Music and Gender

I attended a private school until I was in 8th grade.  Music was mandatory, whether it be through choir or band.  I chose to do both and I played the clarinet for about 3 years. I’d like to think that gender-wise, the band was pretty evenly spread out. There were a few girls in the percussion section, a girl on the trombone, and a guy on the clarinet. In the choir, there were a few guys in the alto section, which I thought was cool. When it came time for my brother to choose an instrument, he wanted to play the flute.  My dad wouldn’t let him because he said it was a “girl instrument.” So, we bought a trumpet and Evan played it for about 3 minutes and never practiced or picked it up again. Now, we joke that Evan could be a flute prodigy and we wouldn’t even know it. 
When I switched to public school in 9th grade, I didn’t participate in music for a year.  Then, in 10th grade, I became the accompanist for the school chorus. They were the stereotypical high school choir. The bass section was awkward and the tenors were weird, the altos were tone-deaf and the sopranos tried too hard. However, there was a girl in the tenor section, it was Taryn Spires. I remember one time I came in the choir room and there was this one alto crying and all the tenors were crying too; it was very strange, but typical for my choir. No matter how weird my choir was, there was a sense of family there; Dr. Stephenson acted as a father-figure to some of his students.  
Being a music student at Converse is different from being a music student in middle and high school.  I’ve noticed that we have almost no students on brass instruments in the orchestra and wind ensemble as they’re commonly seen as “boy instruments.” Maybe this will change in the upcoming years with the model change.  

Here are some stats I found on "gendered instruments:"

"The most gendered instruments were the harp (90% girls), flute (89% girls), electric guitar (81% boys), bass guitar (81% boys), voice (80% girls), fife/piccolo (79% girls), oboe (78% girls), tuba (77% boys), kit drums (75% boys), tabla (74% boys), clarinet (73% girls) and trombone (71% boys.)"


Comments

  1. SMusugunthan001January 16, 2020 at 9:49 AM

    It is interesting o know how flute was considered as a "girl instrument" while back in India mostly or only men played the flute. You can almost never find women playing a flute. They either sang or played string instruments.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kendyl ScottJanuary 16, 2020 at 11:27 AM

    Oh wow that's interesting how strict your dad was with your brother when he wanted to play the flute.Thanks for sharing the facts on gendered instruments, that was really helpful with this blog topic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Elizabeth JettonJanuary 16, 2020 at 3:21 PM

    I also went to a private school, but I stayed through high school too. In middle school it was also mandatory to have music and what you described sounds like my experience somewhat. I like how you shared the stats as well, it was interesting to read.

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  4. Dominique HillJanuary 17, 2020 at 6:36 AM

    Yea same for me in middle school orchestra, but switched. More girls were on the lighter instruments and boys on the heavier instruments. I think people should let people play whatever they want because then it is seen as unique and they may get seen more.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownJanuary 17, 2020 at 8:01 AM

    Being in choir when I was younger, I completely agree with your assessment of how the sections acted. I find it very cool that you were the accompanist for the choir in high school! I've only seen the teachers be accompanists for the choir! Also, Taryn Spires is a goddess in her own right, so I support her being a tenor.
    -Katie Edge

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  6. LBHardin001@blogger.comJanuary 17, 2020 at 10:22 AM

    It's sad that your brother never got to play the Flute. I am glad you put the percentages of females who play instruments at the bottom. I never knew the Harp was played by 90% women.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Melissa Canales-GonzalezJanuary 17, 2020 at 1:58 PM

    I find it so neat that your private school made it mandatory to be apart of a music ensemble. Public schools gave us liberty in choosing if we wanted to be apart of an ensemble and sometimes I think about how it seemed more of a privilege. Not everyone could do it because the class space would fill up or you just couldn’t afford to rent/buy an instrument. As a freshman in the music program at Converse, I was also quickly able to see how we lacked brass players in the orchestra/wind ensemble. I also hope these changes within the next couple of years and our numbers go up. Also kudos over the fact that you were able to be an accompanist, not everyone is given that opportunity that early in their musical career.

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  8. Dr. Kelly VanemanJanuary 20, 2020 at 11:07 AM

    I really like your list of stats at the end. I'd be curious to see how that breaks down both geographically, age-wise, and in terms of achievement. For instance, I'm almost positive that the oboe disparity amongst good high schoolers in South Carolina would be more even. Too, while the harp world writ large is overwhelmingly female, there's this very real knot of male harpists in good orchestras, and they almost all come from the same high school in Detroit that Dr. Mr. went to. I mean, I've worked with at least three male harpists in my life, and all of them went to Detroit Cas Tech HS.

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  9. Diverse Cultures and Their MusicJanuary 21, 2020 at 9:30 PM

    I enjoyed seeing the lists of stats that you found. I never really noticed the gender roles in instruments.

    Tanjae H.

    ReplyDelete

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