Abramo, J. (2011).

Gender differences of popular music production in

secondary
schools. Journal of Research in Music Education, 59(1), 21-43.
doi:10.1177/0022429410396095
Abramo did a case study to see if gender differences affected their
participation in popular music classes. The students who participated
wrote and performed original music. There were 15 students (6 boys, 9
girls) and 5 rock groups: one had 4 boys; another had 4 girls; another
had three girls and one boy, another had 2 girls and 2 boys; the fifth
band had just 2 girls.
Abramo also stated theoretical framework before he wrote of the
actual case study. A quote that brought up a bit of confusion to me
was, ones identity as male or female is not a sexed identity- fixed and
determined by biology- but instead a gendered identity that is fluid and
changes depending on the social situation. It seems that the author is
saying that gender identity is fluid and changes depending on the
social situation. However, my gender identity isnt fluid. I do not have
days where one day I will feel like a boy, and the next day I feel like a
girl. I may have the traditional views that gender identity is actually
fixed and determined by biology as well as the mind. Its all about
mind power because the human mind is a very powerful thing.
Moving onto the processes and outcomes, the all boys group had a
leader, Fred, and the other boys relied on the leader because they
were not as aurally skilled. Two boys came up with the lyrics on their
own: one rapped the verse and the other sang the chorus. Looking at
the girls band, they were all working equally together with no leader.
They created specific time to talk about specific things regarding
music. They discussed first about working out the rhythm and layering
out their final product through verbal communication, and then thy
finally rehearsed through trial and error. The girls learned differently
than the boys; in the mixed band groups, there were tension and
frustration because the boys and girls had different styles of creating
music, the boys didnt understand the girls and vise versa.
Because of this case study, Abramo suggests that music education
should incorporate difference practices. Music classrooms are usually
mixed boys and girls. Therefore, my suggestion would be that teachers
show students different ways to create music and do composition. As
well as letting the students be aware that boys learn differently than
girls, therefore, students can learn to work cooperatively.