Teebs Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 (edited) https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/fender-study-finds-half-of-new-guitarists-are-women-738025/ An interesting and unexpected (to me anyway) result. Is anyone else surprised by this? Looking at my bass the other night whilst noodling in front of the TV, I was struck by how archaic a wooden plank with some wires strapped to it looked, and how unsurprising it was that teenagers are attracted to shiny iPhone-type technology and not as much to 'old fashioned' instruments. Don't get me wrong, I think that musical instruments are beautiful and I'd rather have a battered acoustic guitar (I don't play guitar at all) than an iPad or similar. This survey really surprised me and I hope that a whole new group of players get into making guitar music. Surely its a good thing & could reinvigorate the guitar & bass playing community. Any thoughts? Edited October 19, 2018 by Teebs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 I can't make up my mind on whether that's good news (i.e. Yay! More women play an instrument!) or bad news (Woman goes into guitar shop, is steered towards a Fender, buys it because she isn't geeky enough to know there are lots of better choices). (I quickly lost count of the number of times I went into a shop while first-bass-hunting, my only requirement being 'suitable to petite player with small hands', and was offered a frigging Fender Jazz! 😮 Luckily I did know better.) 4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Anything that drives interest in making music is fine by me. But while I welcome more guitarists per the linked article I'd prefer to see an upsurge in drummers - that's where the real shortage is. Funnily enough, one of the best drummers I ever auditioned was a woman. Even had a 'Bonham rune' tattoo on her arm. Absolutely stunning player. After she'd left the room we had a chat about her. I was all for hiring her on the spot but the other two were dead against it, claiming it would 'unbalance' our image. Utterly specious bollocks of course; they were just intimidated by her, which I found a bit odd, them being peppy little twenty-something millennial snowflakes and me being then in my mid-50's. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Turn tables are the "new guitar" - widdly widdling on a deck is far cooler than actually learning to play a real instrument. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 I read something about this a couple of years back, and the explanation was Taylor Swift - a girl playing guitar with bazillions of teenage fans. And a follow up was the CEO of Gibson blaming shops for Gibson's lack of sales because they traditionally situate themselves in the rough area of town where girls are less likely to be passing customers. Not sure he's entirely correct, but there is probably a point somewhere in there, with a lot of guitar shops feeling like a male preserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 42 minutes ago, TheGreek said: Turn tables are the "new guitar" - widdly widdling on a deck is far cooler than actually learning to play a real instrument. Maybe 15 years ago... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The59Sound Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 1 hour ago, skankdelvar said: Anything that drives interest in making music is fine by me. But while I welcome more guitarists per the linked article I'd prefer to see an upsurge in drummers - that's where the real shortage is. Funnily enough, one of the best drummers I ever auditioned was a woman. Even had a 'Bonham rune' tattoo on her arm. Absolutely stunning player. After she'd left the room we had a chat about her. I was all for hiring her on the spot but the other two were dead against it, claiming it would 'unbalance' our image. Utterly specious bollocks of course; they were just intimidated by her, which I found a bit odd, them being peppy little twenty-something millennial snowflakes and me being then in my mid-50's. Unbalanced image? Two kids playing with their Dad! 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 My lad and Eldest daughter both have instruments. Ella has lessons and wants to be a singer/songwriter. Dan just wants to play computer games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Burns-bass said: Maybe 15 years ago... Beat me to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project_c Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Silvia Bluejay said: I can't make up my mind on whether that's good news (i.e. Yay! More women play an instrument!) or bad news (Woman goes into guitar shop, is steered towards a Fender, buys it because she isn't geeky enough to know there are lots of better choices). (I quickly lost count of the number of times I went into a shop while first-bass-hunting, my only requirement being 'suitable to petite player with small hands', and was offered a frigging Fender Jazz! 😮 Luckily I did know better.) Of course you could argue that for many women or men, Fenders are likely to be all the bass they will ever need, and they will probably look a whole lot cooler playing a sexy 4 string Fender in their noisy indie band than if they stood there with a cheesy 7 string Ritter made of gold and spalted elephant bone. More importantly though, it’s worth pointing out that this may well be down to the fact that Fender are putting a lot of work into reaching out to young people, they sponsor some really good events and they offer free lessons to new players, which makes them a whole lot more inclusive and accessible than any other brand. So it’s no wonder that people who are normally put off by music snobbery and elitism are turning to them. I think it’s a good thing. If you have small hands, and you want to play in bands, the Mustang is probably the coolest bass you can own at this point. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 2 hours ago, The59Sound said: Unbalanced image? Two kids playing with their Dad! 