Hit Like A Girl - Drum Contest

Alex Sanguinetti

Silver Member
The biggest international Women's Drummer contest has just started, "Hit Like A Girl", and I have the honor to be JUDGE in it.

The ladies who wish to participate can go to this link for conditions and details:

http://hitlikeagirlcontest.com/
 
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also "Halloween costume". riiiiight.

hahahahaha

Wearing a skirt/dress on the drums when you play double kick is dangerous. Discovered this one Halloween also haha.
 
Don't they know it's 2017 and you can't be so gender normative anymore?
 
Don't they know it's 2017 and you can't be so gender normative anymore?

I get what you're saying, but allow me to offer a counterpoint. My 9 year old daughter is showing some interest in drumming, and IMO she has some natural ability. However, she has it in her mind that drums are a boys instrument (no idea where this came from; certainly not from me). So I show her videos of female drummers from time to time so she sees that it's perfectly normal for a girl to play drums. Now, a contest for young female drummers? She thinks that's really cool. If this contest inspires young girls to take up the instrument who otherwise wouldn't, then to me it has its merits.
 
If this contest inspires young girls to take up the instrument who otherwise wouldn't, then to me it has its merits.

It does indeed promote an art among a demographic that is perceived as being underrepresented. I do agree with others.... You don't tear down an imaginary barrier by erecting a second one. Until we figure out how to eliminate the first barrier, and we've really really tried, this stop gap will have to suffice.

In the mean time, I have kids to raise, and will make every effort to teach them well.
 
I get what you're saying, but allow me to offer a counterpoint. My 9 year old daughter is showing some interest in drumming, and IMO she has some natural ability. However, she has it in her mind that drums are a boys instrument (no idea where this came from; certainly not from me). So I show her videos of female drummers from time to time so she sees that it's perfectly normal for a girl to play drums. Now, a contest for young female drummers? She thinks that's really cool. If this contest inspires young girls to take up the instrument who otherwise wouldn't, then to me it has its merits.

This concept exists within your daughter because she has an image that only boys can drum and that women doing it is exceptional, therefor, to have a chance at winning, they need a different competition that's more "their level". If my daughter felt that drums might be for her, first, I'd point out that a competition for an art form is not an ideal motivation. Second, I'd be inclined to encourage that she join into competitions that didn't exclude and instead included all; like I'd wager the majority of them do.

I just don't think there's a physical reason why a woman can't play the drums just as well as a man, or even better for that matter. It comes down to love and study of music along with lots of practice and application. That being the case, why do we need an exclusionary competition for women only?
 
That being the case, why do we need an exclusionary competition for women only?

Here's how I visualize the issue.

You have two equal sized buckets, men/women. (Represents all drummers)
The Men bucket is 90% full. The Women bucket is 10% full. (Represents the current distribution)
Water exits the buckets at a rate proportional to the pressure at the bottom of the bucket. (People die, get disabled, or quit playing).
Water enters the bucket at (what should be) a 50/50 distribution.

KfDweTR.jpg


If you're an electrician or EE, use capacitors instead of buckets, variable rate resistors instead of spigots, etc... It's the same problem. These are the two filter caps after a full wave bridge rectifier.

Without affecting the initial distribution, will the two buckets ever achieve equilibrium? If we were given all the variables (the rate of water entering the system, the pressure, the flow rate of the spigot, etc, etc) could we figure out if/when it will happen? I believe the answers are yes, and "eventually".


I'm no a mathematician... Oh wait, I am... Crap, now I have to figure this out to save face.

Either way, competitions like this (or any affirmative action for that matter) is an attempt to influence the distribution at the top of the picture and bring on the change faster. Whether it's a good or bad thing is entirely up to your philosophy.
 
