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News
Independent Record Stores' Struggle To Survive 4-independent-record-stores-across-us-weigh-their-struggle-survive-during-covid-19

4 Independent Record Stores Across The U.S. Weigh In On Their Struggle To Survive During COVID-19

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We talked to four fan favorite stores in Austin, Brooklyn, Indianapolis and Los Angeles about their harsh reality during the coronavirus crisis
Jeffrey Silverstein
GRAMMYs
Apr 7, 2020 - 2:09 pm

At over 18 million LPs sold, 2019 marked 14 consecutive years of rising vinyl record sales. As COVID-19 continues to bludgeon the music industry, independent record stores are left particularly vulnerable. The indefinite closure of these small businesses comes poorly timed with Record Store Day, the annual shopping event often noted for record breaking sales now postponed until June. For store owners, everyday their sign reads "closed" adds uncertainty to the livelihood of their shops, employees, and community at large.

As vinyl collectors lament the current loss of their safe havens, record stores are working tirelessly to find short-term solutions to what appears to be growing into a long-term problem. Hopeful that crate-digging will commence, we spoke to four record shops across the country to hear more about the toll the pandemic has taken, the implications of store closures, and what strategies and revenue streams are currently keeping them afloat.

Permanent Records (Los Angeles, CA)

How many days have you been closed? What’s the longest you’ve ever shut down at one period of time prior to this?

We were forced to close the Roadhouse on 3/15 and we closed the shop on York on 3/17. Since we opened in 2006, we've never shut down before aside from holidays. Never.

When did the reality of having to close indefinitely sink in? What were your initial thoughts?

I still don't know if it has set in fully, but the hardest part of the closure has been informing my staff that all of their scheduled shifts have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. My initial thoughts were that we'll do whatever we have to do to weather this storm and hit the ground running as soon as things get back to normal.

How would you describe the overall mood/attitude in your city at the moment?

Overall, people seem to be positive, even though we're all suffering greatly.

To what degree have sales been impacted by COVID-19?

Sales have been decimated. Our Roadhouse location is shuttered completely and the only business we have going is online, which is a fraction of what we normally do when we're open to the public.

How many people does the store employ? What are the current implications of a closure for them?

There are ten full- and part-time employees. I've suggested that they all look into temporary unemployment claims. Customers and the community can support them by supporting Permanent, so they all have a place to come back to work when this all blows over. I've also offered my support to my supervisors if they feel inclined to start a fundraiser, but they, like I do, feel a bit uncomfortable with it considering how many people are all in a similar situation.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-r7WyxBkZ3

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A post shared by Permanent Records LA (@permanentrecordsla)

Are you offering any kind of special promotions right now?

We did everything we could at first, but the demand for curbside pick-up wasn't where we needed it to be to support it. We're offering free shipping on the rare records we're posting on Instagram. We have gift certificates and other merch available on our web store (PermanentRecordsLA.com). Before the "safer at home" ordinance, I offered a private shopping experience at Permanent to people who bought $100 gift certificates, but we've been forced to postpone that offer.

Were you already in a position where customers could access your titles online or via Discogs?

Yes, but it's especially crucial now. It went from being a supplemental necessary evil to being a necessity overnight.

What are your most immediate concerns?

Earning enough to pay our monthly bills and rent are my most immediate concerns. I'm hopeful that things will get back to normal soon enough to not worry about the long-term, but the economy at-large and the unemployment rate are my biggest concerns currently.

What might be a way record stores in your city could ban together right now?

Los Angeles has the best record stores in the country. We generally do a pretty good job of supporting each other and I think the best thing we can all do is to stay positive, stay healthy, and stay productive during these unprecedented times while remembering that there is a

End of an Ear (Austin, Texas)

​How many days have you been closed?

We reduced our hours starting March 16th. We were only doing mail order, online and curbside. Since this Tuesday (the 24th) we are just doing mail order and online.

How would you describe the overall mood/attitude in your city at the moment?

I think like everywhere, it seems like we woke up into an episode of "Twilight Zone" and trying just to take it day by day. We've had lots of support from customers and other Austin businesses as well.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-a-oO_p3tK

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A post shared by End Of An Ear (@endofanear)

To what degree have sales been impacted by COVID19?

