Silver Linings: What Do We Keep from our Pandemic Response?

Hello, music educators!  I hope that you have successfully concluded, or are near concluding, your school year. Let’s be blunt and obvious - the COVID-19 pandemic has been awful.  The disruptions to health, economy, and every facet of life have been a continuing burden.  The loss of loved ones has been a tragedy.  All of us have wanted to fast forward to a post-pandemic reality, though we know that that reality will be different than what we once knew.

However, there has been ample reason for hope and belief in response to this unprecedented challenge.  The amazing adaptations and creative transition to distance learning by music educators has been a wonder to behold. And while we all can’t wait for a return to normalcy, that “normal” will look different than the pre-pandemic world. To that end, we must ask ourselves: “What do we keep?” What tools, procedures, technologies, philosophies, and more in music education that arose as part of the pandemic response do we keep and apply to the post-COVID world?

That question is what prompts this latest project: “Silver Linings.” Through one simple question, I asked music educators from the elementary through the college level, throughout this country, “What Do We Keep from our Instructional Responses to the Pandemic?” The dozens of responses I received from teachers across the United States were enlightening, both in their novel ideas and concepts, but also in the way that continuing themes and procedures appeared across multiple respondents.  It is important to note that this was not a scientific or quantitative survey.  Respondents were only asked to volunteer a one-to-three paragraph response to this one question. Respondents also had the option to either provide their name, or to remain anonymous, though all respondents indicated what areas of music education in which they taught and worked. This article will highlight the repeated ideas and themes that showed up in multiple submissions, as well as showcase some of the more striking responses.

Use of Technology to Supplement Instruction and Reach More Students

It’s a near certainty that many readers will expect this to be a major recurring theme in our respondents’ submissions. 50% of all our respondents mentioned continuing to use distance learning and online tools more in the future, due to the success they experienced during the pandemic.  These included the intended continued use of technology to facilitate virtual meetings, use of recording technology for student assignments, and the use of internet technology to share media and other formative materials with students and parents. 

“Due to the situation we were in, we collected shorter, low stakes recorded playing examples more frequently than we have in the past,” said Mr. Mike Knutson, who teaches high school band and orchestra in Minnesota. “In previous years, the examples our students turned in were summative assessments, but this year we changed that to be formative.  This allowed us to get a better sense of how our students play as individuals and give more timely feedback.   Student response was a lot higher with shorter examples designed to be a mini-lesson situation instead of a grade.”

This sentiment appeared repeatedly in many responses. Also, the use of videoconferencing platforms was counted as a major improvement music educators wanted to use in the future. 

Mr. Knutson continued: “Everyone knows how to do video conferencing now.  This means we've brought in clinicians/guest composers into our room that we wouldn't have thought of in the past since they were geographically far from us.”

Deanna Marshall, who teaches high school band in a suburban Alabama school, said: “Some things I will keep are the forms of virtual communication.  Being able to have a parent or student meeting virtually is huge.  It has increased attendance in meetings for my school groups and professional groups.”

Dr. Peter Haberman of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN agreed: “We should continue to bring people into our rehearsals from far away without having to buy a plane ticket.”

Ms. Megan Bartlett, an elementary band director in Illinois, was enthusiastic regarding the positive aspects of distance learning. “I taught the majority of this year through Zoom, and I can't remember any other time in which I have had students reflect so often and so thoroughly about their playing as I have had to this year. Part of that is because sometimes, the audio was terrible so I legitimately could barely hear what they were playing, but it was mostly so that students could learn how to reflect on their own practicing at home to become more capable at analyzing and fixing their mistakes. Not having them in person meant there were a lot more questions I had to ask, not only about the music but about the physical nature of playing their instrument - what does their hand position look like, how are they sitting, how much pressure is on the mouthpiece, and on and on. All of these questions that I would ask over and over became questions that students would use to assess their own playing and help them make needed corrections.”

Creation of Longer Lasting Media and Performance Recordings

This pivot to increased reliance on technology to share information and extend the campus had a side effect, unexpected to some of our respondents and to this author: better documentation and media that don’t have to be recreated multiple times in future academic years. Dr. Tiffany Galus of the University of Texas counted “The creation of long-lasting, effective media” as one of the major benefits of their pandemic response. Multiple survey respondents agreed.

“In this past year we did a way better job of documenting our work,” says Professor Michael Thursby of Minnesota State University, Mankato. “Prior to this year we had a handful of videos and this year forced us to think outside of the box.  This will continue for us along with live-streaming so all have more access to our performances.”  

Deanna Marshall, an Alabama high school band director says: “Covid also forced me to become better at sharing documents, videos and information on Office 365, google docs, drives and forms.“ 

Dr. Craig Aarhus of Mississippi State University concurred: “Although we had already moved a great deal towards a paperless program, we continue to move even farther in that direction.”

Reiteration of the Importance Arts Education and of Humanity in Our Approach

Over 40% of respondents mentioned that the pandemic year of teaching had strengthened for them just how important the principles of patience, kindness, flexibility, and the like were in our approach to reaching young musicians. These principles extended to the hard work and perseverance that seemed more crucial than ever to both students and teachers to achieve success in this challenging year.

