We asked Haley Powers, a guitar teacher and blogger from Nashville, about her experiences in the world of guitar, gear and finding your way in the male-dominated world of the music industry…

Haley says as part of her introduction to her lessons page on Facebook – “Haley Powers Music is specially designed to help women feel great about their guitar playing so that they can confidently share their music with others.” 

“Before I start talking about my perspective on being a female in the world of gear and electric guitar, I want to first say this is my completely biased perspective of what I have experienced. It’s definitely not every female’s opinion or experience, my personal story. So let me take you back to when I was a very beginner at electric in Jr. High (picture me- very skinny, converse high tops, and braces. Very cool obviously.)!

At my first electric group lesson, when my Dad dropped me off, I didn’t really think about the fact that there were all guys in my lesson. I had a lot of guy friends and we all listened to classic rock and loved guitar, so making friends wasn’t really an issue. Playing with all guys wasn’t weird or something I really thought about and I was always included. The guys thought it was great that I was right along with them jamming to Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix! My sister and I had also recently become obsessed with School of Rock and Spinal Tap so this was the world I lived in. 

It wasn’t until about Junior year of High School that I even considered that the electric guitar world was possibly difficult for a female. That year I had just started playing at church with my Dad and most of the guys were actually in his other bands. There was a keyboard player, however, who was not a good friend and seemed to think it was weird that I played the guitar. Not only that, but I had one of those pink paisley Strats that he relentlessly teased me about it being a Hello Kitty guitar (yikes!). Playing in this kind of setting I had really tried to put on my professional shoes and something about these comments started seeping into my little high school brain despite my dad telling me that was dumb and not to worry about it. So a few years later just to avoid any sort of embarrassment, I sold that guitar to get my now ’62 Reissue Teal Stratocaster (which to be fair was a great choice!). Honestly, I hadn’t really looked back at that guitar until I saw Brad Paisley perform before I graduated high school. And guess what – he had a pink paisley Tele just like I had (but way nicer)! That experience taught me no matter what kind of stereotype or prejudice may be out there, whether that be being a girl in the world of electric guitar, an older adult being around younger cooler people, someone who doesn’t fit the current look that’s in etc., owning who you are and being thankful for the things that make you unique is your biggest strength. Someone could always make fun of you or poke holes in your validity, but if you know deep down that you like who you are, those comments can easily roll off you.

So no, I’m not one of those forward-thinking people who kept their first guitar for the memories, but I did learn a major lesson that has spurred me on throughout my life. Because I’m in a bit of a unique position, I wanted to give a few tips if you are wondering how best to support the female musicians you know. Many of the little things that have happened to me that may have seemed sexist I think we’re out of genuinely really not knowing how something was coming across. As we all know, when you are doing something near and dear to your heart, little jokes or hurtful things can feel stung a bit more than they are usually intended! 

1) Finding What You’re Looking For?
This is the classic area I have heard female musicians be a little dumbfounded about. The other day, in fact, my friend was telling me about a situation at a music store where the employee could not let go of the fact that she was intentionally looking at electric strings and was not in fact lost in her search for acoustic strings. Personally, most of my experiences looking at gear or guitars are 98% positive and there’s maybe the 2% out there who will explain about a product I asked about only making eye contact with my bass playing husband! Everyone has room to grow and learn and there are a ton of new things I learn about gear on a regular basis. It’s almost like the feeling of being micromanaged in a job when your boss is hovering over you and even though you know what you are doing! In this scenario, treating everyone looking at gear the same is definitely the way to go and if you want to earn extra points, saying something like “You sound awesome” or something can bring out the best!

2) Come jam
As we know, there are not as many females who play guitar backing for people in bands. I’ve thought a lot about why this may be and part of me wonders if it has to do with social norms. When you are younger this isn’t as much of an issue, but if you are married, inviting someone over of the opposite sex to hang and play music with you is a little weird. That’s why you should always marry a bass player so they can work as a nice buffer and still jam along. Kidding (but really, it’s the best!). I have heard being a “good hang” is one of the biggest factors to getting touring gigs. As people get older, friend groups can become a bit more separate with guys and girls. Music is such a great connector though that mixing it up as your next jam and inviting both genders to play (not just have a female singer!) can be really fun and a good way to include everyone. Also making sure everyone gets a chance to solo!

3) Gear chats!
Helping someone see why something is so special to you and getting them excited about it is a skill I think everyone has. When it comes to gear, some of the girls I’ve taught have started by seeing their bf’s pedal board or gear, but haven’t been invited into the experience themselves. I’m the type of person who gets really excited about things and can’t help but want other people to jump on board with that too (I’m pretty sure there have been zero interesting TED talks/ Podcasts/ cool licks I have learned about and not shared with my husband!). When my students have started playing electric, I love talking to them about pedals and seeing them light up when they see all the possibilities and sounds they have heard on a song they love and being able to so easily recreate it. Assuming they will definitely be interested in pedals and love them as much as I do is usually a self-fulfilling prophecy! I think more women would be interested in electric guitar and pedals if that was expected of them. Something that’s always baffled me too is guitar doesn’t rely on physical strength like football or something, so it really can be for everyone!

I hope a few of these tips were helpful for you if you are a guy! I know most all the guys I know are inclusive, fun to jam with, and really excited to start seeing more females playing electric guitar. There will obviously always be some people who will say offensive things or try to make something feel invalid out of insecurity (especially online!), but my sister always says, “Don’t feed the trolls!” meaning we don’t need to engage with those types of comments or people. Focusing on the people who need you, thinking the best of people, and doing what you love will always make you happiest!”

You can connect with Haley on her website about lessons or to ready her blog – www.haleypowesmusic.com, her Facebook or Instagram. We would like to thank Haley for sharing her experiences with us!