A key transformation in the North Indian classical tradition of Hindustani Khayal music since the early 20th-century has been the emergence of women performers from diverse backgrounds. Prior to this period, the genre had been the domain primarily of male hereditary master-musicians who trained within patrilineal familial structures. Over the course of the century, as forces of nationalism, modernisation and democratisation came to shape Khayal’s social contexts, opportunities opened up for women aspirants from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. In academic scholarship, the question of gender in Khayal has been analyzed sociologically through the struggles of woman performers as well as the gendered associations of different classical genres. In this paper, I propose a conceptual question: A crucial step in the training of early 20th- century women musicians was the translation of embodied performance knowledge which had been developed and sustained for men—a form of knowledge that gradually assumes gender neutrality. How may we think about creativity, aesthetics and pedagogy in Khayal in this context and in its continued practice? I address this question by drawing upon biographical writing, archived interviews and music recordings. Through such examination, I also seek more general insights into the situated and gendered dynamics of creative processes and the intertwining of the social and the aesthetic.

The Mexican woman as a flamenco performer constitutes one of the main musical and visual ingredients of the album Tijuana Moods, a recording that in 1962 Mingus considered “his best one yet”. In Beneath the Underdog, Mingus’s autobiography published in 1971, Mexican women are a central part of his recollections, they are the main counterpoint that helps him create his hyper masculinity and his concept of himself as an underdog. Despite the fact that they are everywhere in Mingus’s musical narrations of Mexico, these women are rarely brought to the foreground and conversation in musical and literary analysis of his work, and this disregard of their presence speaks of stereotypes and mistranslations of identities across borders still relevant today. This is an example of how one of the oldest forms of distinction of Otherness – gender – collides with one of the newest ones – race - , as Morgan Teasdale affirms in his essay “Rebel Body, Indomitable Race” (La Cifra, Mexico, 2016).

In Tijuana Moods, I will listen to Ysabel Morel’s voice, piano and castanets as a manifestation of Mingus’s identification with the Mexican woman as an underdog, an improviser and performer, one whose musical language – as imagined by Mingus – had to negotiate with an audience’s expectations and demands. In Beneath the Underdog, I will read Mexican women as gender and racial Otherness. Their language, nation and color marginalized them, they represented a mirror that magnified Mingus´s identity and compelled him to take his music beyond the border.

Xi’an Guyue (Xi’an Drum Music), a unique form of Chinese traditional music, originated in Xi'an and can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. It is renowned for its large-scale ensemble that incorporates a diverse range of instruments, and its complex structure has captivated audiences for centuries, and has been meticulously preserved through generations within dedicated societies. Historically entrenched in male-dominated performance traditions under the doctrine of “transmission restricted to males and insiders”. This genre has undergone a significant paradigm shift with the inclusion of female musicians. This research probes into how this gender inclusivity has redefined the musical lexicon, instrumental repertoire, and ensemble dynamics within Xi’an Guyue, embodying a critical intersection of musical tradition and gender politics.

Based on seven months of fieldwork in the representative group of Xi’an Guyue (Jixian drum group). Employing a methodologically robust approach that combines ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, and in-depth interviews with both male and female Xi’an Guyue practitioners. The study explores the nuanced interplay between gendered performance practices and socio-musical change. It critically assesses the stylistic innovations and reinterpretations introduced by female musicians, examining how these contribute to the genre’s evolving soundscape. Further, the research situates these developments within the broader discourse of gender equality and cultural identity in contemporary Chinese society, offering insights into the symbiotic relationship between musical evolution and sociocultural shifts.