I pondered how to begin this chapter and make it an interesting read for those women who sometimes feel discouraged, belittled and mistreated in the industry of your expertise. Some of the examples used are real life situations that I have encountered and I pray it helps and encourages all readers to look beyond the lines that are drawn to stop you. In the music industry, women are criticized, misunderstood and labeled a lot because of our direct demeanor. Some of the greatest producers and musicians I know are women. But the process has to start with a solid foundation and that is the church. In the early days, women’s roles in the church music ministry were to play the piano, sing on the choir and be the choir directress. It was rare when …show more content…
While at school, I found a small ministry that welcomed me to play the keyboard and lead worship for their services. I had taken private classical piano lessons from the age of eight and loved to play but was given the opportunity to until I moved away for school. As a musician, I not only studied piano but I played drums since two years old and played clarinet since the fifth grade and attended a Historically Black College on a music scholarship. I loved the drums but I wanted so badly to play the piano for my home church. My home church had recently lost our minister of music because he graduated from college and moved back home to work. The church interviewed multiple musicians and even had a few play from a few months. As the leadership changed, the musicians became very inconsistent. I continued to play the drums and when the new pastor came he gave me the opportunity to play the organ. I was still learning how to change the settings and do different things but I was experienced enough to carry the service. The pastor made a decision to secure me as the minister of music and offered me the same pay rate as the previous minister of music. However, some of the church trustees weren’t in agreement with …show more content…
The most important factor is maintaining your walk with God and being faithful to Him first. The scripture says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” St. Matthew 6:33 KJV The first point of failure is thinking that everything you acquired was done on your own. Without God in charge we are just guessing and not planted on a sure foundation. Now that you have put God first, you have to tackle the issue of balancing your home life and business. Most women in business are either married, single with children or in a serious relationship that I come across over the past few years. We all sit down from time to time and discuss our problems in business and the one thing we all certainly agree on that is an issue is balancing. Some complaints that I hear and have
This book is a great inspiration for the women that are having doubts about going into the ministry or marrying a preacher. The book covers equipment to help us once we are in the ministry and new to a congregation, how we should adjust to moving and leaving everything behind. For instance, we as wives will sense we are so alone and have nobody to talk to you while our husband is at work. Another great lesson we learn in this book as wives is how to work together as a team with our husbands. “Where your treasure is, your heart is also” (15). This is a major subject, we absorb in this book that a preacher’s family is not rich and a preacher’s family is certainly the most watched, but ignored family there is in most of the occasions. And, we see the qualifications the preacher’s wife should have or develop in order to help her spouse and help her in situations that she may find herself. She must be a happy, outgoing, positive minded, caring and last but not least a loving person.
Leonard, Marion. Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse and Girl Power. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Company, Aug. 2007.
Women in popular music have created a tremendous history in the wake of feminism. They have made their presence visible by identifying themselves as feminists. Being a woman was hard during that stage. Women were not allowed to do many things due to gender inequality such as the right to vote and to own a property. Therefore, from that moment onwards, women decided to stand up and make some changes. During the early stage of feminism, women developed their skills in popular music to create awareness. They associate popular music with feminism. Although there were racial issues between the black and white during that time, both sides continued to establish in different ways, through different genres of music. Black women focused on ‘black genres’ such as blues, jazz, and gospel, whereas white women performed in musical theatres. Female artists such as Lilian Hardin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Nina Simone were among the notable exceptions of female instrumentalists during feminism. In this essay, I will assess feminism focusing on the second-wave.
Due to the long history of slavery and segregation, most black women lacked the freedom of expression and association. Especially, working-class communities were often excluded from the black feminist traditions. Therefore, they sought to the recording industry where they could be heard and acknowledged. In the introduction section,
Leonard, Marion. Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse, and Girl Power. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print.
Popular music in the United States throughout the decades have always consisted of different genres of music and during the late 70’s and early 80’s, many of the popular bands consisted of only male artists and members. In an era dominated by male artists, Fleetwood Mac featured their lead female singer Stevie Nicks, who went on to transcend the gender expectations of the time and pursue a solo career in the midst of heavy adversity. Fleetwood Mac’s lead singer, Stevie Nicks, is a prime example of the evolution female artists have endured as they struggled to gain equal footing in this male dominated industry. This essay will examine the different factors contributing to Stevie Nicks’s popularity, along with her breaking these normative masculine roles and the way she combined different genres and personal
...field women had that power is in domestic arts. Women admire sharing their talents with an audience in different ways, whether it is theater, performing a song, ballet dancing, conducting an orchestra or being on television. Eileen Marie Moore shows discipline, excellence and success in her all-age field today. Amy Beach was the first woman to compose a symphony and Clara Schumann was the first woman be publicly accepted as a woman musician. These women opened doors for aspiring and existing women composers and performers to gain recognition, regardless of the culture. A tribute for Amy Beach, Michael Anthony quoted “Being a woman hadn’t held her back as a musician.” The confidence these women portrayed for music was tremendous. Determined to succeed in male dominance category is a challenge, but having the resilience and purpose to keep going, is what counts.