It's too early to tell, but we've seen a drop in business somewhere between 60 to 90 percent.

How many people does the store employ? What are the current implications of a closure for them?

Including the owners (myself and Blake), there are 13 of us. We have a small staff, so no one was laid off. The mail order and curbside helped get cash still coming in. We have a small reserve. Customers have been very supportive.

How will Record Store Day being postponed affect your shop?

We already had SXSW cancel, and then there would have been Record Store Day in April and then our 15th year anniversary in May. So now of course it will all be pushed back. Once we all crawl out of this mess we can make new plans.

What are your most immediate concerns?

That my customers will have jobs they can go back to and places to live. And above all. healthy friends that run bars, clubs, restaurants, etc... There are a lot of mutual supporters and champions of the shop.

LUNA Music (Indianapolis, IN)

How many days have you been closed? What’s the longest you’ve ever shut down at one period of time prior to this?

LUNA music has been closed, as a storefront, for 12 days—but, we are still shipping worldwide mail order. We've never experienced a closure like this before, in terms of a protracted period of time—where our public space was closed.

When did the reality of having to close indefinitely sink in? What were your initial thoughts/feelings?

Honestly, I just wanted my crew and clientele to be safe—so as soon as it became obvious that we should cease contact with folks, we started using a drop box, at the front of the shop—for customers to pick their orders up and began dropping orders off, on folks' front porches.

Since then, we have a "shelter in place" order and are doing business over the phone and online—shipping packages out worldwide, with no local pick-up or drop-off.

How would you describe the overall mood/attitude in your city at the moment?

One of hope and one of help!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-kJDfrA86x

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A post shared by LUNA music (@lunamusic)

To what degree have sales been impacted by Covid-19?

Dramatically; from a flow to drips.

How many people does the store employ? What are the current implications of a closure for them?

Two full-time and four part-time. Currently both full-time co-workers are working from home, on a variety of store projects. The part-time crew has been put on stand-by, waiting for a re-open date. The best way folks can support is continue to shop with us online or give the shop a ring for assistance!

Have online/phone sales helped soften the blow?

Absolutely—it's also a great way to have a bit of interaction with folks!

What are your most immediate and long-term concerns?

The health of my friends and family.

What are three LPs helping you stay hopeful?

Ben Watt-Storm Damage
Nat Russell-Sunlight (LIVE at the Warfleigh Labs)
Hiss Golden Messenger-LIVE at LUNA music's 25th anniversary show (private reel...)light at the end of this dark tunnel.

Human Head Records (Brooklyn, New York)

How many days have you been closed? What’s the longest you’ve ever shut down at one period of time prior to this?

We closed the doors as of Sunday March 15th 8:00 pm.  We had been open everyday for 5.5 years at that point. I used to tell people on the phone all the time, "Christmas Day, Chinese New Year, Mother's Day."  Everyday. Before that we closed half a day when I got married so employees could be there. In the first year, my partner suggested I have a break and we had  the store "closed on Wednesdays," but then I was always working on records so I'd just left the door open. We really never close. It's very rare.

When did the reality of having to close indefinitely sink in? What were your initial thoughts?

These were things that you were hearing as the potential oncoming issue for months, but I had gotten back from a four-day trip to Brasil the Tuesday before we closed March 10th. If I thought everything was going to be shut down to this degree I would've never extended those kind of resources to do that.  It was pretty apparent in the airports that this was an inevitability not a possibility. The only proactive measures that we saw at the airport was the private sector shutting their staff down from travel. Latin America had been significantly behind the curve of the spread at that point so we weren't overly concerned. Population on the planes that I flew on anyway was already down to max 20 percent capacity. I think we understood a virus was coming, but until Italy I'm not sure how many of us appreciated the real issue which was the overwhelming of the healthcare system.

How would you describe the overall mood/attitude in your city at the moment?

It's obviously very tense. How do you describe an insanely dense population where it's tumbleweeds everywhere in the city and what appears to be the exact opposite at hospitals around the city? People know they are in for the long haul. To be able to turn this to a level where we have some confidence on when we would be able to begin to grow out of this would be a major accomplishment. Regardless of how far out it is, the uncertainty is far worse than a dependable but distant target.

