Abstract
The masculinization of the drum kit – especially in specific music scenes, such as the rock and roll ones – is a symptom of a larger problem. In this presentation, I propose to discuss why the materiality and sound produced by the drum kit are majorly associated with masculine characteristics. This association runs around the idea of the drum kit as a brutal sound, reinforcing the notion that percussions were used by many communities and folks around the world as war tools. However, this connection seems to diminish the fact that the percussions were also largely used in rituals from many regions and, in some of them, only women could play drums (Redmond, 1997). Contemporarily, we still feel the exclusion of women in the process of learning to play the drum kit. Prejudices around the instrument because of its noise and its appearance, together with a cultural construction that delegates women to smaller or more melodic instruments, and the high price of the full set of the drum kit, turn away female interest. However, actions are being made to increase accessibility and to dismantle the notion that masculinizes the drum kit. This presentation will also show which are these actions and how they structure around a society that is majorly sexist about women’s functions in the music industry.
ECTS points for students of the University of Tübingen: By attending the talks held during the winter term and submitting an essay on a chosen topic, students can obtain 1 ECTS point. See Alma.
