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- Volume 14, Issue 2, 2021
International Journal of Community Music - Responses to COVID-19, Nov 2021
Responses to COVID-19, Nov 2021
- Editorial
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- Articles
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The response of community musicians in the United Kingdom to the COVID-19 crisis: An evaluation
More LessWritten in the early summer of 2020 and revised in early autumn, this article provides a contemporary account of how community musicians in the United Kingdom have responded to the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis. With reference to select examples of the work of community musicians, this article seeks to identify the most pressing questions for both practitioners and researchers to consider when developing and evaluating offers of community music in a society that has been changed by COVID-19 and that remains deeply unstable. As societies move into a new relationship with the virus, this article has implications for the response of community musicians to the ongoing challenges they will face as a result of this virus, and in the event of another new disease emerging in the future.
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‘We are still here’: The impacts of street music and street art during the 2020 London lockdowns
More LessThis article summarises the impacts of a spontaneous arts initiative involving the residents of eight London streets during the 2020 lockdowns. A local arts organization devised small-scale, informal street music projects that were evaluated by the residents themselves. Responses suggested that such events had a strong positive impact on the feelings of community. Common responses included reaffirming the importance of local cohesion, recognizing music as an accessible means of developing new connections in ‘distanced’ conditions and a new appreciation of family togetherness. Those involved suggested that researchers could learn much about the characteristics of cohesive, supportive communities from similar initiatives. The project confirmed that more research was needed on the role schools could play in bringing communities together and how music can be used to build bridges between school and community. Feedback raised questions about the absence of children’s voices in post-COVID-19 planning for ‘the recovery curriculum’.
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MUSICOVID-19: When the world paused but singing continued
Authors: Johann van der Sandt and Antonella CoppiThe COVID-19 pandemic was unexpected and changed most aspects of our lives in a very short period; it led to surprising and unexpected experiences and changes for most people. To cope with these changes and hardship, Italians turned to songs as a medium of emotional and communicative expression. The songs that resounded from the windows, balconies, and homes of families came from the past and the present, connecting generations and serving as a medium to strengthen people’s individual and collective resilience. This study offers a reflection of qualitative research using a phenomenological approach on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the practical musical experience of local communities from a Transformative, Lifelong, and Intergenerational Learning perspective. Purposeful sampling for this study was conducted through invitations to choral- and music associations for families to volunteer to participate in the study. Of the more than 30 families who volunteered, 82 individuals from 15 families in the provinces of Emilia Romagna (n=50) and South Tyrol (n=32), Italy, best met the sampling criteria. The methodology relied on semi-structured interviews as a research tool, accompanied by a thematic analysis of the narratives according to the aforementioned perspectives. The results show that participants used communal singing and music-making as important forms of helping, caring and sharing. This demonstrates the positive role of shared music-making and singing in improving wellbeing and promoting various forms of learning during social isolation COVID-19.
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Voices from Southwark: Reflections on a collaborative music teaching project in London in the age of COVID-19
Situated in the context of current examinations of inequality and underrepresentation in music education in the United Kingdom, this article offers perspectives on a community music school and outreach initiative based in Southwark, London, where King’s College London music students, mentored by an experienced local teacher, facilitate small group music-making for primary school children who would not otherwise have opportunities for collaborative performance. Due to COVID-19, the project shifted to fully online delivery, and later to a hybrid model, combining virtual and in-person interaction. Based on ethnographic research amongst pupils, parents, teaching assistants and coordinators, we invoke the collaborative ethos of the project and explore its social and affective impact on participants at a time of great challenge and change.
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COVID-19 and community band participation: Impacts and the road forward
Authors: Matthew D. Talbert and Philip EdelmanThe purpose of this study was to survey members of New Horizons International Music Association (NHIMA) instrumental ensembles and community band members (N = 1184) with regard to their music-making experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of the survey revealed that New Horizons Band (NHB) members and community band members value the social aspect of rehearsals the most, and that suspension of these rehearsals had negative impact on participants’ experiences. Results also indicate that less than 20 per cent of participants engaged in remote learning with their NHB group, suggesting a need to examine the use of technology and remote learning strategies both among senior adult musicians and within the contexts of community music-making.
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How can I keep from singing? The effects of COVID-19 on the emotional wellbeing of community singers during early stage lockdown in the United States
Authors: Felicia K. Youngblood, Joanna Bosse and Cameron T. WhitleyThis study investigates the emotional wellbeing of community choral musicians during the early lockdown stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In an effort to understand participant wellbeing and document lived experiences in rapidly changing circumstances, the researchers gathered quantitative and qualitative data from almost 400 self-identified musicians in May–June 2020. Responses from community choir members indicated decreased wellbeing as a result of cancelled rehearsals and performances, unfamiliar online musicking practices and loss of community. Other themes included sadness, worry and grief concerning separation from fellow ensemble members and, in the case of ageing choristers, fear that they might not sing with others again in their lifetimes. Ultimately, this article sheds light on the complexity and necessity of sustaining community choirs during the COVID-19 pandemic while addressing the decreased wellbeing of singers as they were isolated in an effort to prevent viral spread through aerosolized means.
