At what point do you start being a musician?

And at what point are you no longer considered a musician? I have always considered myself a musician, despite going over 14 years without playing my piano, gaps of 4 or more years between picking up my bass, and flat out refusing to consider myself a guitarist anymore. Am I just a musician when my fingers have callouses? Am I not a musician until I’ve written at least one song? Do I stop being a musician when my muse leaves?

When I was 16 I wrote a few songs. There was some complete shite, and there were some simple but cute numbers, and 1 song that I actually thought was worth a damn. 15 years later and I have finally scored it using a sheet music creator piece of software. I can’t remember more than the first verse of lyrics, but at least I was able to remember the chords and melodies. But I can’t tell if I’m a musician yet, or just some old, sad woman trying to backtrack and take the correct path at those crossroads known as puberty.

I have always wanted to be a songwriter. I have so much inside of me that wants to be let out into the airwaves. But I feel so choked up with being busy living my life. I suffer from a case of wanting to create my feelings into art and music, but having a complete lack of self confidence which leaves me doubting that anyone would give a crap if I did let it all out.

I have a treble clef tattooed on one shoulder, and a bass clef on the other. When I was 19 i decided that I would always be a musician, even if i stopped playing for years, it was a core part of my personality. It was something I wanted to always be proud of, and was therefore worth being inked on me permanently. So I’ll finish my rambling for the day with a (very old) photo of who I am at the core of my being!