How many people does the store employ? What are the current implications of a closure for them?

There are six employees. They were all immediately laid off due to the closure for not only business but health and safety reasons. That doesn't mean we've stopped moving. To create something dependable for all of us to look forward to, and hopefully help the employees a bit, we mobilized an online radio show everyday at 4:20 pm. It's comprised of the six guys playing records for an hour once a week and one guest DJ steaming on Instagram Live all playing from their homes. We've also added a donation link to the broadcast and linked at our Instagram home page. 100 percent of the proceeds is split between the six employees without work during the pandemic. We already have two days in the books and we'll be doing it everyday during the shutdown. Our mixes from the board can be heard also on our mixcloud which is all linked in our homepage on Instagram. We are working on adding to it everyday. The responses so far have been really invigorating and positive.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-m__F8p7bg

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A post shared by Human Head (@humanheadnyc)

Are you offering any kind of special promotions right now?

We are doing a promotion for our online store. Go to humanheadnyc.com to find our discogs page of 27,000+ items. With an order of $20 or more and the word "Modelo" in the info gets you free shipping.

If there's something in the storefront that someone remembers and they want I'm happy to take the call and ship it to them as well.

What are three LPs helping you stay hopeful?

União Black-Eponymous
Any/All Mizell Brothers Productions
Any/All Tim Maia

What might be a way record stores in your city could ban together right now?

I think multimedia streaming is so wide open and moved to the forefront, I'm sure it would be something within that platform. What that entails, who knows. It's so difficult to say because every record store has a different framework and situation. If we're able to come back after this and people feel comfortable to be out and together I think we'll see everyone win. We've seen a lot of love and positivity expressed not only toward us personally but to many record stores across the country. I think people will be leaping at the chance. I will also.

Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares. 

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Photo credit: GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images

News
2021 GRAMMYs Nominations To Be Announced Nov. 24 harvey-mason-jr-announce-2021-grammys-nominations-special-guests-nov-24

Harvey Mason Jr. To Announce 2021 GRAMMYs Nominations With Special Guests On Nov. 24

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The 63rd GRAMMY Award nominees in all 84 categories will be revealed during a star-studded livestream at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET
GRAMMYs
Oct 21, 2020 - 10:16 am

The wait is—almost over! On Nov. 24, we will finally know who the 63rd GRAMMY Award nominees are. The big announcement will happen during an hour-long livestream beginning at approximately 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET.

Chair and Interim Recording Academy President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. will be joined by past GRAMMY winners, nominees and hopefuls from remote locations across the country as he reveals the nominees for all 84 categories. The virtual party will stream live on GRAMMY.com. Immediately following, all nominees for the 84 categories will be released via press release, on GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy's social media platforms.

Related: Looking Ahead To The 2021 GRAMMY Awards

The 63rd GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast on CBS, Sun., Jan. 31 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT.

Follow the Recording Academy / GRAMMYs on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and use #GRAMMYs to join the conversation as it begins to unfold on Nov. 24.

Participating Talent For 2021 GRAMMY Nominations Announced: Dua Lipa, Sharon Osbourne, Imogen Heap And More

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Behind The Record

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Behind The Record Returns To #GiveCredit behind-record-returns-givecredit-behind-scenes-music-creators

Behind The Record Returns To #GiveCredit To The Behind-The-Scenes Music Creators

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The Recording Academy's global social media initiative to celebrate the music makers behind the records you love is back to give credit where credit is due
GRAMMYs
Oct 14, 2020 - 10:11 am

On Oct. 15, join the Recording Academy for Behind The Record, a global social media initiative celebrating the producers, mixers, engineers, songwriters, composers and all the creators across all music genres who work tirelessly to make the songs and albums you love. This year's launch is marked by a new animated film narrated by spoken word artist and Recording Academy Chicago Chapter President J. Ivy highlighting 33 album titles to help tell the story about everyone who works Behind the Record.

Behind the Record’s mission is to inspire a conversation around the importance of credits, while giving credit where credit is due, especially during a time when the music community needs it the most.

