The world of music is huge and broad, inclusive of many genres, types of people and tons of opinions. Although many genres have so many differences, they all share one similarity: the roles that women play. When it comes to women in the music world, they are hand picked by those higher than them. They choose the women with the looks versus the talent, they step over others when a man can fill the place instead. Women get pushed right to the back. It is everything but enjoyable, especially when those who sit next to you even make remarks just because of your gender.
I never noticed the difference between men and women in music until my high school career. I did not have a sexist teacher, thankfully. However, that did not make the people around us any less. In concert band settings, it seemed that the mix was always pretty equal. Half men and half women all choose for their talents and the leads switched in between the sexes as well. Safe to say even freshman year, I slide by without realizing the difference between genders in music. Not so say it does not occur in these settings, I just did not see it yet.
I took a dive into jazz band my sophomore year. You could basically say it was the "elite" band in the school. My entrance shocked people since I was a clarinet player and there were not clarinet in jazz band. I took my turn to learn both alto and tenor saxophone. I worked hard like every other person in that band and to my teacher that was always enough. It did not make a difference if you were a guy or a girl, whoever played best took that lead spot and that is how it went.
In that class, though, we started to listen to soloist and records; we talked about the great jazz legends of the times and never once was an instrumental player a female. In all three years for a fact, not one was a female. Sure, these recordings were made in the 1920's and 1930's but even some of the current day recordings had no female musicians. It started to strike me as odd because there are plenty of jazz female musicians, so how come I never heard one solo?
The more professional groups I saw, videos I watched, even some high schools I would see in competitions were male dominated. My first real professional jazz performance was the Mingus Big Band*. When I saw them, to myself I was shocked. Not only was there a female in the band, she played baritone saxophone. Even myself, knowing the gender stereotyping instruments is wrong, was gender stereotyping. How could a female possibly be playing bari in the Mingus Big Band? The more I went to see different groups the more I realized how overlooked us women were.
Males got to solo longer, sometimes the only solos were played by males. Males also mostly led the band. It's not to say that those musicians do not deserve it, however, it may not be true that they do. It did not really hit me how big this issue was until one of my last concerts as a senior. Someone had told my band teacher the best solos came from myself and another female. He was told even so that two people were arguing which one was better.
After that statement, he continued to go on and say how women in this realm of music are overlooked. People push past them and acting like their talents were nothing just because of their gender. It was our job as women in music to make statements in our playing, show people that it did not matter what gender we are more so that we have talents, ability, and passion that allows us to say and speak our minds. And that is what I did. Every solo I spoke my mind about being a female in music, not being timid that someone was going to judge me. It doesn't allow change everyone's mind, but little by little I would use my playing to send a message that my gender means nothing about my skills as a musician.
I am only one of the many females that face this. In the pop music scene, they have to dress a certain way, put on a show a certain way, look a certain way, all these expectations on appearance. Then you have people of the classical realm who believe only men play well to the point where auditions are blind to the point where those auditioning my take off their shoes to avoid giving away their gender. I have done well in my musical field thus far, but there is plenty judgment to come. The music industry is hard. Forget adding in the accusations for something you were born with. Something that has no effect of musical talent. The best part is that music is an art. Music is an outlook to speak your mind and say how you feel. Why not say how you feel about the world of music using the one thing it is, itself.
