Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell has challenged the pressure on women to prove exceptional technical ability before playing guitar publicly, speaking to 102.1 the Edge. She encouraged aspiring players to enjoy making music despite harsh online criticism.
Rowsell admitted that she still struggles with confidence on the instrument but described it as essential to her songwriting. Drawing on her own experience, she reflected on the different standards applied to female musicians.
“I think I’m proud of myself for playing the guitar on stage because I’m not a confident guitar player and I find it really hard,” Rowsell said. “I find it fun as well.”
She explained how the guitar connects to her creative process. “And it’s a vessel for the songwriting for me, you know, like, I wouldn’t be able to write songs if I didn’t know what I know on the guitar.”
Rowsell stressed that technical mastery should not be a barrier to playing. “And what I do feel like I do is encourage people to play guitar without being a virtuoso, you know? Like you don’t have to be the best of the best at whatever you do to do it.”
She then addressed the gendered criticism that female musicians face online. “I think the internet can be really cruel about a lot of like, pop stars and stuff who want to play the guitar and then they just get slayed if they’re not, like the best guitar player ever, especially if you’re a girl.”
Rowsell concluded with a call for people to pursue music regardless of their skill level. “And I think, you know, if you enjoy playing it or even if you can’t play it to whatever level, like go for it. Like that’s just cooler than sitting at home and trolling people on the internet, isn’t it?”
Rowsell made these comments as part of a broader discussion about women in music and the barriers they face when taking up instruments publicly.
Rowsell’s relationship with guitar playing has evolved over more than a decade. When she first met guitarist Joff Oddie in 2010 to form Wolf Alice, she could work her way around a chord progression but did not play guitar at gigs beyond early open mics. She recalls feeling insecure about her abilities and was not confident enough to seek help from people she knew, so working with a stranger felt easier. Both Rowsell and Oddie were shy, and they helped build each other’s confidence through their work together.
The issues Rowsell raises reflect wider patterns in music. In rock genres, female musicians have reported encountering sexism when people questioned their abilities, assumed men played better, expected them to fail, and held them to conventional gender roles. Women are overrepresented as singers while underrepresented as instrumentalists, particularly with instruments such as drums and guitar. According to Fender research, while 50% of beginner and aspirational guitar players are women, only 6% of signature electric guitars are designed by women and non-binary artists.
Women who play instruments traditionally associated with men often face assumptions about their technical abilities or feel they must prove their competence more consistently than their male peers. This dynamic creates an extra barrier for women entering rock music, making Rowsell’s call for acceptance of varied skill levels especially relevant to aspiring female musicians considering taking up the guitar.