Mr. Kyle Bennett, who teaches high school band in Texas, stated: “I think the idea of perseverance is something that I will run with for the rest of my career. In spite of being in a pandemic, one that has presented so many different and unique challenges, I’ve seen students overcome these challenges and grow not only as musicians, but as people. To know that regardless of a situation, we can make music and strive for success directly applies to their lives beyond high school.”

Marya Haugland, a middle school band director in Minnesota, completed her student teaching during the pandemic. She said: “While teaching in a pandemic I learned a few highly valuable lessons. To name a few, I was taught the high importance of resilience, I became more okay with my mistakes (as I knew they lead to growth), and I was reminded of how badly I want to become a great band director. A flexible and open-minded educator will be more effective while teaching in a pandemic.”

Mr. Peter Carlin, a high school band director in Illinois, was emphatic about the lessons the COVID-19 experience had imparted: “The biggest take away from the Covid-19 I have is that you cannot be complacent.  You have to be diligent in your pursuit of quality instruction and keep in contact with your students, not just via Google classroom or Remind, reach out and check on them.  These students need support and leadership more than ever, as music educators we need to strive to keep that communication, that connection to music with our students.  If we don’t, they will find something else to replace it and they will do it quickly.”

Meanwhile, over 18% of respondents said that the pandemic and their response to it had re-emphasized just how important the arts were in their students’ educational experience. 

“I believe that throughout this school year it has become more important that we keep music in our schools. Students thrive on the activity and creativity of making music with their peers,” said Mr. Bennett of Texas.

Deanna Marshall agrees: “I also believe that through this process our students and parents have learned to be more flexible and understanding to why the arts are so important.  In person classes mean so much more than they did a year ago.  Live band concerts have more importance.  I am hopeful that this is a continued trend for the arts.”

Mr. Tom Reifenberg, a high school band director in Wisconsin, expressed a poignant sentiment: “The biggest takeaway for our program was that you never truly know what may be your final performance, your final chance to do what you love.  We were fortunate to march in the 2020 Rose Parade in Pasadena, and nobody knew at the time that it would be one of the last major nationwide performance events for well over a year . . . But the first time we were back on the field, after 14 months away from marching band, was a magical feeling for all involved.”

Less Rigid Choices in Literature Selection and Ensemble Configuration

Nearly 20% of respondents mentioned that they will continue to utilize the more open seating plans and occasional outdoor rehearsals engendered by the COVID-19 protocols.

One middle and high school director stated that they were no longer “afraid to keep students spread out during rehearsal to hear individual players and get around the room easier.”

Regarding these more open ensemble configurations, Kyle Bennett said: “At first it was strange, but I quickly grew to love it because there are many positives to it. I’m able to easily maneuver through the ensemble as students play to hear individuals. Having that much space in-between them has made them HAVE to listen and open their ears. Their confidence has also increased, the individuals who would hide can’t anymore so they have no choice but to play. Which only increased the musicianship of the entire ensemble.”

A beginning/elementary band director says that “Playing outside is a blast for the kids. It can definitely be a fun treat in the future, rather than a necessity at times.”

These adjustments to ensemble configurations had positive results in the marching arena as well. Mr. Ron Stary, who teaches high school band in South Dakota, said that there were positive ramifications to being forced to “Teach drill in separate sections to a point. We had to stay in groups smaller than 50 through August so we taught dots by section. We moved along faster in smaller groups, getting farther than ever before.”

A similar percentage of respondents indicated that the pandemic had highlighted the importance of more elastic instrumentation, requiring more solo and chamber works.

Dr. Mark Whitlock of the University of Minnesota - Duluth stated that he would consider performing more chamber works,” and that he does “like the idea of using some flex or adaptable band pieces where appropriate.”    

Dr. Ishbah Cox, a high school band director in Ohio, was unequivocal: “Don’t stop the efforts made to develop ALL musicians through chamber music and solo literature.”

Better Student and Personal Health

A small number of unique responses warrant mention as they uniquely highlight the unexpected benefits that COVID-19 protocols imparted to student and instructor health.

Dr. Craig Aarhus of Mississippi State University said: “For the first time ever, I used a microphone to teach band, and I appreciated that I never felt like I had to strain my voice to teach . . . In general, the protocols seemed to make everyone healthier this year. Not just from Covid, but from colds, flu, etc.”

One anonymous respondent, who taught at all levels from beginning band and elementary music through high school, was reflective, and their response seems to be a pithy summation of what many of us, including this author, learned in the past year. 

“In general, I think this year has been a good time to reflect on our activity and sort out what really has value, and what is simply ‘fluff.’ It is my hope that many music educators will see this as an opportunity to hit the reset button, parse through all the activities and events and extra performances, and maybe scale back the intensity just a bit. Not every Saturday has to be filled with something. It's okay to step away from the job from time to time. You will benefit from it, your students will benefit from it, and the activity will be better served in the long run.”