Launched in 2019, Behind the Record returns this year to honor the work of all music creators by highlighting their contributions through album credits. Last year’s campaign featured more than 3,000 credit covers created and shared by artists, reaching hundreds of millions of fans around the world.

https://twitter.com/bandzoogle/status/1316386422111309824

We're thrilled to be a partner of @RecordingAcad's #BehindTheRecord-bringing the names of the producers, mixers, engineers, songwriters, composers, and collaborators who work behind the record to the front. Learn more about the initiative here: https://t.co/qNKgvVYhZh #GiveCredit pic.twitter.com/PeaQ5pgJZT

— Bandzoogle (@bandzoogle) October 14, 2020

To participate, artists can create a custom Credit Cover to post on Instagram and other social networks, using the hashtags #BehindTheRecord and #GiveCredit, on Oct. 15 where they can tag all the creators who worked on their record and invite other artists to do the same. The Credit Covers, which can be created for a single track or a full album, will live in a gallery on the Behind the Record website where music fans can view and discover the roles of creatives behind some of their favorite records.

New for this year, artists participating in Behind the Record can sign the #GiveCredit petition, an official artist petition urging all digital music streaming services to display complete credits for songwriters, producers, engineers and non-featured performers on albums and tracks, the same way lyrics are available to those seeking them. Sadly, liner notes were largely left behind in the evolution of digital streaming. As a result, artists haven’t had a platform to publicly recognize the incredibly talented musicians and creators behind the music we love. By signing this petition, we hope to change that for future music-makers.

Behind the Record is supported by the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing®. Jaxsta, the world's largest public-facing, dedicated database of official music credits, provided credits for Warner Music, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Merlin releases.

Look for your favorite artists' Credit Covers on Oct. 15, and be sure to follow and join the global conversation on social media using the hashtags #BehindTheRecord #GiveCredit and #WeAreMusic. Together, we can ensure that all creators are recognized for their work and contributions Behind the Record.

Learn More About The Recording Academy's Behind The Record

#ChangeMusic Summit

 

 
 
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Watch The Recording Academy's #ChangeMusic Summit diversity-equity-inclusion-watch-recording-academys-inspiring-change-music

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Watch The Recording Academy's Inspiring "Change Music" Summit In Full

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Alongside Color Of Change, The Recording Academy hosted the virtual industrywide #ChangeMusic Summit, which welcomed leaders in music and media for panels on shifting culture, amplifying diverse voices, driving systemic change and more
Recording Academy
Oct 2, 2020 - 11:38 am

On Thursday (Oct. 1), the Recording Academy joined Color Of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization, to host a virtual industrywide #ChangeMusic Summit with leaders in music and media. The digital event is part of an ongoing series of initiatives facilitated by the Recording Academy to help accelerate equity and diverse representation within the organization and to further support inclusion outcomes across the wider music industry. 

Watch the #ChangeMusic Summit in full below. 

ChangeMusic: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit

The four-hour event brought together leaders, executives and experts for panels on shifting culture, amplifying diverse voices, putting leadership in action and driving systemic change throughout the music community. As well, prominent culture trailblazers and music business leaders openly discussed best practices and strategies to encourage systemic change and elevate women, Black and Latinx, as well as all underrepresented music creators and professionals.

Some of the event's participants included singer-songwriters Ledisi and Maimouna "Mumu Fresh" Youssef; television personalities Rocsi Diaz and Jeff Johnson; music culture influencer Karen Civil; award-winning poet and president of the Recording Academy's Chicago Chapter J. Ivy; and prominent executives and industry professionals including Tuma Basa (YouTube), Ingrid Best (Combs Enterprises), Binta Brown (omalilly projects; Black Music Action Coalition), Shari Bryant (Roc Nation), Jeff Burroughs (Def Jam Recordings), Ryan Butler (Recording Academy), Valeisha Butterfield Jones (Recording Academy), Harvey Mason jr. (Recording Academy), Rashad Robinson (Color Of Change) and many others. See the full list of participants below.

As part of the summit, the Recording Academy and Color Of Change announced the forthcoming #ChangeMusic Roadmap, a tool to help people at all levels of the music industry take action to enact racial and social justice within the industry. The full roadmap will be released before the end of the year, however, the first aspect of the roadmap discussed was a needed commitment to transparent reporting on Black representation. 

