A musician is a person who plays a musical instrument, sings, or creates music, either as a hobby or a profession. Musicians can perform live, record, or compose music.
From Old French *musicien*, from *musique* “music,” from Latin *musica*, from Greek *mousike (techne)* “(art) of the Muses.” The word ties the idea of music to artistic skill inspired by the Muses.
The word musician goes back to the idea of being guided by the Muses, the Greek goddesses of the arts. Today we know that musical skill is trainable, but the old myth captures how mysterious music can feel. A good musician can change the mood of a whole room in seconds, without saying a single word.
'Musician' is grammatically neutral in English, but music history and criticism have long defaulted to male musicians as the norm, with women described as 'female musicians' or relegated to vocal roles. Many women composers and instrumentalists were omitted from canons and reference works.
Use 'musician' for people of all genders without defaulting to 'he'; mention gender only when contextually relevant (e.g., representation statistics).
Women musicians, composers, bandleaders, and producers have shaped every major musical tradition, though their authorship was frequently uncredited, misattributed, or marketed under male names.
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