Members niceguy Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 And it was not great. I approach music with an equal-opportunity mindset. I've worked with men, women, gays, homophobes, whatever. But I'm finding that gender, overall, does impart some flavor into the instrument. This female drummer was pretty sharp, good timing, but overall, she had a softer, almost gentler style. That didn't work for my band's songs. Now, I'm sure there are super-aggressive female drummers out there, and I'm sure there are male drummers who can't be aggressive at all. But I'm generalizing, for fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackbelt1 Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 A drummer who knows how to play softer and gentler. Is she anywhere near North Florida? ~Blackbelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsongs Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 And it was not great.I approach music with an equal-opportunity mindset. I've worked with men, women, gays, homophobes, whatever.But I'm finding that gender, overall, does impart some flavor into the instrument.This female drummer was pretty sharp, good timing, but overall, she had a softer, almost gentler style. That didn't work for my band's songs.Now, I'm sure there are super-aggressive female drummers out there, and I'm sure there are male drummers who can't be aggressive at all. But I'm generalizing, for fun. If you schedule your gigs at certain times of the month, she could probably bash the hell out of those things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigMac5 Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 If you schedule your gigs at certain times of the month, she could probably bash the hell out of those things...OUch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted June 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 If you schedule your gigs at certain times of the month, she could probably bash the hell out of those things... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! You just made me burst out laughing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted June 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 A drummer who knows how to play softer and gentler. Is she anywhere near North Florida? ~Blackbelt Sorry, in Seattle. I'm from FL, though. Grew up in Inverness, then went to school at UF. My ex is from NFla (Niceville). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phantasm Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 We have a female singer and I'd love to have a female drummer too (we're looking.) So, if she's near New Orleans, give me her contact info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sausagetime Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 I saw Hilary Jones play with Robben Ford. She kicked ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brassic Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 That's a pretty sweeping statement, considering you've auditioned only one female drummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 The hardest hitting drummer I ever worked with was female. She could not play soft to save her life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Li10 Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 gentler and softer? She sounds quite good (even though I've never heard her. IT'S A FIGURE OF SPEECH!). I'm not like that... when I play the drums, I can start soft but soon it's getting really heavy. But I think a good drummer needs to know in a band situation when to play louder and when to play softer. I think I just sotle that nugget of info out of some book about drumming.... uhhh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jarick Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 FWIW, I've never seen or played with a great female drummer (not counting major acts). I've seen maybe one or two (out of say 300 to 400 acts I've played with), but they were unremarkable. Then again, I've only really seen maybe two dozen remarkable male drummers. I really don't think there's anything preventing women from becoming great drummers any more than there's anything preventing men from becoming great drummers. I liken it to the small number of black people playing professional hockey...no real reason they can't or shouldn't, it just culturally doesn't happen. Both female singers I've played with were fantastic though, and maybe two out of the dozen or so male singers I've played with were as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Li10 Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 hey, I have a friend who wants to play the drums... well she's not really a friend but an anquantance. Or, whoever you spell it. She likes Green Day and I like Radiohead. Would that work as a band? Well we could just practice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 I really don't think there's anything preventing women from becoming great drummers any more than there's anything preventing men from becoming great drummers. I liken it to the small number of black people playing professional hockey...no real reason they can't or shouldn't, it just culturally doesn't happen. As one of the few female rock electric guitarists, I'd have to agree. I think the reason for it is that a lot of women who plan on becoming mothers someday don't see the rock'n'roll lifestyle as being compatible with motherhood - they don't see being able to keep staying out late in smoky bars, touring around in vans and eating Ramen noodles, etc. So the women who pursue music mostly seem to pursue orchestral positions, become session players, composers... something with more regular hours. Of the few who do pursue rock'n'roll, only a small percentage of them are going to be very good, just as with men, except there are a lot more