Are Prog Fans Musicians or Not?

Classical Guitar, Electric guitar, Saxophone, and picking up trumpet soon. (hopefully.)

I definitely think knowing music and how to play music gives an appreciation to prog music. Part of the fun of listening to say a Mars Volta song is just counting along to say the crazy time changes and such.

I used to play acoustic guitar and sing my own songs until I got a writer's block. Soon after I became a family man and my guitar playing fell into decline...

PinkPangolin wrote: Guitar (acoustic) Two questions - do you reckon playing an instrument makes you appreciate the skill of others (an obvious lead into Prog as it requires skill)? - Do you tend to appreciate most the instrument that you play in the music that you listen to?

With me, it's the compositional side I am listening for.  The ideas, more than the execution.  I am a terrible pianist, a decent singer and, at times, a good songwriter/lyricist.   It's the 'having ideas' part of the process that I'm best at, and I'll admit that it takes quite a lot to impress me (if I want dumb pop music, I'll make my own!).  So, what little skill I have at songwriting definitely informs the way I listen to and adjudge the quality of others' music.  When it comes to instruments to focus on, I often tend to focus on the stuff I absolutely cannot do or have no experience of trying - excellent drumming will always grab my ear, vocals that do something special or unusual, levels of intricacy in the arrangement that outpace anything I could ever do... right now I seem to be focused on those wonderful tasteful subtle layers of analogue synths in 70s Italian music.

This has definitely affected what music I listen to, i.e. prog.  'Normal chart pop' and mainstream rock: I can do that stuff - so it can't be that good, right??!!  I feel much happier listening to music that wows me with how unattainably amazing it is (rather than making me feel annoyed that someone is making millions being worse than I am!!).

Cool... maybe you shouldn't give yourself the stress!   Play an instrument, and you'll find you listen to a lot less music (it's a free time thing)

Guitar (acoustic)

Two questions - do you reckon playing an instrument makes you appreciate the skill of others (an obvious lead into Prog as it requires skill)?

- Do you tend to appreciate most the instrument that you play in the music that you listen to?

Just a thought but if any posters do have samples of their skills and talents then they should get a myspace page, put the link in their signature, an post them for all to see. I have .... and I can spend hours checking out myspace pages. Better than TV..

I play the drums and bass. I'm almost positive I became a musician before discovering prog rock, so I guess I pretty much support your theory.    

I play solo piano, and synth in a band.

I play guitar in a prog band so...yes.

Indeed, I remember there being a thread, as long as 7 pages where musicians on PA would mention what instrument they played, what genres etc, but I can't find that thread anymore.

I play guitar, write my own music from time to time, so I consider myself a musician.