Challenges [Birmingham’s] student musicians face during the pandemic
In my blog “The destruction of the global music industries through Covid 19”, I already talked about how Covid-19 decimated the global music industries and its possible consequences for musicians.
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In this blog, however, I’ll focus on the actions student musicians and musicians are taking during the pandemic
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Because of the pandemic, people all around the whole world are out of their jobs.
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Student musicians are also affected by this and trying to cope with the consequences.
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Being out of job is surely difficult, especially when you had gigs coming up that you would’ve played in (I know for a fact that it’s a very disappointing thing when you were looking forward to perform on stage).
Also, in Birmingham, a “music scene bereft of its normally plentiful supply of shows” (Lambeth, 2020), is suffering.
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Therefore, as almost everything’s now online, “musicians turn online teachers as students flock to lessons” (Lamond, 2020). Some musicians use this time to promote, interact with their fans through podcasts and livestreams and to talk about what goes on behind the scenes in the music industries (Lambeth, 2020).
The Novus, a Birmingham based band, “were preparing for one of their biggest shows to date” (Lambeth, 2020) but sadly, this had to be cancelled. Lycio, another Birmingham band, prepared to “be playing Mello Festival on 22nd May and The Bear Tavern for Bear Grooves on 5th June” but now they averted to working on 2 more tracks to release in 2021 (Pennell, 2020).
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A few Birmingham musicians that use this opportunity to compose tracks are Lady Sanity, the band Hinds, La Dharma, also the band Blossoms, by releasing their album “Blossoms in Isolation”.
(The name obviously hints that this album was recorded in isolation)
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Some songs that developed during this pandemic were composed by student musicians, such as Simon from Birmingham. With his self-composed song, he wants to urge “people standing together and about helping people during this crisis” (Thandi, 2020).
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Also, internationally, musicians from Malaysia released a song “to show their support to Chinese citizens who are battling the outbreak” (Yan, 2020). In Jakarta, Indonesian artists composed “songs persuading people to stay at home, change their habits and have empathy for medical workers in a fun and entertaining way” (Yulisman, 2020).
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Lastly, I found an article that explains the high standard of the Columbia-Juilliard Program and how “the switch to online learning complicates an already demanding schedule”. However, Angela Yu, a Columbia-Juilliard student, says that she uses this time to touch up on reading about composers, to “listen to live concerts to cultivate her musicality”, and to broaden her improvisation skills (Bromberg and Crespo, 2020).
(I’m wondering if I’d ever be able to withstand the pressure of such a prestigious music university? -Answer: Most probably not.)
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If you’re interested in the rigorous online courses of these student musicians, click here for the article.
But not everyone can be creative and compose music:
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“A tough thing for creatives is the whole ‘I have so much free time yet I’m not producing or doing anything’ mentality” (Lambeth, 2020).
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Are you a student musician?
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How do you cope with the creative and commercial impact?
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What actions do you take?
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Please comment below so I can pick your brain 🙂
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References:
Anonymous (2020) Interview – Hinds. Available at: http://www.indiemidlands.co.uk/gigs/interview-hinds/ [Accessed 14 May 2020].
Bromberg, B. and Crespo, S. (2020) Columbia student musicians play on during the pandemic. Columbia Spectator. 16 April. Available at: https://www.columbiaspectator.com/arts-and-entertainment/2020/04/16/columbia-student-musicians-play-on-during-the-pandemic/In [Accessed 12 May 2020].
Lambeth, S. (2020) What is the Birmingham music scene doing during the lockdown? Counteract. [blog] 29 April. Available at: https://counteract.co/features/what-is-the-birmingham-music-scene-doing-during-the-lockdown/ [Accessed 14 May 2020].
Lamond, S. (2020) Coronavirus sees ARIA-winning musicians turn online teachers as students flock to lessons. ABC News. 26 March. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-26/coronavirus-cant-stop-the-music-as-online-lessons-in-demand/12089060 [Accessed 14 May 2020].
Pennell, S. (2020) Birmingham band La Dharma talk origins, lyrics and isolation. Available at: https://counteract.co/features/birmingham-band-la-dharma-interview/ [Accessed 14 May 2020].
Pennell, S. (2020) Interview: Lycio talk band auditions, new music and life in lockdown. Counteract. [blog] 1 May. Available at: https://counteract.co/interview/interview-lycio-talk-band-auditions-new-music-and-life-in-lockdown/ [Accessed 13 May 2020].
Thandi, G. (2020) WATCH: Schoolboy pens song urging unity during Covid-19 crisis. Express & Star. 13 April. Available at: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/health/coronavirus-covid19/2020/04/09/talented-boys-heartfelt-coronavirus-song/ [Accessed 12 May 2020].
Thompson, V. (2020) Lady Sanity Lying: in truth. BABMAG. 29 April. Available at: https://babmag.co.uk/lady-sanity-lying-in-truth-during-lockdown/ [Accessed 14 May 2020].
Yan, S. K. (2020) Malaysian artistes release song to show support for China’s Covid-19 efforts. The Star. 21 February. Available at: https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/entertainment/2020/02/21/malaysian-artistes-release-song-to-show-support-for-china039s-covid-19-efforts [Accessed 12 May 2020].
Yulisman, L. (2020) Indonesian musicians raise awareness about Covid-19 through songs. The Straits Times. 7 April. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesian-musicians-raise-awareness-about-covid-19-through-songs [Accessed 11 May 2020].