[JCBigler]

For you parents out there with kids in band and starting back in in person school soon: What kind of precautions are your school bands taking against the virus spread?

Lots of schools are starting back with on site classes in the next few weeks. How are the band programs in your areas dealing with distancing and wearing masks, or not, while playing their wind instruments?

Frankly, I don't see how this is going to work. :doubt:

 

[AltoMann]

At my College, they are makingmy Jazz Combo Practice outside. All practicing I do has to be done outdoors in the Charleston heat aswell as my Sax Lessons. I'm pissed about not being able to use the practice room/ not having any early morning/late night practice sessions anymore. I feel bad for everyone who hears me practicing and transcribing.

 

[JCBigler]

No other parents here with kids in band?

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

My school district is doing a blended schedule of in school instruction and virtual so they can rotate classes and have fewer kids in the school at once. Band and all other extracurricular activities are still happening but students are supposed to
social distance during rehearsals.

 

[A Greene]

I’m a middle school band director and we still don’t have definite plans. Not sure the rehearsals will be possible. Hoping for small groups at school while continuing some sort of online instruction.

 

[LostConn]

I don't have any children in school, but my community band rehearses at a school (not since March; not clear if/when we will be able to resume). The school's written "re-entry plan" as of July 22 says only this about its band classes: "currently developing protocols and policies for band based on recommendations from medical personnel and national music educators organizations." If they haven't figured it out yet, it's hard to see where the breakthrough will come from, but I guess they haven't given up hope.

Our band director is the president of the Association of Concert Bands. You might check out the ACB's discussion page on coping with the COVID crisis. https://www.acbands.org/index.php?option=com_ccboard&view=topiclist&forum=13&Itemid= This is for adults, not students, but obviously it's relevant.

 

[JCBigler]

Well that didn’t last long...

Daughter started summer band yesterday. Get a call this morning about two hour after I dropped her off. The rest of the week has been cancelled. One of the students who was there yesterday had previously been in contact with a positive patient, and although had tested negative previously, this morning they had a high fever. So the rest of the week is cancelled.

She’s supposed to start back with regular in person classes in the 17th. :faceinpalm:


We’re sitting on a ticking time bomb here. I predict a full shut down again by the time Labor Day rolls around.

 

[Dr G]

Sacramento, CA: no wind ensemble band or choir for our school (middle school or high school) - even if we are allowed to restart with a hybrid schedule.

 

[Transcriber-arranger]

Sacramento, CA: no wind ensemble band or choir for our school (middle school or high school) - even if we are allowed to restart with a hybrid schedule.

I'm wondering what's happening to band directors under these circumstances. Are they being reassigned to teach calculus and history classes?

 

[JCBigler]

I'm wondering what's happening to band directors under these circumstances. Are they being reassigned to teach calculus and history classes?

It's not just band directors. Choir, orchestra, elementary music, art, photography and media, shop, home-ec, PE, athletics...The list goes on and on and includes even run of the mill academic areas like chemistry and biology.

We're in for a world of hurt, and our kids are going to miss out on some very valuable life and academic skills building.

 

[chipcook]

Same situation in Greensboro, North Carolina. Everything is up in the air. My oldest is in high school marching band, and a daughter starting middle school band.

 

[10mfan]

My son is in college, and I’m not sending him back this semester.
It’s an absolute disaster here in Florida, so he is doing online classes this semester.

We will see how it goes and reassess everything for next semester, but my hopes are NOT high that he will be going in person next semester either.

We should not be in this position....

Good luck with everything, Justice.

 

[Martin Williams]

Local high where I have several students technically started band camp Monday but cancelled the first two days for thunderstorms, and yesterday announced it will be only an hour per day starting today (what can you even do in an hour?). Meanwhile kids have not been given any music, drill or other instruction yet.

To me it feels like doing everything to delay the inevitable, they see the cancellation coming but are trying to hold out as long as possible. Personally for the kids safe I wish they would just rip the band aid off so to speak so we can move forward. With my students instead of the normal fall curriculum in lessons, we've moved on to more literature and stuff we do usually in the winter time to be as productive as we can.

 

[B Flat]

Looking pretty grim here in Melbourne Australia too.
As of midnight tonight we are all in stage 4 lockdown for a minimum of 6 weeks.
Majority of businesses are closed with basically only essential services operating.
Only allowed out for 1 hour maximum exercise a day.
Can only travel within a 5km radius for the purpose of shopping for groceries and only one person per household allowed to do the shopping once a day.
Masks are mandatory as soon as you leave your house.
I am allowed to continue working only because I’m a sole trader and I work alone.

