That being said, one could still say perhaps that a DJ is indeed not in fact a "true" musician. However, as far as I'm concerned, any DJ that produces/remixes/writes songs in any way is definitely a musician.
Sorry if I sound like I'm repeating what has already been said. I guess great minds think alike after all. |
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| vtec junkie |
| not every dj can be considered a musician. think about your every day dj jam that plays cd's that skip every 10 seconds at your local bar. :whip::whip::whip: theres a breaking point in a djs career when he/she becomes a true musician. did anybody know that BT is one of the few artist that has a md in music? |
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| pumavisor808 |
A few weeks ago I saw infusion live @ Centro.. One of my friends who is not into dance music at all was with me... She was amazed that all they do up there on stage is "push buttons on a computer" She was like 'there not really making music, just hitting buttons and the computer is doing it for them.'
The majority of people just don't get it. They think that a guitarist who spend his life practicing is a musician, but if you've devoted your life to electronic music, then that's not really music...:whip: |
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| holycow24 |
| quote: | Originally posted by vtec junkie
not every dj can be considered a musician. think about your every day dj jam that plays cd's that skip every 10 seconds at your local bar. :whip::whip::whip: theres a breaking point in a djs career when he/she becomes a true musician. did anybody know that BT is one of the few artist that has a md in music? |
Well, I think in a sense that DJ is still a musician. It's the same as with any other instrument - there are good and bad musicians. This DJ would be a bad musician. |
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| vtec junkie |
| quote: | Originally posted by holycow24
Well, I think in a sense that DJ is still a musician. It's the same as with any other instrument - there are good and bad musicians. This DJ would be a bad musician. |
yeah i can see where your coming from. |
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| bia |
| quote: | Originally posted by Christopher B
Agreed. To quote a book I read on the subject, a DJ is actually what one might call a metamusician. In other words, they take different forms of already existing music, and by blending it into their set as a cohesive whole, a new kind of music is created.
A DJ is a performing artist on more than one level. First, mixing two songs together takes skill, and in itself is definitely an art. Next, by playing these tunes in a certain order, knowhing which track fits when, and getting the crowd stimulated is another art entirely.
That being said, one could still say perhaps that a DJ is indeed not in fact a "true" musician. However, as far as I'm concerned, any DJ that produces/remixes/writes songs in any way is definitely a musician.
Sorry if I sound like I'm repeating what has already been said. I guess great minds think alike after all. |
Absolutely.....:D |
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