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Covid-related questions for members who play in orchestras/bands ...

MikeMorrell

MikeMorrell

Netherlands
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Pre-Covid, I used to play in 2 Big Bands (in NL). Rehearsals at both were cancelled at the end of February to comply with national Covid-19 containment regulations. These have gradually eased up but Covid-19 'protocols' have been issues for theaters, cinemas, restaurants, pubs, etc. Also for musicians who play/sing together. Apart from general hygiene, the protocol requires social distancing of at least 2 metres (6.5 feet) between musicians during rehearsals or concerts. Good ventilation is highly recommended.

All this makes perfect sense but it has presented some bands/orchestras with challenges, for example:
  • pre-Covid rehearsal locations are now not large enough or are too poorly ventilated to continue using
  • some pre-Covid rehearsal locations (schools, care homes, ...) are now off-limits for rehearsals and are likely to stay that way into 2021
  • some (key) band members don't feel comfortable rehearsing together until a vaccine becomes available
  • a few band members have found that they've not missed rehearsals as much as they'd expected, have found other interests and are wondering whether to stay in the band
  • without regular rehearsals, it's impossible to recruit new members

One of my bands has found a temporary rehearsal location (further away) which is available on a different day. Not all members can make it, but most can. The other band is still trying to find a temporary location. We're also checking how motivated band members are to restart rehearsals.

So I wonder how other orchestras/bands are dealing with Covid-19 risks and mitigation measures. Are you rehearsing? If not, do you have any plans for this? How motivated were/are you to restart rehearsals?

Mike
 
My big band is waiting to hear from our normal rehearsal venue whether we can play there.
Meanwhile they have sent out a message asking who would like to play.
So we are waiting, but if all goes well, we might start rehearsing this month.
But when we will get a gig is anybody’s guess.

The symphony orchestra, on the other hand, is not attempting to hold rehearsals this year.
 
My school is starting its ensembles this semester. This is how things will be run.

Bands: The rehearsal location has been changed to another on campus location that is larger and has windows, which will be open during the rehearsals. Band members will sit nine to twelve feet apart, and wear masks whenever they are not playing. Bells must be covered at all times, on both brass and woodwind instruments.

Contemporary ensemble: Online somehow.

Choirs: The rehearsal location remains the same, but only one section of the choirs will rehearse at a time. Singers will be nine to twelve feet apart and wear masks at all times.

There will be no live performances, but a video and audio recorded ones instead, which will be published using school media outlets.

I will not be able to do any of the ensembles I usually enjoy this semester because even though I constructed my schedule such that there was time for the ensembles if I was on campus all day like before, all my classes are online and I won't have enough time to drive to school after my class ends.
 
I used to play in a local community band (stopped going a few years ago due to time constraints) but I keep connected through their facebook group.
I see that they have resumed rehearsals when the measures against Corona were relaxed. They now do their rehearsals in the local Church to ensure spacing between the different members. People have to "book" their place in advance because they have to keep track of who is attending. That way they can alert the people present if someone who was there turned out to be a corona-carrier
 
Not big band related, but the two "rock" bands I play in (5 members in each) haven't got together since this all kicked off, and have no plans to in the near future. I've done one home recording vid with one of the bands that was a lot of fun to do. I've had a few practices with my acoustic buddy, which were in the garden when we had the weather.

Gives me more time to neglect my practising :)
 
I'm in three bands at the moment.

The jazz fusion band hasn't rehearsed, or even spoken about rehearsing, since the original lockdown.

My Soul Vipers haven't rehearsed since lockdown, either, because there's no where we can all get to that's big enough to accommodate so many musicians and social distance.

The party band I'm in has started rehearsing, but we've had to move from our own rehearsal room to a commercial studio that's probably 6 times as big (possibly more), where all the windows are left open and big fans are running at all times. This was actually reasonably pleasant a couple of weeks ago when it was incredibly hot. Not sure it's going to be practical when the weather starts to turn cold, though.

As summer is well and truly over, making outside gigs in the UK impractical if not impossible, I don't envisage playing any gigs now until well into 2021 ... if we're lucky. Lockdown collaboration videos seem to be the only opportunity to play with other musicians at the moment. I've enjoyed the ones I've done up to now, but they're not a replacement for a paying gig - financially, obviously, or from an enjoyment point of view.

I can see how music scenes can adapt and survive in countries with long summers and generally mild winters. Not sure how countries like the UK will cope, though.
 
I have my first rehearsal tomorrow! And another one on Sunday.
Tomorrow is a concert band. We are going to our normal venue, but guidelines mean only 20 people will fit. As it happens, this month only 20 people were available.
Next month may have to be in a bigger venue, or a sectional rehearsal.
Our concert at the end of October was cancelled only last week, we currently have a Christmas concert in the plan.

On Sunday, we have a sax quartet rehearsal. We have met twice in a field so far, but decided to pay to hire a village hall to be indoors for the next 4 monthly rehearsals.
“Before lockdown” we had rehearsed in a members lounge, or at a rather-too-small venue.

Both venues have sent us a protocol - cleaning before & after. Open windows & doors. In one door, out another. Only one in the toilets at a time etc.

We have also decided to take our own flask of coffee rather than use their kitchen (to save on the extra cleaning)

Adapt & Overcome!
 
Our 17-piece big band (jazz orchestra) is hoping to restart rehearsing (but not performing) in the next few weeks. We will be back in the same venue, which has done various things for Covid security. We are currently doing our Risk Assessment and also consulting with band members to see what they are thinking and how keen they are to return.

To help us with our Risk Assessment we are using guidance material from Making Music, the charity for music groups to which the band belongs) and they also have a useful template to make sure we cover all of the relevant issues.

