Did you know that the first drummer
in recorded history was a woman?! Her name was Lipushiau
and she was badass. In fact, there was a time when
all drummers were women – No Way! So why is the drumkit considered
a masculine instrument and what key points in history has shaped
the drumkit as we know it today? My name is Vicky O'Neon I'm a drummer and educator. In this series, we're going to take a look
at the history of drumming and mainly focus on how drumming has
evolved over the past 150 years. Vicky O'Neon Presents: Drumming Through the Decades As I've dedicated my professional life
to drumming, I find the evolution of the drumkit,
rhythms and styles fascinating, and I've been especially curious
about the history of women and drums.
If you're a female identifying drummer, you're probably used to hearing comments
like, "wow, that was really good for a girl" or, "Wow, I've never seen
a girl drummer before…" So I wanted to find out if it's true that there hasn't been many
female drummers and if so, why? After doing some research, I found that there indeed has been loads
of female identifying musicians and drummers, many of whom have
been forgotten today. And I was really, really shocked to see the struggles that female musicians
have experienced for centuries.
So, in today's episode
we'll be looking at rebellious superstar nuns, why young women used
to disguise themselves as boys to join the army, and what drums were played
before the invention of the drum kit? All that, coming up! Right – So, the earth was formed,
the dinosaurs were chillin, humans figured out the wheel, we got into some
fights, made a bunch of babies, plugged in an electric guitar, grabbed
our drumsticks and started rocking out right? Hold on, there was a bit more to it. Drums have been the fundamental part of most cultures,
and humans have been beating on things, making rhythms since
the beginning of time. Researchers speculate that women were
probably the first drummers, as well as leaders of all artistic
and religious activities in society. Ancient illustrations and archeological
findings from Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia, provide evidence that women
have been drumming for thousands of years. Originally using frame drums made from grain sieves. A Frame Drum is one of the most ancient musical instruments and considered
the first drum to be invented.
It has a single drum head usually made
from Rawhide that is wider than its depth and stretched over a round
wooden frame called a "shell". The shell has been bent and then scarf
jointed together, and some frame drums also have metal
rings or jingles attached to the frame. In many cultures, the drum was considered a feminine object and the heartbeat
of mother earth. Women were considered magical creatures thanks to their
ability to give birth and new life, and drums were a major symbol for sexuality, fertility,
the sun and the moon. So in about 2000 B.C., we find the first
named drummer in recorded history, Lipushiau. Lipushiau was a Mesopotamian
drumming priestess in the city state "Ur".
She was spiritual,
financial, and administrative head of the most important temple in Ur
dedicated to the moon god "Nana Suen". Lipushiau's role was to be a mediator between
the divine and human realms. Her emblem of office was a "Balagdi"
a small, round frame drum. Woman shaman's like her,
both in Eastern and Western cultures, were known to use drumming
for healing rituals. Did you know that drummers
used to be women? Drop a comment below. The earliest cymbals trace back to 1100 B.C. and were
originally made in ancient Turkey, China, Egypt, and Israel. From around 600 B.C.
and for thousands of years to follow, the primary purpose of drums was for war, both to set a marching beat
for soldiers as well as motivate them.
Sri Lankan history from about 500 B.C.
also shows that drums were once used as a form of communication
between cities and tribes. The pattern or tone of a drum beat might mean a variety of things,
which was something that became a crucial part of military drumming
for years to come. It was a different drum call for all
daily activities for the soldiers. So let's skip forward to the medieval period, where the purpose of drums
and music drastically changed. During this time period,
drumming became associated with pagan rituals and early Christians abandoned
drums, cymbals and tambourines as evidence of the devil's pomposity
and instruments of an insane cult.
The church banned many instruments, rhythms and melodies, and priests
became the primary musicians. Women were forbidden to sing or play instruments altogether and were generally
given a very oppressed role in society. So by introducing these bans,
women's power as artistic and spiritual leaders was completely removed
and their voices were silenced. Fortunately, some women were not having
it, and there was rebels like Saint Hildegard, who is considered
the first singing superstar nun. Yes, Hildegard! She defied the laws around
music making of the time. And as a result, there are more surviving chants by Hildegard than by any other
composer from the entire Middle Ages. And she's one of the few
known composers from the era to have written both the music and the words. She also included the sacrilegious
tambourine in her practice. Can you imagine the tambourine being
forbidden to play? So in the 1300's we saw the invention of the first
modern snare drum in Europe.
