How Music Education is Looking Different Amid COVID-19

Written by Monique Ezeh

The past few months have been a struggle for everyone; with COVID-19 sweeping through the nation, we’ve adapted to social isolation and learning to take care of things from home. As school is coming back into session, however, educators are grappling with which models of teaching will be most effective in this unusual school year. While most academic courses are finding a way to transition back to school in a mostly seamless manner, music educators are having a bit more trouble adapting their courses to the new landscape the pandemic has forced upon them. Middle- and high-school band directors Lori Johnson and Matthew Ezeh have each faced unique struggles adapting music education to their current situations.

Lori Johnson, a middle school band director in Jones County, Georgia, teaches fully in-person classes. The school district enforces safety standards of social distancing, with markers on the ground to keep students six feet apart while waiting to enter classes. Once inside, each classroom has a designated “student zone” and “teacher zone” which neither party can exit. The distance keeps Johnson from the hands-on instruction she’s used to.

“I want to be able to walk through the aisles. I want to be able to be like, ‘fix your reed’ or ‘pick that mouthpiece up.’ It’s gonna be really hard being away from [the students] and behind a plexiglass shield, you know?”

She also faces the unprecedented task of guiding sixth-graders in selecting the instrument they would like to learn, though they can no longer try out each instrument to get a feel for it. Instead, Johnson has been showing the students clips of professional musicians playing different instruments and showing them videos and images displaying the instrument and how it is played. She found the students’ instrument choices this year “interesting,” noting the difference in students choosing an instrument solely on what sounds they enjoyed.

“It’s gonna be interesting–– when we do finally start learning the instruments–– if they have more success on these instruments [since] they chose them because of the sound and what they were drawn to, rather than what it felt like,” Johnson began. “I think sometimes students try an instrument and are intimidated by what it feels like [and] they kind of talk themselves out of an instrument that they might really love. That may be a positive spin from all this–– maybe if they choose it because they love the sound of something, then they’ll be more inclined to work on it.

Matthew Ezeh, a high school band director in Henry County, Georgia, faces an entirely different set of hurdles in his entirely remote class.

For the past few weeks, he’s been doing “mini private lessons”: five to seven minute one-on-one work with students in breakout Google Meet rooms while the rest of the class works on assigned exercises and pieces on their own. This individual work has been successful, allowing him to hone in on individuals’ specific needs.

“I have students of all types of playing levels,” Ezeh explains. “I have a student who is learning to play an instrument for the first time in his life andI have students getting ready for, like, All-State [Honor Band] auditions–– and everything in between.”

Without physical logistics to contend with, Ezeh finds his biggest struggle is community building in the classroom.

“I can fulfill all the standards we need to learn, but the issue is really ‘how do I make band meaningful for these students?’” The solution, he’s found, is simple: “I’m literally just talking to them; it’s nothing instructional, and it’s mostly not anything musical.”

On Fridays, Ezeh allows a bit of time for students to just chat. They exchange music recommendations, share songs or instruments they’ve been working on outside of class, or discuss their favorite anime. This weekly check-in is a small taste of normalcy in such strange times, temporarily turning band class back into the casual haven it once was for many students.

“I think something that’s lost on a lot of teachers is that if you’re not working [to foster community], it’s not going to happen.”

It goes without saying that the band room is looking wildly different this semester, both in person and online. But have no fear: music has always been a comfort amid hard times, and this uncertain era is no different.