Music and Gender: Are They Related?

     There are many ways that gender relates to music. There are several situations where gender has certainly played a role.



Instruments

     There are coalitions to certain instruments and the genders that play them. You see a lot more male players of certain brass instruments than women. Even here at Converse, you will observe that there are more female string and wind players than there are brass ones. According to Classic FM, in 2014, orchestras had 59% female violinists and 95% female harpists. 97% of trumpets and trombones were played by men. That does not mean that women can’t or shouldn’t play them; there are some wonderful female brass musicians out there. I have a friend in Music Ed. who is a fabulous trumpet player, and she has certainly faced this issue.

Singers

     In vocal musical situations there are definitely observations to be made about gender. In local productions in this city, there are far more women than men, and the men that are there are not generally very young. I have observed this in choral situations and in areas of musicals and productions. I was going to be in the musical Fiddler on the Roof several years ago, but it was canceled becuase they could not get enough men. This summer I was in an opera with the same group of people, and we pulled it off with only four men as part of the cast!

     Since Converse is a women’s college, there is Converse Chorale which is for just women, but Spartanburg Festival Chorus (Converse’s other choir) has men and women from the community as well. I have sung in both and enjoyed singing in both, but I do have to say that I prefer singing in choral situations with both genders. Having men’s voices just adds a rich, deep fullness and a tone quality that solely female choirs quite cannot capture.

     Historically speaking, women were not always allowed to be part of the same musical activities as men. It was not until the 20th century that women were allowed to play in orchestras. Women were not allowed to sing with men for a while. Choirs consisted of adult men, young boys, and men and boys that had been castrated to keep their voices high.

      Being musical was a sign of being cultured, but many people believed that a woman’s music was inferior and belonged in the home. Dabbling around with it and playing it for salon gatherings were perfectly proper, but the idea of a woman having a career as a musician was scandalous.

     There is a novel that I read a little while back that addresses the issues of women in orchestras: A Note Yet Unsung by Tamera Alexander. The story is about a young virtuosic violinist/oboist who trained in Vienna who has come back to the United States in search of work. Even though she is a better musician in every sense of the word than her male counterparts, she cannot be part of the symphony because of her gender. She begins giving lessons to the daughter of one of the patronesses of the orchestra. She does get more opportunity as the book goes on, but I will have to let you read it for yourself to find out how and why. It is a great book, that I think represents well the issues revolving around music and gender.