"There are not enough female musicians on stage yet."

If Lara could play every instrument she has played at the same time, she would be quite a big band on her own. In primary school she starts with the violin, later she takes piano and singing lessons and sings in the opera house children's choir. During her exchange year, she acquires basic guitar skills and plays in an orchestra. She also gains experience on the drums for a year.

In February 2019, she wants to deepen her piano skills. Her father recommends Instrumentor.

She researches for a long time until she finds the right teachers.

Lara reads the detailed portraits on the page carefully and then decides on a teacher with whom she gets on well and who will help her progress musically. But after half a year she realises that she wants to play in a band. This is not so easy with the piano. So she switches to the bass and starts looking for a teacher again. That's how she finds Laura. A good choice, not only musically.

Feminist issues have been on Lara's mind for several years. At some point she notices that not only CEOs are often male, but that there are almost no female guitarists, bassists and drummers in pop and rock either. Why is that? The topic doesn't let her go, so she deals with it in her Matura thesis. She attended panel discussions, networked and did a lot of research. She was sobered to discover that only 11 % of all musicians are female.

She is playfully engaged.

Lara makes rapid progress on the bass. The rest almost comes naturally: A friend of hers asks her if she can fill in at a gig. She agrees and realises that she likes being on stage. Shortly afterwards, she sees that the band Emzyg, which consists of five women, is looking for a new bass player.

Lara remembers her Matura project, the five comics she wrote and drew at the end. She knows that female role models are still very much lacking in 2022. So she gives herself a push. How can the world change if she doesn't do her part?

At the audition, Lara convinces her future colleagues, and she has been part of the band since January 2022. Musically, the band can best be described as psychedelic krautrock - powerful and melodic at the same time. The talent of the women, the great demand for concerts and the social trend towards more gender equality lead to several gigs.

Soon the great stage fright subsides.

Lara remembers her first gig at Zurich's "Nordbrüggli": she was served a burger, but was so nervous that she can't eat a bite before the concert. Since then she feels much more confident.

The exchange with Laura also helps her. At the beginning she learns the basics and becomes more and more confident, later Laura teaches her technique and pentatonics. Together with YouTube self-study and band rehearsals, she progresses quickly.

"I've wanted to make music myself for a long time. And be in a real band. One where people don't just discuss the name", Lara explains her motivation. "Laura's feedback was and is very valuable. In the beginning she helped me quickly to play whole songs. Now I appreciate her feedback. Without her, I wouldn't have progressed so quickly."

Emzyg is yet to be heard from.

Since she often rehearses with the band, Lara has reduced her lessons with Laura. This is mainly for time reasons. Financially, the student has found a way to pursue her passion: She likes receive lessons as a gift from her grandparents and her mother's boyfriend.

A lot has happened with Lara in only half a year. Soon Emzyg wants to write new songs and release a first single in the next few months. "I was really lucky to have found this band", she says gratefully.

What happens next, on the other hand, is less of a concern for her. When she chose her studies, she consciously decided against music. She also knows that the rock life is strongly romanticised and very often means hard work for little money. If Emzyg succeeds in making a breakthrough, that would be great, of course. But the main thing for Lara at the moment is and remains that she has shown herself and the world that you can be in the limelight as a young woman. Hopefully for a long time to come.