😂 Despite (or perhaps because of) a lifetime of booze, fags, lard and recreational narcotics I look decades younger than I am. Fact. Anyway, this drummer, she'd have been a perfect image for the intended 'punky covers and originals' but the two cowering little milksops wouldn't have it. Probably thought the audience would be watching her rather than them, which would have been true. FWIW, one of these guys was an American post grad student and the other a junior lecturer, both at Oxford Uni, both mid-late 20's . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 3 minutes ago, skankdelvar said: Despite (or perhaps because of) a lifetime of booze, fags, lard and recreational narcotics I look decades younger than I am. Fact. Oooh Oooh Pants on fire !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 4 minutes ago, fleabag said: Oooh Oooh Pants on fire !! Prove it. You can't. Pwned. Anyway, this drummer. Later on I found myself in a blues rock outfit fronted by a female guitarist and needing a drummer. I mentioned I knew someone but as soon as the word 'she' was out of my mouth the frontperson went right off the idea. 'I don't think so,' she hissed. 'Two women in a band would make people think it was a novelty act'. 'An unbalanced image?' I ventured. She nodded tightly and the matter was closed. Anyway, she fired me later but I think that was when the rot set in. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 Hopefully, with more women taking up guitar/bass, we'll get a whole new raft of bands or musical styles, which in turn could reinvigorate the live music scene, or bring more guitar music into the charts. Hopefully... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The59Sound Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Not if more than one woman can't be in the band! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 2 minutes ago, skankdelvar said: Prove it. You can't. Pwned. Nice use of the vernacular 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 1 minute ago, Teebs said: Hopefully, with more women taking up guitar/bass, we'll get a whole new raft of bands or musical styles, which in turn could reinvigorate the live music scene, or bring more guitar music into the charts. Hopefully... I think it's more likely that the interpersonal dynamics of being in a band will change before new genres appear. For example, one wouldn't sit around the rehearsal studio swigging beers and skinning up enormous chalices if there were women in the room. More likely we'd be handed pinnies and a feather duster and told to clean the place up. Then we could talk about kittens and knitting and feelings. So, most likely, men wouldn't do bands anymore and Fender would have an entirely different problem, serve 'em right I say. 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, project_c said: More importantly though, it’s worth pointing out that this may well be down to the fact that Fender are putting a lot of work into reaching out to young people, they sponsor some really good events and they offer free lessons to new players In a way, this is kind of like the wheel turning full circle. Just after the war there was a continuation of the Hawaiian music craze in the USA. Fender started out in 1946 selling lap steel and amp combos into retailers who'd then offer lessons to the kids as a way to lock customers in and make more money. Same principle now, just escalated to manufacturer level and offered as a loss-leader. Also, if Fender were really smart, they'd offer a Mustang around £200. The price for a new Bronco (£150-ish?) is just silly. 1940's lap steel guitar 'school concert' with doting parents. Edited October 19, 2018 by skankdelvar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Nice to see that, reading through the article quickly, the British stats seem to reflect the American figures. I seem to remember watching an interview with the CEO of Fender saying ladies/girls buying acoustics and ukeleles were a huge portion of their sales. Brilliant in my view, the more the merrier. There are some great female artists and bands out there, and hopefully it starts to dilute the number of fat balding old men that just want to play blues and crappy old ‘Dad rock’. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 I listen to 6Music most days - there are loads of good female artists with guitars around at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 OMG basschat... way to begrudgingly permit women to play guitars without tripping over their stilettos. Bring it on! You fat old tattoed, died-haired anachronisms.. you might actually get a gig supporting! Here's my favourite of the new wave... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 There were about 11 bass players in my intake on the BMus (hons) at ICMP. There was one female bassist who was absolutely amazing, she's now one of the busiest players around London. There was I think one female drummer too from about the same number, she too was absolutely amazing. One of my favourite drummers is Teri Lyn Carrington. The cool thing was that nobody there, at least to my knowledge, thought anything of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Fender survey - men now 50% of customer base... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 We're a dying breed. We need to highlight this to the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project_c Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Not bass, but check her out, Fender is pushing this stuff out through social media and it's obviously getting through to the right people. She's cool, unpretentious, and talented. If I was a kid and I saw this, I would instantly be drawn to Fender because of this, regardless of my gender actually. They're way ahead of other brands with this stuff. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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