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The Drummers Were (and Are) Women

Across the globe, men often appear to dominate the acoustic art of drumming and drumming performance. Closer inspection, however, reveals many amazing female drummers. Check out this sampling from around the world!


When The Drummers Were Women - A brief video exploring the deep history of women and drums.
‘I have a drum’, Ingoma Nshya: Rwanda's all-female drummers and social/cultural rebirth.
Eastern Owl | Baby - All-female First Nations drum group.
Cindy Blackman is often listed as the greatest contemporary female drummer working in the music industry.
Medha – The Women Who Broke the Taboo - It was taboo for a woman to touch a drum in Cambodia. Medha turned history into herstory. This feature includes the video trailer for a documentary Where the Roots Lie, which tells the story of Medha.
Even if rock isn't your music of choice, the energy and infectious fun of Yoyoko Soma, a 10-year-old world-class drummer, will open your eyes wide. When you click on this item, and the new page opens, you can scroll down to find several video examples of her talent.
How I use the drum to tell my story | Kasiva Mutua - In this talk-performance hybrid, drummer, percussionist and TED Fellow Kasiva Mutua shares how she's breaking the taboo against female drummers in Kenya, and her mission to teach the significance and importance of the drum. "Women can be custodians of culture, too," she says.
25 Amazing Female Drummers - one music review site's take on the best female drummers of the 20th & 21st Centuries.
Topsticks - Africa's #1 female drummer shows her stuff.
Here's an interview with 102-year-old, Viola Smith, a U.S. drummer who worked with orchestras, swing bands, and popular music from the 1920s until 1975. She was one of the first professional female drummers.
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