I truly believe this is the place in my life I am being called, equipped, and gifted. I also believe it is where I most naturally fit when it comes to the requirements of the job description. My heart feels drawn towards creating unity in a team of creatives who are passionate about worshipping, creating, and leading people to the foot of the cross in worship. Worship music gives people the opportunity to express their heart to God in words that they may not have even known they needed to sing, but also unites the voice of the entire congregation and orients us together towards God. I don’t think there is a formula of how to lead people into worship, but I am so deeply intrigued by the different ways to lead congregations, and I believe worship is a place that is constantly changing and growing in new expressions and voice to give to the church. One part of this job description that I really appreciated was the correlation it expressed in planning worship sets in correlation with the senior pastor. I have not been in a worship position where I actually got to sit and pray through the worship sets with the senior pastor. In my experience the senior pastor has either told us what he wants and we do it, or he just gives us all the responsibility and does not really care how we lead the time. However, I truly believe communication with the senior pastor about worship can be one of the most edifying planning aspects for a meaningful worship service that leads people into worship, the spoken sermon, and response
Gender diversity is unequally represented across all fields in the music. From the board room to the recording room, research shows a worrying gender imbalance. This imbalance is not in favor of women. Research shows that gender divide across all music industry jobs is 67.8% male to 32.2% female. Of the 95,000 songwriters and composers registered with PRS for Music, only 13% are female Statistics consistently show that women in music earn less than their male counterparts. This is hard to believe when artists such as Beyonce and Taylor Swift dominate the charts. In almost all cases, women are finding themselves passed over for pay raises, promotions, and recognition and record deals. In an article written by (Baker 2013), men that entered the industry at the same time as many of her friends were already at senior level positions, men received more record deals and more awards like Grammys and AMAs. There are many reasons possible reasons for the lack of gender diversity. The most common complaint is that we live in a male dominated world and that women are considered a diva or difficult when they express their opinions and/or challenge an idea. Another reason for the lack of gender diversity is that women feel intimidated when it comes to the male dominated music industry and may not feel confident asking for raises, promotions and expanded contracts. However, the lack of gender diversity is being addressed
Music has always been one of things I excelled in. In elementary school it was required to be in music but second in 5th grade you have the option to be in band. I was in band for 6 years before I stopped and I went to 5 honor bands. I played tenor saxophone and was 2nd chair all six years. Jazz band was something we had in middle school and high school. We had 2 jazz bands in middle school. Jazz one was for 8th graders and jazz two was 7th grade. I played in both. My first year I played tenor 1 and 2 and the second year I played baritone saxophone. My 9th grade year I played only tenor one. We didn’t have to audition but the students who plays that instrument normally would have first say in who gets 1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rd part. That
When one hears the word “feminist”, many different things may come to mind. One may think of the “bra burning” feminists of the 1960s or the “riot grrrl” feminists of the 1990s. It can bring to mind issues such as abortion, birth control, and unfair wages. There are many different aspects of feminism, some of which are understood only by those involved in the movement. But like most things people are passionate about, feminism has held a strong place in music since its very beginning, and can be seen in its festivals, its politics, and in the average American’s everyday life.
Jon Stewart's powerful speech to Congress in 2019 concerning healthcare and the benefits of first responders following the 2001 attacks. American comedian, writer, producer, and political analyst Jon Stewart is well-known for his innovative work as the host of "The Daily Show." He is also a highly influential political commentator. Stewart's comedic style, frequently employed comedy to discuss and analyze political issues, has been distinguished by a compelling social and policy commentary. He has received recognition for his ability to present a profound and provoking viewpoint on complex subjects while maintaining an enjoyable tone.
... children’s ministry; and she organizes the nursery and sunday school programs. Without the assistance of multiple people, Pastor Barber would not be able to keep Pine Grove Baptist Church running; delegation of leadership is extremely important.
Common expectations seem to indicate gender roles on every individual. The males will play their part in being masculine while the females act an as object. There are several ways one can see how gender roles are played. A way is through hip-hop and rap music in the black community. Joan Morgan, an African American feminist and hip-hop and rap music fan, shows us how gender roles are being played in her community through music. Since Morgan is a feminist, she voices her opinion on the way black men treat black women in her article, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos.” Morgan states her argument that black men write lyrics ranting about black women to give a self-reflection. The males feel oppressed and express it through music. There are many reasons a male can feel oppressed, whereas one reason is becoming masculine. Michael Kimmel, a sociologist professor at Stony Brook University and the author of “‘Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” states that guys tries their best to show that they are manly. To clarify on how the men portray their oppression is to sing of misogyny and self-hatred in disguised hatred toward women. Men expressing their oppression through music tie the guy code of acting masculine and Morgan’s view of men feeling oppressed. Morgan describes black men express their oppression by objectifying black women sexually in music. Jean Kilbourne, the author of “‘Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence” and an activist on advertisement based on public health problems and violence against women agrees with Morgan on women being sexually identified. Kilbourne and Morgan connect to Kimmel by showing how males are seen to be masculine and females are soft and emotional. Morgan’s claims, in “From Fly-Girls to Bi...
The lyrics of music play an important part of interpreting the meaning of the song. The roles which women have been allowed by the society to embody have changed drastically. Women may question their roles because of what they see portrayed by popular culture or media. Change in female’s identity can be seen in how women are viewed or how they portray themselves in popular culture specifically through music. In general, music continues to...