Womn n rck

WOMEN AND THE ELECTRIC GUITAR

MAYBELLE CARTER

• Multi-instrumentalist

• Guitar innovation especially important

• Carter Scratch

Maybelle and The Carter Scratch � Inf luenced by Lesley Riddle

� Picked the melody on the bass strings and kept rhythm by strumming the higher strings up and down

� Maybelle Carter’s guitar playing inf luenced the guitar’s shift from background to lead instrument � Think guitar solos in rock � Sister Rosetta, Jimi Hendrix etc.

Elizabeth Cotten � Born in 1895 and begins playing guitar at age 11

� Plays and writes blues and folks songs

� Writes first song “Freight Train” at age 12

� Cotten picking � Left-handed but had a right-handed guitar � Flipped it upside down and picked bass lines with index

finger and melodies with her thumb

Joni Mitchell

� Canadian � Roberta Joan Anderson � The Depression � Yorkville – Folk singer � Songs to a Seagull (1968) � Clouds (1969)

“Cactus Tree” There's a man who's been out sailing

In a decade full of dreams And he takes her to a schooner And he treats her like a queen Bearing beads from California

With their amber stones and green He has called her from the harbor

He has kissed her with his freedom He has heard her off to starboard In the breaking and the breathing

Of the water weeds While she was busy being free

“Cactus Tree” There's a lady in the city

And she thinks she loves them all There's the one who's thinking of her There's the one who sometimes calls There's the one who writes her letters

With his facts and figures scrawl She has brought them to her senses

They have laughed inside her laughter Now she rallies her defenses

For she fears that one will ask her For eternity

And she's so busy being free

Mitchell’s Guitar Technique � Open Tunings

� Strings are tuned so that a chord can be achieved without making a complicated shape (see image)

� Allows freer movement around the neck of the guitar

� Ie. “Chelsea Morning”

Riot Grrrl � Olympia, Washington and Washington, D.C. –

1991

� “Revolution grrrl style now”

� Call to action

Riot Grrrl Manifesto (excerpts)

� BECAUSE us girls crave records and books and fanzines that speak to US that WE feel included in and can understand in our own ways.

� BECAUSE we must take over the means of production in order to create our own meanings.

� BECAUSE we want and need to encourage and be encouraged in the face of all our own insecurities, in the face of beergutboyrock that tells us we can’t play our instruments, in the face of “authorities” who say our bands/zines/etc are the worst in the US

PROMINENT RIOT GRRRL BANDS

Bikini Kill

• Formed 1990

• Kathleen Hanna

• Billy Warren • Kathy

Wilcox • Tobi Vail

Huggy Bear

• Formed 1991 • Jo Johnson • Niki Elliot • Karen Hill • Chris

Rowley • John Slade

Bratmobile

• Formed 1991 • Allison

Wolfe • Molly

Neuman • Erin Smith

Riot Grrrl Zines Zines were self-produced publications that established a

network between performers and fans

Riot Grrrl Zines

Riot Grrrl/Performance Space

Riot Grrrl & Performance Space • Address female audience

• Invite their participation

• All female mosh pit

Lyrical Themes Bratmobile: “Shut Your Face”

How many deaths does it take for you to Feel something too? Girls are dying while men are Lying It's nothing to you You don't wanna hear about it Just something to do Run your mouth all over town Well we don't need you Say she's getting too much press This time you have the wrong address

Heavens to Betsy: “Terrorist”

You follow me on the fucking street You make me feel like a piece of meat You think i don't know what war means Now I’m the terrorist See how it feels

I'm going to kill you I'll cut you up gouge out your eyes I'm going to kill you I'm not your prey I'll make you die

“Rebel Girl” (1993) � Bikini Kill

� Produced by Joan Jett � Plays guitar and provides

background vocals

� Contrasts girlhood with power and rebellion

� Timbral variation

That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood She's got the hottest trike in town That girl she holds her head up so high I think I want to be her best friend, yeah Rebel girl rebel girl Rebel girl you are the queen of my world Rebel girl rebel girl I think I want to take you home I want to try on your clothes

Media Scrutiny

� “Feminism with a loud happy face dotting the 'i.’” – Newsweek

� "From hundreds of once pink, frilly bedrooms comes the young feminist revolution. And it's not pretty. But it doesn't wanna be. So there!“ – USA Today

Sleater-Kinney � Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein, and formerly Janet

Weiss

� 1995-2005 and 2014 until present

� Eliminate bass guitar � Utilize two electric guitars

� Vocals often more complex that just lead and background – ie. “One More Hour”

Rock’n’Roll Camp for Girls

� Portland, OR

� Misty McElroy

� Teaches girls aged 8-17 how to create, play, and produce rock music.

Mission statement

� The Rock’n’Roll Camp for Girls, a 501(c)3 non- profit, builds girls self-esteem through music creation and performance. Providing workshops and technical training, we create leadership opportunities, cultivate a supportive community of peers and mentors, and encourage social change and the development of life skills.

Curriculum

• No formal curriculum

• Flexibility

• Emphasis is on engagement and participation

Song Topics “Mythical Creatures”

Saber-tooth tiger coming at your forehead

What you gonna do now? What you gonna do? Dragons, unicorns, thestrals too What you gonna do boo hoo?

Unicorns and dragons are cute Unicorns and dragons are nice Unicorns! Dragons! Unicorns! Dragons!

“Fed Up” Cause its time for me to make a stand for what I believe I’m tired of getting walked on week after week I’m not your little housewife, Your puppet on a string I live, I breathe, and I can do

anything.

Camper Responses � “There is no judging.” Age 11

� “Screaming/being loud.” Age 11

� “Girls really can do ANYTHING!!!” Age 12

� “We all learned how to be strong, powerful women who rock hard!” Age 17

St. Vincent

� Live performances feature choreography and robotic movements

� Bass player Toko Yashudo

� Disrupts guitar performance traditions

Tetrarch � Heavy metal band

� Lead guitarist is Diamond Rowe

� First African American female guitarist in a hard rock/metal band to be featured in major industry publications (ie. Guitar World)

� Formed Tetrarch with a high school classmate

The Future of Shredding � Fender completed a study

in 2018 of the guitar market

� 50% of new and aspirational players identify as women

� 19% of aspirational players are African American, while 25% are Latinx