Diverse
Cultures and their Musics
Music and Gender by:
Anna J. Micklatcher-Peterson
When I was in school,
I think there was a greater difference in the types of instruments boys vs.
girls played. Most girls played instruments
like the flute, piccolo, or piano. Boy’s
instrument of choice would normally be the tuba, trumpet or percussion. Sometimes you would see someone stepping out
of the norm like Mr. Dr. Vaneman, who plays the flute, Dr. Weeks who plays the
piano or a girl I went to school with who played the trumpet. Students who chose to play instruments that were
unusual for their gender, usually turned out to be the better musicians.
Fast forward to Lanna’s
generation, and it did not seem to matter what instrument the students chose to
play. Lanna and her friend Gabe both
played the clarinet, piano, guitar, along with other instruments. Haley, who was also in Lawson Band with Lanna,
could play five instruments. It included
the tuba, which was a huge instrument for a girl.
I personally don’t think
it matters what instrument is chosen by a girl or a boy as-long-as they are receiving
great joy in what they are doing.
Psalm 100
“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye
lands.”
I agree that no matter what your gender, you should play what feels natural and gives you great enjoyment. I really enjoyed when Dr. Weeks talked about playing the piano, even though I know many people consider the piano to be very feminine.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to read about how ideas about what instruments boys and girls should play has changed over the years. The restrictions are definitely looser now. Classifying instruments into "boy" and "girl" categories is really such a silly thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about how the students who chose untraditional instruments were better musicians. Maybe this is because they feel pressure to perform better?
ReplyDeleteIt's true that instruments of band and orchestra have become less gender-linked than a generation ago, but I do still see some disparities. Perhaps they're not so obvious in a home-schooled band, which is smaller and has greater possibilities for personalized mentoring? (Also, FYI, this blog post is a bit on the short side--I do understand some of the reasons.)
ReplyDelete