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Thread: Gender and age distribution of mando players

  1. #51
    Registered User jefflester's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandolin Cafe View Post
    Data from the past 30 days of our Google Analytics: they don't even list visitors under 18, and I know we have those numbers here, 42.16% of our visitors are age 45 or younger. Might make 45% with under 18. Hardly makes a crowd of geezers which I know some think this it is.
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    I'm confused by this number, or is it unrelated to the pasted graphic breakdown? According to that table, 77.21% are 45 or older. 14.71+19.37+21.23+21.90 = 77.21.

  2. #52
    Front Porch & Sweet Tea NursingDaBlues's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    Quote Originally Posted by jefflester View Post
    I'm confused by this number, or is it unrelated to the pasted graphic breakdown? According to that table, 77.21% are 45 or older. 14.71+19.37+21.23+21.90 = 77.21.
    The 19.37% is 25-34 years of age. The percentages are not in order of age group (youngest to oldest) but in order of numbers of visitors as a percent (fewest to largest). 8.98% (18-24) + 19.37% (25-34) + 13.81% (35-44) = 42.16% (18 - 44)

  3. #53
    Registered User jefflester's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    Quote Originally Posted by NursingDaBlues View Post
    The 19.37% is 25-34 years of age. The percentages are not in order of age group (youngest to oldest) but in order of numbers of visitors as a percent (fewest to largest). 8.98% (18-24) + 19.37% (25-34) + 13.81% (35-44) = 42.16% (18 - 44)
    D'oh, that's exactly what I read wrong.

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  5. #54
    Registered User lowtone2's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    Quote Originally Posted by Erin M View Post
    Another female checking in. Hi! Yes, we're out here (total mando beginner though, but loving every minute of it)

    Bass is my primary instrument with a few decades of experience on it, so this comment made me laugh. You're right, there is a disproportionately large number of female bassists, both acoustic and electric from what I've seen. True not as much at pro level, and I also don't know why that is, but I can take a few guesses. There's a decent number of bluegrass combos around here and they seem to be about 50% female bassists (and fiddlers, too).

    And yes, Sierra Hull is easily making her way up there with Bush, Grisman, and Thile. Well, Chris Thile is in a class by himself; my jaw about hit the floor first time I saw a video of him. He is so "in the zone" - pure zen.

    P.S.: Check out Esperanza Spalding if you haven't already.
    And Katie Thiroux, Nicki Parrott, Linda Oh.

    I started playing music in a string music program in elementary school. Everybody I knew, a few years later, wanted to play an instrument, like our heroes the Stones, Beatles, John Coltrane, whatever...I'm not sure that younger people today share either of those experiences with my generation.

    As for women, it's changing, but they have typically been more likely to get pregnant than men, and therefore busier with child rearing responsibilities. Strictly anecdotal, but symphony orchestras seem to be a major exception.

  6. #55
    Registered User Randi Gormley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    there's another disparity at play -- the number of people who answer questions, give advice, post questions or other media may simply skew to a personality type that may or may not be gender related. All the women in my family have no problem speaking up (my cousin is a moderator over at one of the classical guitar forums, for instance) and I'll toss in a comment here or there if something interests me. My-husband-the-guitar-player is a much less outspoken person, and while he'll "like" a post on Facebook, say, if it's someone he knows, i rarely see him actually type more than a line or two. I know that more people are on this site than are commenting on any given day -- so what you're looking at are the commentors as opposed to the entire universe of mandolin players or even that sliver who are on the Cafe.

    But while there may be some question as to the gender and age of the posters, generally speaking they're more interested in what's being said than in who says it. Our younger members have as much to add as any of the hoary elders if we're comparing favorite musicians, which pick you prefer, whether you use coated strings and what brand and whether paying $10,000 or $100 for a mandolin is worth it. Also, as has been pointed out, people who are younger than, say, the average age of posters here on the cafe have different media they prefer and different time sucks than those of us who have a few miles on us. I know of places like Tik Tok but I'm not over there. My kids listen to pod casts. Me, I have the cafe. I also still read physical newspapers and own a dial phone. And while i'm retirement age these days, when I first picked up the mandolin I was just out of college. I put it away for 20 years as life interfered, but I picked it back up in my 40s. Mandolin has been a big part of my life for more than 25 years at this point, which means I'm 25 years older than I was when I regained my callouses.
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  8. #56
    Registered User Jill McAuley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    Can't speak to the "women more busier with child rearing responsibilities" thing as I don't have kids, but when I put down the mandolin for a couple of years it was due to 1) starting a small business and it taking up my time and 2) becoming obsessed with jazz drumming and it taking up my time.
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  10. #57
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    Am I missing something? What difference does it make how old we are or whether we're male or female? (I refuse to further define that, political correctness notwithstanding. That's for another forum.) As far as I'm concerned, a mandolin picker is a mandolin picker, period.
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    The older I get, the less tolerant I am of political correctness, incompetence and stupidity.

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  12. #58
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    Default Re: Gender and age distribution of mando players

    I do not remember where I saw this but, In the early 20th century, the majority of mandolin players were reported to be female.
    Of my 9 great aunts, 7 played mandolin. I have two instruments from them.

    I have no male relatives (current or otherwise) who play (ed) mandolin.

    I began my interest in mandolin in 1961. Been on and off since then.

    I note that in the reporting of age and mandolin there was no over 70 category; that unless I missed something.

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