To cut down on socialising and proximity, we won't be having a refreshment break during the rehearsals, and we also won't be allowed to use the toilets. That may be a challenge for some in the band.

I would be interested to hear what other bands, particularly in the UK, are doing in respect of:
  • Requiring people to wear facemasks and if so, when (for wind instruments and for other instruments)
  • Allowing people to bring and consume their own refreshments
  • Providing cleaning materials and/or PPE (e.g. gloves and masks) for people
  • Dealing with water/spit from instruments such as bari sax, trumpets and trombones
  • Using and cleaning items from the venue, such as chairs, music stands
  • Keeping records
Fingers crossed, we can do this safely and get back to music making

Rhys
 
The college big band I play in is restricted to students only for at least this semester. So I am temporarily out. I wish them the best, we only had 5 students from the college last semester. It's going to be difficult to pull a full band together.

In the meantime, I've been practicing daily and diligently. When the time comes, I'm going to be ready.
 
Rhys, FWIW, in addition to 'distancing'and 'ventilation' the Dutch musician 'protocol' requires band members to clean any chairs, surfaces and music stands used, both before and after rehearsals. Band members are also uired to bring their own personal containers and/or plastic bags alongs to collect any water/spit from their instruments and take these home with them. Any accidental leaks need to be thoroughly disinfected.

The need to keep records for possible tracking and tracing is implicit for any large gatherings.

Mike

rhysonsax said:
Our 17-piece big band (jazz orchestra) is hoping to restart rehearsing (but not performing) in the next few weeks. We will be back in the same venue, which has done various things for Covid security. We are currently doing our Risk Assessment and also consulting with band members to see what they are thinking and how keen they are to return.

To help us with our Risk Assessment we are using guidance material from Making Music, the charity for music groups to which the band belongs) and they also have a useful template to make sure we cover all of the relevant issues.

To cut down on socialising and proximity, we won't be having a refreshment break during the rehearsals, and we also won't be allowed to use the toilets. That may be a challenge for some in the band.

I would be interested to hear what other bands, particularly in the UK, are doing in respect of:
  • Requiring people to wear facemasks and if so, when (for wind instruments and for other instruments)
  • Allowing people to bring and consume their own refreshments
  • Providing cleaning materials and/or PPE (e.g. gloves and masks) for people
  • Dealing with water/spit from instruments such as bari sax, trumpets and trombones
  • Using and cleaning items from the venue, such as chairs, music stands
  • Keeping records
Fingers crossed, we can do this safely and get back to music making

Rhys
Click to expand...
 
Many thanks for all the replies! It's been interesting to read how other members are either getting back into rehearsals or not, and if so, how.

A personal update:
In one of my Big Bands (my most recent one that challenges and interests me the most), a couple of members had dropped out in the past couple of months for non-Covid related reasons (health issues, long-term travel plans, etc.). Newer factors are lack of interest and avoiding the risk of contracting Covid-19. When we phoned around to find out how many remaining members were interested and motivated to get back to rehearsals soon, it turned out that only 6 were. So for the coming weeks and months (into 2021), we're just going to rehearse as an informal 'combo' with no MD and probably a very different repertoire. Whether this setup will be interesting enough to keep the few people coming back, only time will tell. If not, we'll just have to pull the plug on the Big Band/Combo.

My first loyalty is to this Big Band (now combo). And since my other Big Band now (temporarily) rehearses on the same evening as the 'combo to be', I've as yet been reluctant to commit to rehearsals on the same evening. So basically, I don't yet rehearse. Interestingly, when I (as secretary) got together with the treasurer and chairperson of the first Big Band/combo this week, they both said that they shared my experience in playing/practicing: without regular rehearsals, upcoming concerts, new works to learn and little prospect of these happening anytime soon, their motivation to play and practice decreased significantly. They - as I - did other things instead.

This obviously doesn't apply to everyone. Many people just love playing an instrument, either on their own or with others. But it seems - at least in my 2 Big Bands - that many members (including myself) don't play or practice without the stimulus of rehearsals and the prospect of concerts.
 
MikeMorrell said:
Rhys, FWIW, in addition to 'distancing'and 'ventilation' the Dutch musician 'protocol' requires band members to clean any chairs, surfaces and music stands used, both before and after rehearsals. Band members are also uired to bring their own personal containers and/or plastic bags alongs to collect any water/spit from their instruments and take these home with them. Any accidental leaks need to be thoroughly disinfected.

The need to keep records for possible tracking and tracing is implicit for any large gatherings.

Mike
Click to expand...

That sounds very similar to what we will be doing. I am just writing up our Risk Assessment and producing a simple poster to remind people what they should be doing / not doing, before, during and after rehearsals.

It will be interesting to see how the players behave in practice and how many "gentle reminders" are required.

Rhys
 
MikeMorrell said:
Rhys, FWIW, in addition to 'distancing'and 'ventilation' the Dutch musician 'protocol' requires band members to clean any chairs, surfaces and music stands used, both before and after rehearsals. Band members are also uired to bring their own personal containers and/or plastic bags alongs to collect any water/spit from their instruments and take these home with them. Any accidental leaks need to be thoroughly disinfected.

The need to keep records for possible tracking and tracing is implicit for any large gatherings.

Mike
Click to expand...
We had precisely these requirements today too ... a cleaning party arrived early to clean all chairs, and high-touch surfaces, and set out the chairs. We each had to take a cloth and bag for collecting our own condensate. Everyone had to print out and bring their own copy of the music, and a music stand.
Then at the end, after everyone had left, the cleaning party did the chairs and door handles, window locks (all windows and doors had been open throughout) taps, toilet flushes etc.
It was a bit of extra work, but great to be back together (tiring, though after 6 months!)
 

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