Read: The Recording Academy & Color Of Change Team Up To Promote Positive Change In The Music Industry

"This is a crucial moment in our world, our nation and our society and it is now more important than ever that we bring people together to make progress on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion," Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr. said. "As leaders in the music industry, we have an opportunity as role models to lead by example and set a progressive tone for culture and society. We are honored that so many from the industry joined this important conversation and we're committed to the work ahead."

"Black artists' rich contributions have undeniably shaped the music industry into what it is today. The industry must tear down the systems that silence, harm and pigeonhole Black artists for profitable gains," President of Color Of Change Rashad Robinson said. "Everyone has the responsibility to work towards progress. The #ChangeMusic Roadmap will begin the process of giving the industry the tools to challenge injustice and enact tangible change now. The Recording Academy is setting a strong example for the industry from the inside, holding those in power accountable to change. Together, we can propel music into the equitable future Black artists have earned, and always deserved."

Participants in the #ChangeMusic Summit included: singer/songwriters Ledisi, Rico Love and Maimouna "Mumu Fresh" Youssef; television personalities Rocsi Diaz and Jeff Johnson; music culture influencer Karen Civil; poet J. Ivy; and prominent executives and industry professionals including Tuma Basa (YouTube), Ingrid Best (Combs Enterprises), Binta Brown (omalilly projects; Black Music Action Coalition), Shari Bryant (Roc Nation), Jeff Burroughs (Def Jam Recordings), Ryan Butler (Recording Academy), Valeisha Butterfield Jones (Recording Academy), Qiana Conley (Recording Academy), Caroline "Baroline" Diaz (Interscope Records), Michelle Edgar (Epic Records; Music Unites; XX Project), Ethiopia Habtemariam (Motown Records; Capitol Music Group), Erin Hall Harris (Combs Enterprises), Tammy Hurt (Recording Academy), Jeriel Johnson (Recording Academy), Debra Lee (formerly BET Networks), Harvey Mason jr. (Recording Academy), Adam McFarland (Blacksmith Recordings; #TheShowMustBePaused), Riggs Morales (Atlantic Records), Jessica Rivera (YouTube), Rashad Robinson (Color Of Change), Travis Robinson (Universal Music Group), Lenny Santiago (Roc Nation), Rashid Shabazz (Color Of Change), Dr. Maurice Stinnett (Warner Music Group), Tiffany R. Warren (Omnicom Group; ADCOLOR), and Roe Williams (KWL Enterprises).

The Recording Academy's strategic alliance with Color Of Change and solidarity with ongoing social justice movements, such as #TheShowMustBePaused, was also a highly prioritized conversation topic among attendees. 

Learn more about the progress and future announcements regarding the Recording Academy's Diversity & Inclusion efforts.

The Recording Academy Establishes Black Music Collective

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Chorus practices outdoors this year at Countryside High School in Pinellas County, Florida.
Photo courtesy of Christy King

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How COVID Changed The Look Of Music Education puppy-pads-and-slit-masks-how-covid-changed-look-music-education

Puppy Pads And Slit Masks: How COVID Changed The Look Of Music Education

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COVID-era problems put pressure on teachers to work creatively, while fearing for the future
Emilee Lindner
GRAMMYs
Sep 21, 2020 - 9:01 am

Those living in Kingsman, Arizona, shouldn’t be surprised if they hear 30 kids yelling simultaneously from Lee Williams High School. That’s just Shannon Bascombe’s marching band letting out their COVID-19 frustrations.

"The kids were like, ‘Hey, Ms. B, can we, like, scream into the void for 10 seconds at the beginning of practice?'" Bascombe recalled. "'Yeah, sure, I’ll give you guys 10 seconds to just yell it out.' … Then they’ll start learning drill."

The coronavirus pandemic has made returning to school this fall a touchy debate. With each district whipping up its own tentative plan, students are either attending school armed with masks, learning virtually from home or doing a half-and-half schedule. They’ve pushed start dates, altered schedules and introduced new technology. Several schools GRAMMY.com contacted for this story set a date in September or October to reassess and adjust, aiming for in-person instruction by 2021. Needless to say, a little scream therapy is warranted—not just for students, but for teachers, parents and administrators as well.

