Why We Bleep Podcast 015: Dr Eddie (Liz) Dobson - Yorkshire Sound Women Network

Today we talk about the spark of creativity, how we learn to make music, and the issue of the #gender imbalance in the music (technology) industry with Dr Eddie (Liz) Dobson - principal enterprise fellow at the #electronic music haven that is the University of Huddersfield, and a co-founder of the amazing Yorkshire Sound Women Network: an organisation with the goal of inspiring and enabling women and girls to explore sound and #music #technology in Yorkshire and beyond...
Thanks to episode sponsors signalsounds.com and www.eurodesk-z... (Make sure you use the Eurodesk discount code from the episode!)
This episode on the web: www.whywebleep...
LINKS FROM DR. EDDIE:
​▶ The #audioequitypledge soundgirls.org...
▶ YSWN Volume up advocacy video • Volume Up! How you can... and flyer issuu.com/yswn...
▶ Yorkshire Sound Women Network Blog which shares news yorkshiresound...
▶ My twitter is / lizdobsonuoh and website drlizdobson.com/
▶ My blog post for Delta Sound Labs on acoustic-violin-controlled-synth via their ctrl module prototype: deltasoundlabs...
▶ Keith Swanwick's book (that presents the theory of musical development) - Swanwick, K. (2003). Music, Mind and Education. Routledge.
▶ Erin Barra www.mammabarra....
▶ Irine Røsnes irineroesnes.com/
▶ Transistor Sound Labs / @transistorsoundslabs
▶ Music Technology at The University of Huddersfield www.hud.ac.uk/... Courses courses.hud.ac...
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[@mylarmelodies]

If you're asking "Why Aren't There More Female Producers", or think "There aren't because it's nature, not nurture", or "There's nothing stopping women who REALLY want to make music"...Make a tea and PLEASE WATCH THIS: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHrTk2tnr5lpoas

[@mylarmelodies]

Big love to the people who have thumbsed this down despite it being physically impossible for them to have actually listened to it all yet. 🤷‍♀️

[@tristanawild380]

¬.¬

[@hellcoreproductions]

Would love to see some younger and/or less well off musicians/synthesists, without it becoming like a nature documentary. Maybe there are some interesting projects out there that don't just cover the usual 30+ middle class folks.

[@leftmono1016]

mylarmelodies - it'll be because of the adverts at the beginning! Either that or your flagrant mispronunciation of the word 'ensconced'. I can see how that would make some folk very angry.

[@ron.h264]

Trying to be constructive: This is probably the 2 mins of ad space in the beginning of the video, I'm not against ads it's generally just bad form to put them right in the beginning bc I can't decide whether I'd like to commit to the rest of the video without searching for the actual start, I'd like to see a highlight in the beginning like other podcasts I've seen

[@mylarmelodies]

@@leftmono1016 Waitaminit, how is it supposed to be pronounced?!

[@LYFoulidis]

It’s such a joy to see a yt interview about actual people and music instead of gear and...gear. Thanks heaps for talking about things that matter!

[@laptopolist]

What a wonderful chat. I've taught game audio at a local college for a few years now, and for the first time, this year's class is more or less 50/50 male and female, compared to all male last year, and only 10% female the year before. My observation is that the equity this year has made most folks more comfortable to participate, ask questions and take risks. I am grateful that most of the creative communities I'm involved with transcend the idea that all are welcome, by insisting that we are incomplete until all available voices are represented.

[@mixolydian2010]

I had a fantastic technical drawing teacher at school and he played early Tangerine Dream, Faust and Neu in the class, He would lend me the tapes and I'd copy them at home. It was the start of my life obsessions with synths and synthesizer music. Would love to meet him again and thank him, he is retired now and have no idea how to find him. Cheers Mr Marlow you're a star!! Thanks a lot for the very interesting video.

[@suzanneaston2206]

Thank You !!!!

[@BadChizzle]

Welcome to being a parent! It’s a beautiful job forever. Never is over... so it’s even better than can ever be described. Enjoy the awesomeness, Broseph!! I would be very surprised if many people think music is for guys only, In this day and age.

[@BoBeats]

lovely episode

[@wishbonebrewery]

*just paused* (also off on a slight tangent, but...) inclusivity in beer and brewing has been a growing thing over the last few years, beer and brewing has been a very white, straight, male thing but things are slowly changing and we are getting better as an industry. Its nice to hear of more industries and professions that are moving and being better :-)

[@gorsefan]

Great chat! Heart-warming to see solutions to these issues getting more exposure and big up to you both. And I wanna play on those synths!

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks very much mate, good on you - and funny you say that, me n Liz did, and I have a little companion video coming soon

[@SELEKTROw]

Fascinating. So many many many times I paused this and thought, 'that's a coincidence' on so many varied thing you both said!

[@SinanAlakus]

Those cups of water make you look like giants! :~)

[@usualatoms4868]

Awesome stuff!

[@AdventureTimeLoui]

Yayay a woman in electronic music! I think it's definitely important to raise the voices of minorities. I dont think theres anything wrong with saying 'hey you're a minority in this genre, how does it make you feel?" At least for me it helps me have someone to relate to when I'm feeling like my feelings arent valid or really even an issue.