men pursuing it so more of them are good. So because there are so few women doing this, it seems like whenever men have a female musician in the band, if they have any personal problems with her, or her musicianship is lacking, it's "because she's a chick." Oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 I really don't think there's anything preventing women from becoming great drummers any more than there's anything preventing men from becoming great drummers. I liken it to the small number of black people playing professional hockey...no real reason they can't or shouldn't, it just culturally doesn't happen. As one of the few female rock electric guitarists, I'd have to agree. I think the reason for it is that a lot of women who plan on becoming mothers someday don't see the rock'n'roll lifestyle as being compatible with motherhood - they don't see being able to keep staying out late in smoky bars, touring around in vans and eating Ramen noodles, etc. So the women who pursue music mostly seem to pursue orchestral positions, become session players, composers... something with more regular hours. Of the few who do pursue rock'n'roll, only a small percentage of them are going to be very good, just as with men, except there are a lot more men pursuing it so more of them are good. So because there are so few women doing this, it seems like whenever men have a female musician in the band, if they have any personal problems with her, or her musicianship is lacking, it's "because she's a chick." Oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lurko Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 You need to see Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney play, obviously. She hits the drums harder than any man I've ever seen. Led Z.'s pounder included. She SLAMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 Oh yeah, she's awesome. Search YouTube, there are quite a few videos of them on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srsfallriver Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 This thread is getting me thinking about the whole culture vs inate differences debate. It cuts into every gender and race arguement and I'm not sure there are any clear cut answeres but there are alot of touchy questions. Why are there so few women musicians? Is it really the culture or is there something in their general makeup that keeps them from even wanting to pursue music? This disparity shows up in many areas. I work in the trades (electrician). I know 1 female electrician, 1 female carpenter (they were both manly - go figure) and have only heard of 1 female plumber in my area. Yet when we're at the end of a construction job, the "cleaning ladies" come in. I've only seen one male "cleaning lady" (and guess what, he was very feminine). On to race: Why are there so many black pro basketball players and so many white pro hockey players? That would seem to be cultural but when basketball first started, it was belived that blacks weren't good at it because they couldn't jump as well. I see the stereotype has changed. The stereotype in hocky is that blacks don't have strong ankles. Maybe in 50 years that'll be whites don't have strong ankles. How about race in music: The stereotype that I've heard is blacks have a better sence of rhythm. That would mean something genetic not cultural. I once did a gig for a predominantly black audience. We in the band were joking that this was the first time that we saw blacks that couldn't dance. Reality check: they weren't American black people they were Portuguese black people. Very different culture and few had a good sense of rhythm from what I could see. My basic inclination is that differences in races are more cultural and filled with stereotypes but I'm not so sure about gender differences. I think there is something deeper going on there. Perhaps there are fewer female musicians for a genetic reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 So because there are so few women doing this, it seems like whenever men have a female musician in the band, if they have any personal problems with her, or her musicianship is lacking, it's "because she's a chick." I am no doubt one of the few people in here that have actually been in a band with a female drummer. She was easy going, very very very good, could play any style, pulled her weight.. and was the most solid band member i have ever worked with. She has had a full career as a band director and continued to play in bands on the side. She could have gone full on pro at anytime with any touring act she wanted to ,,,,why ,, because she is just that good a drummer. No one in their right mind would ever bust her out of any audition on her ability. Alot i am sure some would have not wanted a girl drummer...but they would have been fools. She didnt view herself as a chick. She was a percussionist and bandmember. She is so good at what she does, there was no chick card in her deck to play ,,, she didnt need it. I would guess when people use the saying she is a chick..... they really mean she is a bitch. If she was a guy they would be saying he is an asshole. rat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srsfallriver Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 I am no doubt one of the few people in here that have actually been in a band with a female drummer. rat I agree with much of the tone of your post. There is a stereotype associated with female musicians and that is wrong. However you have "no doubt" that you are one of the few that have played with a female drummer. Why is that? Is it because of the stereotypes or is it because female musicians are very rare? Do you think they are rare because of the stereotypes or might there be another reason? Why was Elsongs' post so funny? Maybe there was some truth there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Li10 Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 it would be good - if a female drummer could sing well, from time to time her and the lead singer could swap places, or drop drums or guitar from the track). