A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:
- An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.
- A singer (or vocalist) uses his/her voice as his/her instrument.
- Composers, songwriters and arrangers create musical compositions, songs and arrangements. These may be transcribed in music notation, performed or recorded.
- A conductor leads a musical ensemble. A conductor can simultaneously act as an instrumentalist in the ensemble.
- A recording artist creates recorded music, such as CDs and MP3 files.