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This concept exists within your daughter because she has an image that only boys can drum and that women doing it is exceptional, therefor, to have a chance at winning, they need a different competition that's more "their level". If my daughter felt that drums might be for her, first, I'd point out that a competition for an art form is not an ideal motivation. Second, I'd be inclined to encourage that she join into competitions that didn't exclude and instead included all; like I'd wager the majority of them do.

Pschoanalyzing my daughter and where she might have gotten the idea that drums are for boys without ever meeting or talking to her? Lol, ok. You do realize that there are male and female leagues for sports, right? So there is some exclusion in certain areas, like it or not. My point was that girls seeing something just for them that wasn't previously there can be inspiring. Seems to me a little girl interested in soccer might be more inspired by the women's team winning the gold medal as opposed to the men's team. Appreciate the parenting advice, but I've been doing it a long time; i think I'm doing just fine.
 
Pschoanalyzing my daughter and where she might have gotten the idea that drums are for boys without ever meeting or talking to her? Lol, ok. You do realize that there are male and female leagues for sports, right? So there is some exclusion in certain areas, like it or not. My point was that girls seeing something just for them that wasn't previously there can be inspiring. Seems to me a little girl interested in soccer might be more inspired by the women's team winning the gold medal as opposed to the men's team. Appreciate the parenting advice, but I've been doing it a long time; i think I'm doing just fine.

You're the one that said she had that idea, I just went by what you said.

Exclusion in cases where it makes sense is fine. Weightlifting for example, a very small person will not be in the same league as someone with a lot of mass to their frame.

But drumming? Why does there need to be a line between the sexes? It's like a female only painting competition. There's no good reason.

Anyhoo, I wasn't offering parenting advice, just my take on the ideas.
 
"hit like a girl" "spit like a man" as long as it just good fun. But a point well taken is why discriminate between genders and why not be inclusive since so many stellar female drummers now-as we see posting on here too. My issue isn't gender but generational as there are so many stellar young "spit' players who shame me after only playing a few years compared to my almost 54 years now. As the Grinch would say "I loathe you". LOL.
 
I LOVE girls, and especially my Wife, but I'm going to weigh in here, and don't hate me. But when I try to explain anything electrical, mechanical, even rhythmical from a technical angle, etc. to MY Wife, she is just plain not interested, or just doesn't get it anyway.....now, not ALL women are like her, there are girl mechanics, etc., but I would say that on the whole, women don't CARE as much as men about things mechanical. And drumming is kind of mathematical and mechanical, and physical, but it is also intellectual. So a woman who can feel the music can be a good drummer. It's just rarer for women to be drummers. But God bless 'em if they wanna try!
 
Hey, I've put a video in this year. Maybe those who can't enter could post some videos here anyway? Hearing all the new drum videos is my favourite part about it.

Here's my video:

https://youtu.be/a6MNLo0DoZQ

Caroline

I've now watched quite a few of the entries this year (randomly clicking through YouTube, having started with yours) and your performance stands out. I don't object to the competition's entry requirement of two X chromosomes, I just hate that most of the entries are soulless drum karaoke. Do we really need more of this? (From women, or men?)
Anyway, good luck. I hope that your performance is what the competition is looking to promote; drumming as music, not sport.
 
I LOVE girls, and especially my Wife, but I'm going to weigh in here, and don't hate me. But when I try to explain anything electrical, mechanical, even rhythmical from a technical angle, etc. to MY Wife, she is just plain not interested, or just doesn't get it anyway.....now, not ALL women are like her, there are girl mechanics, etc., but I would say that on the whole, women don't CARE as much as men about things mechanical. And drumming is kind of mathematical and mechanical, and physical, but it is also intellectual. So a woman who can feel the music can be a good drummer. It's just rarer for women to be drummers. But God bless 'em if they wanna try!

To say that's patronising is... something of an understatement.

No, it's not the case for all women. We absolutely agree there.

I would say that it's that cultural attitude that you're espousing that leads some women into fulfilling that stereotype, i.e. it's a self-fulfilling prophecy that society perpetuates...
 
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