‘Play It Like A Man’ – CFMNE review

It was great meeting the women again and also meeting some new faces to CFMNE ‘Play It Like A Man’.

The discussion ‘Should we play it like a man?’ helped us to get down to brass tacks about our experiences where gender affected our musicianship.  We covered points like the difference in our sound and touch on our instruments; the difficulty in identifying female role models; motherhood and sexualising of female musicians.  But we also identified the positives such as some people prefer to listen to female musicians as they bring a different quality to music; some male musicians prefer females in their band as it brings calm and a change to the dynamics of the group;  Also highlighted was overcoming our knock backs and identifying things we can celebrate about our personal musicianship.

Wai Sum Chong did an excellent job demonstrating types of articulation and the skill of notation.  She also covered how it impacts and improves our playing plus the good the bad and the ugly of articulation.  A very engaging and thought provoking session.

We had an inspiring Jam session, lead by Cynthia Fearon,  playing through familiar songs, learning chord progressions and exploring musical ideas. The lunch was scrummy.  The moments for reflection and prayer were excellent.  Some women made new friends and others renewed acquaintances.  A packed afternoon!

What did the women think about the event?

‘…boosted my confidence, motivation and determination’

‘I learned, played and had fun’

‘I enjoyed networking and the reminder to remember the different forms of articulation’

‘I really valued the Masterclass’

‘…helped me to play by ear and helped my improvisation skills’

‘..to play to the best of my ability and not to compete with men’

 

Next session: Saturday 5th September 2015

Theme: How To Bring Your ‘A’ Game – Part 1 (Click the link for more information).