What Constitutes a Professional Musician? A professional musician is one who plays an instrument or several instruments proficiently; performing is their primary source of income. What Constitutes an Amateur Musician? An amateur musician is one who loves playing music or one who cultivates something as a pastime. If you happen to be described by the second definition (amateur musician) and would like to upgrade to the next level, you might find the following information interesting. Recently I was asked, “How do you become a professional musician”?… and my response was, “Why would you ever want to become a professional musician”? It isn’t that I didn’t or don’t enjoy playing…