[@SantiagoReil]

Women are not a minority. They are more than half the population. It is already proven that men gravitate more to things, gadgets that women. So it will always be this way. You see it on a lot of fields. IT is proven, it is documented. That doesn't mean that women are not interested in gadgets, it just means there is a bias. Also women are more interested in music on a more artistic way, while men more on a gadget way. You see that on other fields, like photography, where all the reviews are from guys reviewing for other guys, and the channels by women are more artistic and not about the gadgets. I really don't like this message that someone has done something wrong to women and that is why they don't appear on videos. The reality is that companies know that the ones that buy gadgets are men, and that is why advertisement is target to them. The same way other advertisement is target to women. It is not a bad guy wanting to put women down. It is just money. And the same thing happens the other way around, for instance with clothes. BTW, I don't see nothing wrong in promoting electronic music for women. It is a good message.I just don't like the victimization message.

[@smartassrecords]

After my wife gave birth i realized much of this . I also came to the conclusion that if men had this burden humanity wouldn't have made it to the stone age , the last words uttered on this earth would have been , " I thought it was your turn Fred " , and that would be it humanity would be done .

[@AndyVonal]

Congrats on the birth of Squeebles... Well done on coming up with an original name. He'll have a tough time in school and you might be accused of cruelty but I'm sure he'll be the stronger for it! Give the Missus and the bairn of hug from me!

[@mylarmelodies]

hah! thanks mate x

[@synthshoot1026]

She talks on the fly as if she was reading from a well prepared book. Just Waw!!

[@Sonkaldo27]

It's improv from a lot of thought, reading and thinking... but thanks!!!

[@nigeltedbury5805]

Men in the comments denying there is a gender inequality which favours men. Kinda proves the point. Nice one lads.

[@hlammigrundo]

Great to get some more gender diversity in your already awesome podcast!

[@Orangetronic]

🙌

[@jamesbaynton1881]

Hey, another great conversation. I've also just bought a house in Yorkshire (Sheffield) and I'm having my first baby this week, (maybe?) I'm also considering the babies / music intersection. Are you aware of Rick Beato? He's a musician and producer and KZbinr, and he's made an app for developing babies brains through exposure to complex music. I've decided to test his app on my new child, (when it arrives). I don't want a special genius child, (his own child seems to display some extraordinary abilities) I just think it's cool. I'd be interested in what you think?

[@jamesbaynton1881]

Here's a link to Rick Beato's app kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2qtlYRtl7CZd80

[@Th3LordZalor]

Great podcast, excellent and important topics. The point about having a clear set of rules (or in this case available equipment I think it was) is important one in any environment. Lowering the bar to enter to any hobby brings more, and more diverse, hobbyists and therefore, in this case, more diverse art. Besides the main theme personally I was especially intrested in the eurorack case presented as I'm trying to do somewhat similiar thing but with vocals instead of violin. Really opened my eyes to the whole "the doesn't have to follow the pitch exactly" aspect. Looking for Erica Synths Black Input to come out, but if anyone has any recommendations regarding the pitchtracking/cv manipulating I'm all Ears! (And I do have Ears)

[@thehowlingterror]

The needle keeps jumping out of the grooves of the video. I suspect somebody hard panned the Bass....regardless of the hard edits listening to this made me realise I should've studied music as a lad instead of paying off a mortgage. Interesting that people still feel the need to encourage females into electronic music when they have been trailblazers since year dot and continue to do so. My take is that women have their on mind...but hey if it means more good music I'll never complain. Oh. a word to the wise mylar, name me a kid who wants to be like their parents. Play them Kraftwerk and you'll create a Djent freak. :-)

[@tgeo2880]

*squeebles*

[@tombrews]

I don't think the demographic of synthesizer people being predominately male equals to any kind of unfairness in recognition or accessibility. If the music's good, it's good! Sex and identity is irrelevant imo.

[@mylarmelodies]

Agreed on the music bit - but there is something in the region of a 5% vs 95% difference between women and men respectively in the music tech industry. I believe there's nothing male about 'being interested in making music', so we have to acknowledge something is wrong with this demographic and try to improve it, wouldn't you say?

[@GVCarroll71]

@@mylarmelodies I wonder how many women get involved and then drop out because of sexist gatekeeping. Like if you just temper that aspect alone I wonder how much those percentages would improve. Also on the subject of acoustic/electronic I remember seeing Ben Neill in a tiny little space in Philly back in the 90s and he was/is doing cool stuff with that even back then. Tryptical and Goldbug are both pretty cool albums.

[@AndrewSouthworth]

A lot of women use aliases for online engagement to not be treated differently. This applies to more than just music too. The fact that they do this implies theirs a reason they do this, I would imagine they had a bad experience. Its a weird thing, music isn't inherently masculine in any way, but its a huge sausage fest.

[@shitpains]

Liz's twitter link is wrong in the description our kid. the proper one is twitter.com/LizDobsonUoH

[@mylarmelodies]

Whoops - very good spot, thank you!