This Drummer Takes Pride in Hitting Like a Girl

— -- The decision to start playing the drums at age 21 ultimately led Mindy Abovitz on a path to inspire other female drummers.

“It was less of a conscious decision and more about something I needed to do,” she said. “Playing drums was and still is one of the best experiences I could ever have. Very liberating, and it is amazing.”

Abovitz, 35, became interested in playing the drums while attending the University of Florida at Gainesville. During her career as a drummer in indie bands, hip-hop groups and playing in people’s living rooms and in larger venues, she noticed the lack of female role models and how intimidating playing drums was for women.

“Drums are thought to be a male instrument because they are very aggressive -- you need to be very confident to perform on them," she said. "They’re sweaty, they require physical strength, you sit with your legs open when you play. According to society, those things aren't inherently female."

She decided to launch her own magazine, Tom Tom, out of frustration with the situation.

“It all began in 2009 as a blog," she said. "I was certain that there was a magazine for female drummers at the time. How could there not be?”

Within a few months, she realized that there wasn't such a thing and that her friends and other people loved the blog.

“I published our first issue of the magazine having no idea what that meant and what my life was going to be after that,” she said.

Based in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Tom Tom magazine, edited by Abovitz, now is a print and online publication that discusses female drummers, bands and drumming tips. It recently celebrated its fifth anniversary in print and sells at Barnes and Noble and Guitar Centers nationwide.

“We’re creating media that reports on lots of different women and lots of different girls from around the world -- different body sizes, different ages, different ability levels, different skin colors, class level,” she said.

Abovitz has tried to inspire female drummers in other ways. To combat the intimidation factor facing females who might want to play the drums, she has launched the Tom Tom Academy in Brooklyn to connect female instructors with any girl who wants to learn how to play. The academy currently has five instructors.

“Guys play drums. Now we’re showing you that girls play drums and you can learn to play drums from a girl or a woman," she said. "We are doing our best to tear down every possible barrier of entry for a girl to play.”

Wanting to reach the masses, Abovitz, in collaboration with Drum magazine and TRX cymbals, launched the Hit Like a Girl contest. Currently in its fourth year, the contest is open to female drummers from around the world.

“We currently have the only, the largest, the most exciting drum contest for women,” she said.

This year, the contest judged more than 1,200 video submissions from 45 countries. The winners get acoustic and electronic drum sets, cymbals and accessories.

“The way the industry gets excited about these female drummers and the energy around the contest is the most successful thing,” she said.

For Abovitz, knowing that she’s inspiring female drummers is a wonderful feeling and she hopes to continue to create media that empower women.

“To be in this position that I’m in feels incredible," she said. "I love thinking about empowering anyone to do anything otherwise they didn’t think feel they could do. This is why I’m still doing this ... because everyone is being impacted by it.”