So how does music education fit into the new school plans? Unlike math or history, which can rely on individual study, collaborative ensembles like band, chorus and orchestra cannot. With social distancing measures in place, getting a band of 50 students placed six feet apart in one room is, well, impossible. Not to mention the whole aerosol concern with kids blowing on their horns. Online group rehearsal doesn’t work either, due to latency issues.

With those difficulties in mind, districts across the country have already cut arts programs. And those teachers who still have their jobs are feeling the pressure to keep them by proving their worth.

"[Parents are] OK with the core teachers being at home and being able to give assignments," says Jake Olimpi, marching band and orchestra director at Marple Newtown High School in Pennsylvania. "But what is the art teacher doing, what is the music teacher doing? They’re getting paid and where’s the result?"

That pressure, atop the duty to keep students safe, healthy and engaged has become the new challenge for teachers, who are also haunted by the pandemic’s long lasting effects on music education.

Masks On Instruments And Puppy Pads

The spread of aerosols, a.k.a. air and saliva, forced the Centers for Disease Control to recommend the six-feet social distancing rule months ago. But when it came to the performing arts, there was little scientific evidence on how singing and instrument playing contributed to aerosol spread. A study from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), published without peer review in July, gave music teachers some answers.

Conducted by the University of Colorado Boulder, the study found that instruments released fewer aerosols if they were masked at the bell. They found even fewer aerosols when the player wore a slitted mask. In order to return to in-person ensembles, authors of the study also suggested these points:

  • Musicians must stay six feet apart (nine feet for trombonists)
  • Bell covers should have a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 13 (although any covering is better than none)
  • Spit valves should empty into absorbent sheets like puppy pads
  • Rehearsal times should be limited to 30 minutes
  • Instructors should wait one HVAC air change between classes
  • HEPA filters should be in rehearsal spaces
  • Outdoor rehearsals are recommended over indoor ones

With the scientific guidance, teachers got to work crafting what fall 2020 would look like… and now that school’s back in session, music classes certainly don’t look like they did before. At Bascombe’s school in Arizona, they’re following the NFHS guidelines nearly to a T.

GRAMMYs

The students at Tarpon Springs Leadership Conservatory for the Arts stick to their cones and try out their new bell covers.
Credit: Anna Ottens

"When they come into the room, they have to wash their hands, drop their stuff off," Bascombe says. "We go through the symptom checker from the Mayo Clinic every day when they walk into the room… All of the doors are propped open so the kids have minimal touch. There's hand sanitizer everywhere. Mouthpiece cleaner everywhere."

Bascombe's woodwinds, brass, percussion and colorguard all get their own room. Every Friday, she spends an additional hour and a half disinfecting each room, including the bathroom her students use.

At the Southern Nevada Homeschool Performing Arts, program director Bonnie Buhler-Tanouye says brass players wear slitted masks, akin to "boys' underwear," and flute players wear shields. She says parents are willing to do even more in order to get their nearly shutdown Las Vegas music scene rolling again.

GRAMMYs

The students at Southern Nevada Homeschool Performing Arts wear face shields and slitted masks on the first day of band practice. 
Courtesy: Bonnie Buhler-Tanouye

"One of the parents I was talking to the other day, because I was reminding her of masks for her trumpet player, she said, ‘You know what, put me in a hazmat suit, if you have to. Whatever we have to do to get back to playing music together,'" Buhler-Tanouye recalled.

The NFHS study deemed outdoor rehearsal better for dispersing aerosols. Summer band camps served as positive test runs for the rest of the school year, with students respectively keeping their distance. Water and sunscreen breaks are frequent and essential. In Pinellas County Schools in Florida, humidity plagues practices, but kids are happy to endure sweating for a chance to play together, says Jeanne Reynolds, performing arts specialist for the district.

"If you teach in Florida and you're a band teacher, you become a meteorologist," Jeanne said. "'Cause it’s not just hurricanes; we’ve got pretty good thunderstorms, so you have to know when to get out of harm’s way. Which we all do."

What happens when the temperature drops? When playing outside is no longer an option, bands will be forced to limit the size of their ensembles, based on dimensions of their rooms and state guidelines. Some schools have already taken band class off the schedule completely, exchanging it for smaller groups, broken up alphabetically or by instrument.

