Music During Quarantine
Submitted by: Eugen Cottrell
Written by: Lindsey Smith and Ariana Jennings
School: Pine Crest High School
County: Moore
Music is a universal language that connects people from all backgrounds and situations. It serves as a bridge that can bring people together not only through listening to it but through creating it. Throughout our educational career, we have loved, learned, and grown together as a band; however, now that Covid-19 has devastated the country and drove us into quarantine, we are forced to create music on an individual level rather than the way it is supposed to be: together. Making live music was an essential part of our everyday lives and though we recognize the importance of the quarantine during this difficult time, we miss putting music together, feeding off of each other’s creativity, and connecting without having to say anything at all.
When we were still in school, our band had the opportunity to practice music to perform at Music Performance Adjudication (MPA). We were a determined group of musicians with challenging music and we were resolved to push ourselves to be the best we could be. Unfortunately, our journey was cut short and we were never able to achieve our musical goals. Covid-19 cost us the experience of bringing our music to it’s best, not only as a group but as individuals by declining us the opportunity to bring our pieces as close to perfection as we could and giving it our all in front of an audience.
Music is not just about creating a finished, polished product to perform in front of an audience; it is also about the hours of practice and hard work taken to get there. When our band creates music we are doing far more than just reading notes off of a page – for it is passion and creativity that fuel our artistic process. When collaborating with our band, we get the chance to see different interpretations of a piece. Playing with our group combines the ideas of all participants and expands our viewpoint beyond what we could have imagined on our own. With our isolated learning experience, we can no longer feed off of each other’s creativity and it is far more difficult to grow as musicians.
Victor Hugo once said, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words”. It can convey moods and emotions without having to say anything at all. In such a digital age, connecting with other people is more difficult because of the way technology and social media have interfered with our social lives. Now that Covid-19 has closed schools and converted us to digital learning, we no longer get to play with the people who have become family to us through music. Musicians build special connections through teamwork and the collaborative effort taken to create music that is formed on a deeper level than casual conversation could communicate.
Music has had a deep and profound impact on our lives not only as musicians but also as individuals. Such meanings and emotions stem from the connections and relationships we make from creating live music. We grow so much by learning not just from our own mistakes, but from the insightful interactions we have with other musicians. Music connects us in a way that no other social interaction can. It builds bridges and instills a sense of love into everyone who hears or creates it. Now, during the Covid-19 quarantine, we miss making live music more than anything.