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Non-participation in online Sacred Harp singing during the COVID-19 pandemic
More LessDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of Sacred Harp singers took their activities online, adopting and adapting various platforms for the purpose of participatory music-making. While many singers found online activity to be meaningful, others did not, and an additional group lacked access altogether. This study, which was conducted by means of an online questionnaire, surveys the experiences of Sacred Harp singers who were unable or unwilling to participate in online singing. It documents the practical concerns and negative experiences that contributed to non-participation and considers the impacts of non-participation on the Sacred Harp community. Although technological barriers denied access to some singers, dissatisfaction with the online singing experience was the most significant factor in non-participation. Even with the improvement of online platforms, however, many singers will remain unable to participate in virtual singing due to lack of access to a private domestic space.
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Fractured bonds and crystal capital: Social capital among COVID-era music communities
Authors: Alexander Hew Dale Crooke, Mariko Hara, Jane Davidson, Trisnasari Fraser and Tia DeNoraAs COVID-19-driven lockdowns and social distancing became the new normal in 2020, musicians experienced a reshuffling of their social networks. This article uses in-depth interviews with nine community arts practitioners in Australia, Norway and the United States to explore the impact of COVID-19 on their ability to practise, collaborate and connect with their musical communities. Results showed that, while social distancing has significantly disrupted active connection with localized communities and musical networks, participants reported increased connection and engagement with wider networks through technology. Applying Putnam’s concepts of bonding and bridging capital, the authors posit that COVID-era music engagement has seen a shift towards decentralized communities through an emphasis on bridging capital. Ultimately, however, analysis showed Putnam’s concepts to be unhelpful in describing online music connections, and ‘crystal capital’ is proposed as a possible way to theorize the subjective nature of online music engagement.
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‘We are all facing the same problem’: Lived experiences of online participation in the Irish World Music Café community music initiative in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Hala Jaber, Fran Garry and Helen PhelanThe Irish World Music Café was created in 2015 in Limerick, Ireland, in the context of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme. The Café is grounded in the four ‘PERC’ principles of participatory, ethical, reflexive and creative engagement. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Café moved online on World Refugee Day 2020 with two additional online Cafés thereafter. In January 2021, a review of participation in the Café commenced to guide the decision-making processes regarding content, format and mode of engagement for the immediate and long-term future. The review was qualitative, comprising ten ethnographic interviews and author fieldnotes. Data generated were interpreted using thematic analysis. Three themes were identified through this process: enablers, activities and experiences. It concludes with the proposal that the expanded temporal, spatial and relational opportunities created through the online environment correlate with reduced opportunities for kinaesthetic-tactile embodied experiences. Understanding the dynamic relationship between planes of lived experience is important in the future development of the Café.
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An exploration into online singing and mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic for people with anxiety and/or depression
More LessIt is reported that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on increasing mental health problems and exacerbating existing mental health conditions. The aim was to explore the potential of an online singing and mindfulness programme for people with anxiety and/or depression. Seven participants were socially prescribed to a nine-week programme of online singing and mindfulness delivered by the practitioner-researcher. Participants completed the HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and WEMWBS (Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) at baseline and after the sessions. Participants kept journals and completed a questionnaire after the programme. Field notes were kept. Data were triangulated to form themes for discussion. Participants reported positive impacts on their wellbeing. The programme offered a safe space to connect with others; build confidence; break down barriers and to feel both relaxed and energized. Online singing and mindfulness may provide an effective ‘gateway’ into face-to-face activities for those experiencing barriers to engagement.
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Music therapy research during a pandemic: An accidental experiment in caring for music
Authors: Wolfgang Schmid, Fraser Simpson, Tia DeNora and Gary AnsdellThis article describes how a group of music therapists and a music sociologist working on the AHRC-funded research project Care for Music responded to the situation they found themselves during the 2020–21 COVID pandemic, both in terms of their practice and the ongoing research project they shared. In particular, the article outlines how the challenging situation has produced interesting new practical, methodological and theoretical perspectives – functioning as a helpful ‘accidental experiment’. The article presents three vignettes of music therapists coping with the initial pandemic situation and how they adapted music therapy practice, followed by preliminary reflections on emerging themes from the ‘accidental experiment’ in relation to the central concern of the AHRC Care for Music research project: the co-creation of mutual ‘scenes of care’ through music within later life and end of life settings.
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