Smaller ensembles introduce two problems, though. First, smaller groups equate to more classes, meaning teachers' course loads have increased. Music programs like the one at Bergenfield High School in New Jersey rely on a large staff, which allows them to assign one teacher each to virtual and in-person classes for all of their ensembles. Bergenfield’s band director, Brian Timmons, considers his program lucky; not all schools have the resources.

Second, teachers must find music for a ragtag chamber ensemble. For example, if groups were split numerically by students' names, a director might end up with a flute, three trombones, five bass clarinets and a french horn in a class, and music for a combo like that is rare. Thankfully, publishers like Alfred, Hal Leonard and RWS Music Company have flexible arrangements that can be split into a few basic parts, and have become more available during COVID.

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The supply of cleaning materials Shannon Bascombe uses to disinfect the band rooms at Lee Williams High School. 
Courtesy: Shannon Bascombe

But will the music ever get performed? State guidelines vary, but indoor maximum capacity has been limited to as few as 25 people per room. Gathering an audience would be infeasible.

Perhaps concerts aren’t even necessary. According to Timmons, it’s time to shake up the dusty format anyway.

"Music education has been so performance-driven all the time," Timmons says. "And we never take time to explore the other things like the chamber playing or the composition or just ear training in and of itself or theory."

Students taking virtual band obviously don’t have to deal with these new precautions and guidelines, but they also don’t get to play together. As Timmons says, they’re working on individual assignments, like learning music production, which allows them to sew together an ensemble, piece by piece. Timmons' students will work on a shared online workspace to record music. It gives students the power to collaborate remotely, he says.

"They can listen to each other’s part and say, ‘OK, our articulation is not punching there. We’re going to have to rerecord this section,'" Timmons says. "I have three teenagers of my own. I watch them killing it on TikTok. If you can do that, there’s no reason why I can’t teach you how to do this."

And then there’s the fact that some schools are taking little to no precaution. Music teacher Nathan Smith says he was fired from Oakdale Academy in Michigan after expressing his concern over the safety of students and staff. The private Christian high school is not requiring masks this fall, per a letter sent home to parents.

"I had so many plans for this school year," Smith said. "I certainly wasn't ready to leave without seeing any of my kids again."

The Lost Generation And Long-Term Effects

It’s a struggle to keep current music students engaged, but it’s a completely new challenge to get more kids involved. Recruitment requires getting instruments into the hands of fourth graders and presenting the allure of a polished, performing ensemble—hurdles made higher by COVID.

Lackluster recruitment will have damaging effects on the future of music education, says Robert W. Smith, a composer, arranger and professor at Troy University, who has written hundreds of works for high school-level ensembles.

"We cannot have a lost generation of musicians, and we’re about to have it," Smith says.

If too few young musicians join band, orchestra and choir programs, the ensembles will see dwindling numbers in each subsequent year, all the way up to college groups.

"This is like aftershocks of an earthquake or second and third waves of a tsunami," Smith says.

Current music students also face the loss of competition and adjudication—third-party feedback that lends itself toward improvement. Many in-person music competitions have been canceled for the fall. On the upside, some organizations have offered virtual adjudication, where students and ensembles can send in their performances for assessment.

But the long-term effects aren’t all bad. Timmons insists that it’s only shifting focus for COVID-era students to prepare for a more viable music career—one that isn’t totally based on performance (though still valuable), but digital skills.

"If you’re going to be successful in music, you have to have a basic understanding of how digital audio works, even if you’re a classical-style player," Timmons says. "You gotta have an understanding. If we can teach them how to use a digital audio workstation, even if it’s some kind of cloud-based thing, recording themselves and then as a chamber ensemble recording their own product, we’re kind of unlocking skills."

All of this means that music educators are getting even more creative than before, out of necessity.

"Music teachers by nature are problems solvers. It’s what we do," Timmons says. "Listen, troubleshoot, feedback, adjustment, listen, troubleshoot, does that sound good? This is just another problem to solve. It’s just a little more problematic than fixing the intonation of a chord."

Marching Six Feet Apart: How High School Marching Bands Are Coping With The Pandemic

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