Musicians vs. Singers...Is there a difference?

My adventures at CMU have begun. I'm learning very quickly the ins and outs of being a grad student. It's a lot of work. But, music has always been my work.

About 5 years ago I was talking to my friend and she said that she wanted her kids to grow up as musicians not singers. I looked at her very confused and thought, I'm a very good musician. She then tried to clarify that she meant say instrumentalist not musician.

That is not the first time I've heard someone discuss that singers are not musicians. What does it mean to be a musician? A musician reads music, understands music theory and practices for hours on end.

With that, I've known a lot of singers who are not musicians. They are the ones that hear a song and then repeat back what they heard. When they are handed a piece of music they stare at it and then say, can you play the first line for me?

Don't question what's written in front of you.
Learn to sing it.

If you are that kind of singer, let's get you started on learning how to be a musician. I want to change this idea that singers aren't musicians. One of the first things to do get some basic music theory under your belt. A great resource for this is http://www.musictheory.net. Free lessons on notes, intervals, chord progressions and more for whatever stage you are at.