Commentary on Music During the Pandemic
Submitted by David Morrison
As a member of the Kawartha Lakes music community, I recently took “Music Therapy Month” as an opportunity to touch base with some local musicians to see how life has changed for them due to COVID-19. This handful of folks included teachers, performers, and of course, a music therapist.
What I learned was that the worlds of music learning and of live performance were both dealt a crushing blow by this virus. Conventional music lessons, band classes, rehearsals, and public performances all ground to a halt - no instruments, no singing, nothing. All private lessons and school classes went online and everyone scrambled to deliver programming as best they could. Music teachers had to reinvent their live music classes to suit a virtual environment. New understandings and skills were developed out of necessity, and to this day, folks continue to do what they can to keep the music going.
Performers have had to reinvent the way they package and market their music. Some, notably the younger ones, have been quite successful at using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to reach their audience. As a result, the online world of music is more alive now than ever. Unfortunately, that kind of pivot has not been so easy for the established local musician who makes his livelihood performing for seniors at nursing homes, or for the bass player that has lost his regular opportunities to play live jazz in Toronto.
After I spoke to these local music makers I reached out to Daniel Allen. Dan is a registered music therapist who grew up in Lindsay. Before COVID, he spent many hours on the road driving to therapy sessions with a trunk full of instruments. When the virus hit, he too was forced to adjust how he did business. Now he works from his apartment in Whitby and when he does go to another worksite there’s no trunk full of instruments, just his guitar.
Dan says that with all crises comes learning, and ultimately, change for the better. For instance, he says telemedicine and the online delivery of some therapies are now seen as acceptable tools within the world of healthcare. This past year he says, has been like a huge, unexpected case study in new approaches, not just to music therapy but for how we all work in general.
Considering all the challenges that these musicians have faced over the last year, I must say they were all very optimistic about the future. There was a shared feeling that many useful lessons have been learned over the last twelve months; lessons that would never have been learned if not for this virus, and which will impact how we learn, play and engage with music for a long time to come.
Submitted by Jonah Grignon, volunteer contributor
COVID-19 has taken a creative toll on Lindsay’s Bob May. With lockdown, opportunities have been scarce, with some annual guarantees canceled. However, not all creative possibilities are gone for May, an independent musician. He has found opportunities for performance, such as a reduced-capacity show for the Lindsay Little Theatre. May has made time for personal projects. The future of the local music scene continues to be a concern. Still, the idea of being able to play again is hard to resist. “I live to play down at Victoria Park.”
Though his band’s album tour was halted by COVID-19, Warren Frank, lead singer of the band “Heaps” and the Music Supervisor at Boys & Girls Club Kawartha Lakes, is optimistic about his musical future. Frank said that the lockdown has given him time to reflect on art and life. “I have it easy, and that means I have to do more”. Creating music has been less fun during this time. Nonetheless Frank has innumerable hopes for the future. “I cannot wait to go on tour. I cannot stress this enough.” Once it is safe, “people are gonna be pretty stoked” for live music.
