Little Old Church Ladies to Red Cheeked Tuba Players

Now playing the flute, I face a lot of stereotypes when it comes to instrumentation. Every time I say I play the flute, I get a "oh, I would've guessed that". On the college level, not many people judge men for playing the flute. I remember in middle school there would always be one boy who wanted to play flute while most of the other boys wanted to play brass instruments. Our middle school band was about half boys and girls. Most girls played flute or clarinet. Most of the boys played trumpet, trombone, and tuba. When it came to the saxophone section though, there were both boys and girls.

High school was the exact same way. I was in marching band my freshman and sophomore year. One major gender role topic was who was drum major. The director always said that gender didn't matter, but we all knew that a guy would be chosen over a girl. My freshman year I was under a male drum major and my sophomore year I was under a female drum major. I could definitely tell a difference in the attitude of the band between the two years. In my opinion, this was due to everyone's respect level toward the guy verses the girl.

Another environment in which gender is a major factor is in the church. There is some controversy when it comes to a woman taking a worship leadership position. In today's more contemporary church, women are often a part of a praise band and even sing lead at times. In a traditional church though, a woman is very unlikely to be seen conducting at the front of the church. At my church, we have a male music minister, but when he is sick or away, there was another man who would step in for him. Every once in a while though, there was a women who would help out and direct as well. No one would be angry or judgmental, but I have been to a church where there would be a lot of fuss over a woman doing this.

At Converse, there are some places where music is experience due to the lack of men. I know the first place this would make a major difference would be Chorale. With no men, there are obviously no basses. There are a few women that can hit some tenor notes which gives the group somewhat of a foundation. This is not the same as having true tenors and basses though. In the Wind Ensemble, we are slightly affected by the stereotype of men playing brass instruments. We have flutes, oboes, and clarinets covered pretty well. All of the trumpets, trombones, and tubas are community members. This was quite shocking to me when I first came to Converse, but after a while I got used to it. It has been an adjustment for sure, but I truly believe that being at an all-women's college will add to my confidence as a musician.