Watching the news and learning about the newest number of outbreaks in the United States I thought to myself,
How can I keep doing what I love but not put others at risk? So, I have devised a small list of a few things you can do to keep being a good musician during the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Do not attend in person rehearsals.
I cannot stress this enough! Please maintain social distancing and stay at home! Even if you think that no one in your ensemble has been in contact with the virus it is imperative that you do not hold in person rehearsals!
Lets talk numbers; the average band has 30-50 members, for this case we will be using the number 50.
The average family in the United States has 4 people.
That means if an ensemble meets and spreads the illness 200 more cases could pop up overnight!
Stay Home!
- Wash Your Mouthpieces and Reeds.
This is a bit of a tricky one, but just think about it as washing your instruments’ hands.
Now, many of us know the importance of washing our hands and not touching our faces. But are we even realizing that when we are putting our instruments together, we are putting our hands on the mouthpiece that goes directly into our mouths?
For Brass Mouthpieces: I recommend using a dawn hand soap and warm water and gently scrubbing the mouthpiece and just like that it’s clean!
For Woodwinds: These mouthpieces can be a little tricky as many of them have cork on them and have many different materials that they are made out of. For Plastic or Hard rubber mouthpieces I use a 1:8 ratio of alcohol to water and leave it sit for 2-3 minutes then dry it off with a paper towel. This method can also be used for reeds. For other materials an alcohol wipe should do!
There are also plenty of YouTube videos that you can look up for your specific needs!
- Participate in an online challenge!
This can sound pretty daunting at first but once you get into it it becomes more and more fun! You can also challenge your friends and directors to do it with you!
The purpose of these challenges is never to make fun of anyone or put anyone down, but to bring us up as a community. So don’t be scared to post them on social media! Feel free to send me your challenges at @ afnotesblog@gmail.com
In The End…
Just keep making music and remember to stay safe during this outbreak! See you in the Next Few Notes!
A Few Notes 