Women in the music industry: profiling female percussionists

2014-04-09The relevance of this project exists to investigate how women as artists have navigated musical careers throughout the 21st century. They have shared with me their stories of discrimination and sexual harassment, their career paths and have given advice to future girls and women interested in the drums. ❧ All of the interviewees have emphasized in one way or another that girls and women are still told to be quiet. Women aren’t always encouraged to voice themselves, or taught to be declarative. This is why the process of learning the drums—by nature a loud, physical instrument—does not always make sense to girls. However for these reasons, learning, experiencing and enjoying the drums can be an extremely empowering accomplishment for women, men, anybody. ❧ This project becomes journalistic through carefully planned interviews that I have designed to be as objective as possible. However it is here that I state my transparency in the sense that I admire these women, and am searching for evidence that they have had to navigate careers in percussion differently than men, and have to jump through different hoops in order to be successful in this industry