And around the same time,
we also found some of the earliest records of drumsticks made from wood that were
used to play the snare drums. They were called "Tabors" And in the 1400's
we saw the arrival of the bass drum to Europe, which was sometimes
called the "Turkish drum". Teresa of Avila in the 1500's is
an other superstar who greatly contributed to the change in views on music
and instruments within the church by secretly teaching other nuns to sing
and play. She redeemed the drum as an appropriate vehicle
for Christian praise and worship. Yes! Some other notable women were, Barbara Strozzi, Isabella Leonarda
and Francesca Caccini. Francesca is considered one of the most
influential female European composers from the era, but very little of her
music survived. Her stage work, "La Liberazione Di Ruggiero" sorry, Italians I can't pronounce that properly, is considered to be
the first opera by a woman.
Over time different woods were used
for different drums, Beef Wood was popular in the 1700's and throughout the 1800's a popular choice for military
drums was Ebony. For the next hundred years or so,
drums didn't really change much. However, new drums were found when people began exploring places
like Africa and Cuba. Twin drums like the Bongos is one example
of drums that are traced to these cultures, which still play
a big role in music today. As the result of women keeping
the traditional music making alive, more women became musically active
in the 1800's.
Finally! Clara Schumann is one of the most
famous pianist and composers of her time. She composed her first piano concerto at age 14, but largely lost her confidence
in her composing in her mid 30s. "I once believed that I possessed creative talent," "but I have given
this idea up," she said. "A woman must not desire to compose." "There has never yet
been one able to do it." "Should I expect to be the first one?"
-Clara Shumann So if you struggle with your
creativity, don't worry, this has been happening for a while. Ethel Smyth was another composer,
an active campaigner who wrote "The March of the Women", which became the anthem
for the Suffragettes Movement. She as many others, served two months
in Hollaway prison for breaking a window. She kept the spirit of music alive, even in prison, by encouraging the rest
of the imprisoned Suffragettes to sing by leaning out of her window,
conducting with her toothbrush.
Yes, Ethel! For the most part, however,
women performed in private, not in public, and the idea of feminine and masculine
instruments were now introduced. Drums were definitely not
acceptable for women to play. Even string instruments
were considered unfeminine. Acceptable instruments were piano,
harpsichord and harp, and they were encouraged to be
played womanly and gracefully. I'll give you an example. Here's an outtake from a 19th century recital by harpist, Carolyn Longhi,
where her incredible talent is described in only three words, and the rest
is commentary on her appearance. "She played well and what is more looked
very well because she understood how – " "to show off her beautiful figure to its
greatest advantage, especially at the harp" "where she managed to place herself
in a graceful position that we received" "a good view of her entire
beautiful figure from all sides." – Misc.
Dude So what are your thoughts when you hear this compared to how things are
in the music industry today? And even those rebellious women who did
start their own orchestras during this time were never taken seriously
and could rarely get any work. See, most men did not think it was appropriate for women
to become serious musicians and another name for orchestras, which was the popular way of performing
music at the time, was "Men Only Clubs". One of the first documented all female
orchestras was the Vienna Ladies Orchestra. They had members representing all
instruments within an orchestra, even those so-called masculine ones,
such as trumpets, trombone and drums. And despite the fact that all members were
talented concert artists, they were only allowed to perform
in beer halls and restaurants. They toured these places,
not only Europe but also in the United States, which led to many
more female orchestras in the U.S.
And a new seed had been sewn for women and their musicianship.
Groups like the "Fadet Lady Orchestra" began to rise in popularity with more than 600 women playing
with them over the next 40 years. Many of these women then went on
to form their own orchestras. As women weren't really allowed to play
drums, it wasn't uncommon that young girls like orphans, abused children,
wives and prostitutes would cut their hair short dress up in male clothes to disguise
themselves as boys and join the army to become so-called "drummer boys",
which English folk songs like "The Pretty Drummer Boy" sings about. "With the fine cap and feathers,
likewise the rattling drum" "They learned her to play upon the
rub-a-dub-a-dum" "With a gentle waist so slender,
and her fingers long and small" "She could play upon the rub-a-dub
the best of them all" After the Civil War, the dynamics
in the United States began to change.
As women and African-Americans
started to examine their role in society, the U.S. found itself with some big
questions to ask, and the people wanted answers. More on that in the next episode, as we head into the early 1900s and learn about the invention of the drum kit,
how female musicians get more exposure, as well as why a drum set
used to be called a trap set… Thank you so much for watching, I would love to hear your
thoughts and insights so please comment below and make sure to
subscribe to not miss the next episode.
See you then!.
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