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 Why are there so few women musicians? Is it really the culture or is there something in their general makeup that keeps them from even wanting to pursue music? This disparity shows up in many areas. I work in the trades (electrician). I know 1 female electrician, 1 female carpenter (they were both manly - go figure) and have only heard of 1 female plumber in my area. Yet when we're at the end of a construction job, the "cleaning ladies" come in. I've only seen one male "cleaning lady" (and guess what, he was very feminine). My basic inclination is that differences in races are more cultural and filled with stereotypes but I'm not so sure about gender differences. I think there is something deeper going on there. Perhaps there are fewer female musicians for a genetic reason. There are also fewer behind the scenes in music, such as technicians, audio engineers, etc. I'm not sure I'm totally sold on the "genetic" reason. There may be fewer females in music, but they do exist; does that make them freaks of nature? I think society does sort of pressure women into thinking they must get married, have kids, raise a family. "A woman's place is in the home" as they used to say, and though there's less enforcement of these standards than there used to be, the mentality has still carried over from many generations, and women still haven't completely let go of it as an ideal. Not to say that's a bad thing (after all, someone needs to stay home and take care of the kids, and if women are willing to do it... ) And the rock 'n roll lifestyle really doesn't gel well with these sort of aspirations. It's hard to have one without giving up the other. BTW--there are plenty of women in music, but usually they aren't drummers or lead guitarists, or multi-instrumentalists. Usually, they are the front person (if they are good looking), back up singer or keyboard player. What causes them to gravitate more towards these roles--I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srsfallriver Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 BTW--there are plenty of women in music, but usually they aren't drummers or lead guitarists, or multi-instrumentalists. Usually, they are the front person (if they are good looking), back up singer or keyboard player. What causes them to gravitate more towards these roles--I don't know. I agree with much of your post. I'm mainly asking questions anyway and I'm not sure of any answeres. Maybe women inately want to stay home with the kids. My main band just lost a singer because she wanted to spend more time at home with the kids rather than having her husband watch them. When I wrote "female musicians" I meant females that play instruments. Most bands that I've been in have had a "female vocalist" but few have had a female instrumentalist. My apologies to any singers out there. You are musicians too. (But don't let that effect your egos!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 I agree with much of the tone of your post. There is a stereotype associated with female musicians and that is wrong. However you have "no doubt" that you are one of the few that have played with a female drummer. Why is that? Is it because of the stereotypes or is it because female musicians are very rare? Do you think they are rare because of the stereotypes or might there be another reason? Why was Elsongs' post so funny? Maybe there was some truth there. The female drummer thing. Who knows. All of my ex bandmates in that band were all choir geeks and jazz band people. All of the really good drummers i have ever worked with all came up through the same path. In Jr high they joined band at school. At some point they started takeing lessons on a full kit. They all continued the concert band thing to some degree for a few years. This gal i worked with ,,,I am sure made the decision to be a drummer way back when she was young in Jr high. When it was time to put down the song flutes and choose a band instrument ,, she chose drums. She played in concert band, pep band, marching band, jazz band ,, and our rock band. When it was time to go to college ,, she chose to be a music teacher. The gal lived and breathed music from the time she was little. Most girls choose flute, clarinet and sax,,, the guys seemed to go for drums and trumpet and trombone and sax. I guess we can conclude that everyone likes sex, i mean sax lol. rat The female lead singer thing i think is overdone... but then how many guys are involved in school choir? Thats really the training ground for vocalists in my opinion.. rat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted June 10, 2007 Members Share Posted June 10, 2007 And it was not great.I approach music with an equal-opportunity mindset. I've worked with men, women, gays, homophobes, whatever.But I'm finding that gender, overall, does impart some flavor into the instrument.This female drummer was pretty sharp, good timing, but overall, she had a softer, almost gentler style. That didn't work for my band's songs.Now, I'm sure there are super-aggressive female drummers out there, and I'm sure there are male drummers who can't be aggressive at all. But I'm generalizing, for fun. Well, men do tend to have stronger arms than women, all other factors being equal. Doesn't mean that they can't work harder - there are weak men and strong girls - but an average built guy is going to have more arm strength than an average built girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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