Cut the Mic

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By Bruno Morales Mic

The Pandemic was Rough on the Music Industry. Here’s how it’s Changed

You are in your music class, playing your favorite piece with the entire class, feeling the beat, hitting every note perfectly. You are a conductor, hearing all the melodies line up and flowing with the music. A tutor, helping your student learn a difficult piece of music. Or a performer, at a show, playing your heart out in front of your fans. You fall asleep, and when you wake up the next morning you want to do it all over again. The recent Covid-19 cases are the least of your worries; they are all far, far away, too far to ever affect you. It’s on the other side of the world, you think, how can that affect me? The next day the country is under quarantine, and you have to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. You can’t do what you love most, play music. This is what happened to many people when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Many people’s jobs or hobbies are in music, and all that stopped when you went into quarantine. The problem with working in the music industry is that most of your work is in person, to capture the flow of music from different voices, so the pandemic threw a wrench in the system. People who work in the music industry have had to adapt. Dr. Carlos Quesada, a pianist who performs in places such as The Kennedy Center, Steinway Hall, Casa Elizalde’s Auditorium, and Rossini’s Theater in Gioia del Colle, Italy. He also teaches at the Texas Lutheran University and holds private lessons at his home. Dr. Quesada had never teached online and didn’t really know what to do when the pandemic hit. He tried many programs like Zoom, Skype and Google meets to try to teach online. He had to find one that had the best sound quality because pianos have many notes playing at the same time which some programs combine into one strange noise. “Teaching online is very difficult,” he says,“You can [only] talk when teaching an instrument online, so I had to adjust [when I went] completely online.” Dr. Quesada also encountered another problem he didn’t expect. Students left. The pandemic made Dr. Carlos Quesada a lot of students lose motivation or love for music. Some students also didn’t like online learning. Dr. Quesada says, “I had had more students before the pandemic then I have currently, but maybe about five I would say that dropped piano lessons because of not wanting to do it.” Music teachers have had to change their entire strategy with online learning. It is a lot harder to try to teach a kid how to play an instrument when you aren’t in the room with them. Julie Alevato, a teacher in Katy ISD, Houston, explains the struggle with teaching online. “I’m sure you can only imagine what it’s like trying to teach beginners how to hold an instrument. I’d be like, no, put the cello in

cello in your left hand. That’s not your left hand, put it in your left hand. It’s just so difficult.” Ms. Allevato went on to explain that it is so much easier to teach a student in person. If they make a mistake, all you have to do is correct them quickly or just remind them they are out of position. Online though, you can’t touch the student to correct their posture. It can be very difficult to try to explain to someone who has never held an instrument, how to hold an instrument. Another problem with online school is that sometimes the students aren’t even there! You can easily turn off your camera and walk away.

Julie Allevato During the pandemic, schools had to change how they did concerts. Many fine arts directors had to find a way to make an online concert, but they didn’t work well. It was a struggle to get students to submit recordings. Even in person, concerts were hard. Everything had to be sanitized after each group, and parents could only see the group with their child. The lockdown also affected students. After posting a forum, I learned that about 60 percent

“Between every concert, my orchestra officers would go and they would wipe and sanitize down all the chairs.”

Julie Allevato

of LASA students play an instrument, and almost all of them prefer playing in a group. Many students ended up becoming unmotivated because they could not play with their peers, and didn’t find joy in playing their instrument. Once the restrictions started being lifted, many students found their passion in music again once they started playing in groups again. The educational part of the music industry isn’t the only part that was hit hard by the pandemic, the performance industry was also devastated. The problem with performances is that they are usually in person for events like concerts, shows, or weddings. Samantha Stewart, owner of a quartet group called SiennaStrings that plays gigs at weddings, says it was a struggle. “We had a lot of gigs cancelled or rescheduled and right now we are actually still playing some of the rescheduled gigs.” They also couldn’t practice for the first few months of quarantine. “It is hard trying to practice music when you can’t hear the other people at the same time,” says Stewart. When the pandemic hit, virtually all concerts or gigs had to be cancelled or rescheduled. People who rely on concerts or gigs to make money stopped making anything. Some people had to start posting on social media, which barely gains money compared to concerts. Big music festivals such as Austin City Limits (ACL) were cancelled, depriving both rising and well-established musicians of a huge source of income. But hope is on the rise. The restrictions for lockdown have lessened. people can meet in person again. Teachers can interact with students in real-life, not over a screen. When asked, Ms. Allevato went on and on about how much better it was once she could conduct and teach in person again. “If I have to do [online] again, I don’t think I’m going to be an orchestra teacher anymore. And you know, I love my job. So the fact that I was even considering not doing it anymore was really sad. [Once we were back in person I was like] oh, yeah, that’s why I love this job.” People who rely on gigs are also happy to be in person again. Mrs. Stewart was astonished at the amount of requests

person again. Mrs. Stewart was astonished at the amount of requests they were getting for gigs when the Covid restrictions started getting lifted. “We have a lot of gigs constantly being requested. I am heading toward one right now! All in all though [requests] have definitely greatly gone up this year.” Mrs. Stewart also explained how amazing it was to see her peers again in person. “Oh my goodness, when I saw my group again I was overjoyed. It was so fun to play with them again.” When Covid struck, income dropped, performances dropped, people stopped playing in groups, but now that we are starting to come out of lockdown, and people can go in person again, the industry is booming. Gig companies have had an explosion in requests, more than before the pandemic. People that didn’t go to concerts before the pandemic are now trying them out. And many, many more students are getting into music. Schools are having a rush of students wanting to learn instruments. Ms. Allevato actually has a class the same size as a middle school with triple the students. “We’ve tried to do the best we can and survive. I’m glad that things are starting to get back to normal.” - Dr. Quesada

You are back, being a conductor, musician or tutor, playing that one favorite piece of yours again. You hit that last note, moving your arms in a dramatic flare, letting the note ring on and on, and you remember how much you missed this. You had forgotten the warmth of the notes flowing through the air. You are glad that music survived the pandemic. It may have been hard in the beginning, but things are starting to go back to normal. School is in person again, tutors can allow students to come into their houses, and concerts are back. People are making more money, and having so much more fun. The music industry has survived the pandemic and is booming again, and you smile to yourself, that you can play again.

Samantha Stewart (second from the left) and some musicians of SiennaStrings

“We’ve tried to do the best we can and survive. I’m glad that things are starting to get back to normal.”