 

[10mfan]

At least they made masks mandatory there.
Someone cares.

 

[Jazz House]

Looking pretty grim here in Melbourne Australia too.
As of midnight tonight we are all in stage 4 lockdown for a minimum of 6 weeks.
Majority of businesses are closed with basically only essential services operating.
Only allowed out for 1 hour maximum exercise a day.
Can only travel within a 5km radius for the purpose of shopping for groceries and only one person per household allowed to do the shopping once a day.
Masks are mandatory as soon as you leave your house.
I am allowed to continue working only because I'm a sole trader and I work alone.

I teach in a couple of high schools in Melbourne. I've been teaching online since March. This has included running ensemble, which is very challenging through Zoom!

When schools did reopen briefly, we had socially distanced rehearsals and big perspex screens to put between staff and students. Choirs were not allowed to rehearse due to aerosol transmission.

 

[HeavyWeather77]

I feel for parents in the US right now. I don't have kids and I don't teach middle/high school band. I teach for jazz and music production programs at a local college and I have a lot of autonomy, so I'm doing everything online in the fall. Lessons are easy to do remotely, but my two "ensembles" are going to be thoroughly prepared performance/improvisation workshops focusing on specific repertoire and skills built around the repertoire. I'm actually really excited about how it's all coming together, it's forcing me to really get organized and to build a couple worthwhile online courses! But the students are indeed missing out on the ever-valuable experience of playing music in a room together. I'm eagerly awaiting an effective vaccine for this thing, as we all are.

 

[davevillajr]

Our district is ALL online for every class. Everything will be done through Microsoft Teams, no students on campus at all - the district and union are discussing allowing teachers to be on campus or at home. I don't know what my H.S. Senior trumpet player son is going to get for band, but, he'll get something.

Our district music coordinator is working to get us Music First or Smart Music or Quaver - something that will have the kids getting some kind of feedback. Our district went nuts trying to "catch up" with the rest of the world and ordered 8000 devices so every student can have access to the curriculum.

For my own classes, once everybody's got an instrument and I can distribute music, we'll be doing a semester for sure of "recording studio." The kids will be playing with a click track, or a pre-recorded part, and recording themselves. Once they have recorded, all parts will be assembled (by me) into as finished a product as I can get. I'll be layering the tracks using garage band or something similar. Ain't gonna be pretty, but it should be partially relevant to "the real world" and addresses the Calif. music framework standards.

 

[JCBigler]

Our district is ALL online for every class. Everything will be done through Microsoft Teams, no students on campus at all - the district and union are discussing allowing teachers to be on campus or at home. I don't know what my H.S. Senior trumpet player son is going to get for band, but, he'll get something.

Our district music coordinator is working to get us Music First or Smart Music or Quaver - something that will have the kids getting some kind of feedback. Our district went nuts trying to "catch up" with the rest of the world and ordered 8000 devices so every student can have access to the curriculum.

For my own classes, once everybody's got an instrument and I can distribute music, we'll be doing a semester for sure of "recording studio." The kids will be playing with a click track, or a pre-recorded part, and recording themselves. Once they have recorded, all parts will be assembled (by me) into as finished a product as I can get. I'll be layering the tracks using garage band or something similar. Ain't gonna be pretty, but it should be partially relevant to "the real world" and addresses the Calif. music framework standards.

I would like to hear more about what you are doing and you are going about it. Maybe make a separate thread and/or a video presentation on how this works. What kind of set up do the students need? I think others may be very interested too.

There's a lot of us audio engineers out there with no work and it may be something to keep us going during these dark times for the next year or three.

 

[click]

Local high where I have several students technically started band camp Monday but cancelled the first two days for thunderstorms, and yesterday announced it will be only an hour per day starting today (what can you even do in an hour?). Meanwhile kids have not been given any music, drill or other instruction yet.

To me it feels like doing everything to delay the inevitable, they see the cancellation coming but are trying to hold out as long as possible. Personally for the kids safe I wish they would just rip the band aid off so to speak so we can move forward. With my students instead of the normal fall curriculum in lessons, we've moved on to more literature and stuff we do usually in the winter time to be as productive as we can.

"Personally for the kids safe [sic] I wish they would just rip the band aid off so to speak so we can move forward."

What would "ripping the band aid off so to speak" amount to?