What Is a Guitar Musician?

A guitar musician is a person who creates, composes, and/or performs music played on the guitar. A guitar musician may perform by himself or he may join a music band to combine the sound of his instrument with those of other musicians. The guitarist may also accompany his guitar playing with singing, though not all guitarists will do so.

The more common name for a guitar musician is a guitarist. He or she may play any type of guitar, and may choose a specific genre of music to play, or he or she might play several genres. Sometimes a guitar musician can become a professional musician if he or she is making a living off the craft, though this is a difficult field in which to make a decent wage. Pay is often erratic and sometimes quite low; a guitarist may choose to travel to various locations throughout a region, country, or throughout the world to perform for audiences. The venue will often pay the musician, though the specific payment amount will vary significantly from venue to venue and according to the crowds the guitar musician can draw in.

Other guitarists play simply as a hobby, either in bands or solo. The guitarist may play for crowds or simply for pleasure at home. The exact definition of guitar musician can vary, and it may include any person who plays guitar and considers themselves a musician on an amateur level or a professional level.

Guitarists very often join bands that feature complementary instruments. Rock and roll bands often feature one or more guitars, a bass guitar, drums, and sometimes pianos or keyboards. These instruments seem to work very well with each other, though guitar can be combined with many other instruments to create a unique and pleasant sound.

Classical guitarists focus on one particular genre of music, and they generally play nylon string guitars instead of steel or nickel string guitars. The nylon strings give the guitar a very distinctive sound that works well for classical music, flamenco, and various genres of music. This type of guitarist is likely to pluck the strings with his fingers rather than with a pick.