The Temperaments of Instruments

This post was inspired by "The Musical Temperament" by Anthony E. Kemp, which is what I read for my book review.  Today in class I mentioned that people tend to judge musicians based on their instrument.  For example, string players were described by their fellow musicians as serious and introverted.  Woodwind players were described as introverted, radical and imaginative and brass players were describes as social but having low levels of intelligence and discipline.  When I first read this, I thought it was ridiculous; however, I must admit that I have, at times,  made similar judgements about musicians I know.  Why do we associate certain qualities with certain instruments?

For one thing, the actual sound of the instrument has it's own temperament.  Drums are loud and disruptive; flutes are soft and delicate.  These are just two examples of the many assumptions people make about musicians based on their instruments.  But the more interesting question here is, does the musician take on certain qualities because of their instrument?  Does a drummer start acting louder and more disruptive simply because of his or her instrument?  Perhaps we inherit the temperament of our instrument.  I feel that this could justify the use of music in psychological therapy.  If someone is trying to learn to be more assertive in social situations, then maybe they can learn to express their emotions in a dominating way through a more dominating instrument such as the drums, trumpet, or saxophone.  These three instruments are all assumed to be typically male instruments.  I believe that this also implies that an instrument belongs to a sepcific gender category.

It is clear that our society differentiates instruments by gender; males typically play the  drums, saxophone or trumpet and females typically play the flute, clarinet, or violin.  Firstly, the fact that something as trivial as instruments are placed in gender categories is absurd (not that I think instruments are trivial.  I clearly think they are very important, but in relation to gender they have no significant value).  Secondly, I find it interesting that all of the female instruments are, for the most part, softer and meeker, while the male instruments are louder and stronger.  This mirrors our society's views on gender.  The idea that females play certain instruments and males play others is not an innocent coincidence.  It is just another aspect of our world that reinforces the dominate patriarchal society.  

Instruments say more about their owner and their owner's place in society than we give them credit for.  They are not simply the objects musicians use to make music.  After reading The Musical Temperament, and drawing my own conclusions from it, I have to agree with Davies that an instrument is an extension of the person playing it.  Our society's views on individual instruments strengthens stereotypes and the categorization of certain people.

Question:  Can other inanimate objects have their own temperament?  If not, than why can instruments?