"The flute is a coronavirus super sprayer," said my friend who is a classical musician.
I was taken aback by her statement. I had never thought about how orchestras would be affected by coronavirus. According to sciencemag.org, studies they cited stated that wind instruments can indeed carry the Covid-19 virus, but not as much as would be released by singing. And yes, they did list the flute as the most effective sprayer.
By the end of March, all live concerts in Los Angeles and for most of the country went silent. Musicians super famous and not so famous took to Zoom, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Instragram Live, etc. to perform for the public to keep themselves relevant and to promote themselves.
However, those social media platforms are not useful for a larger groups of musicians coming together to create music like the 100-member Los Angeles Philharmonic. First, groups of over 25 people are banned in Los Angeles. Second, the amount of space you would need to place everyone 6-feet apart would take an entire football field. Finally, the sound quality would be horrible.
Some techniques to mitigate the risks include covering the ends of the instrument, ensuring good ventilation in performance areas, and having musicians point their instruments away from the audience and fellow musicians.
My friend is encouraged by string musicians who are now working singly or up to quartet size at restaurants and weddings. She does not know of any wind musicians performing live yet.
In June, I was heartened by seeing a quartet perform on the patio of an outdoor restaurant. I made a mental note that the trombone player was not wearing a mask since he had to blow into his horn. He faced the diners while he played, but the band was a good 20 feet from the audience and it was an outdoor show. Still, did I mention super sprayers?
Take care and be safe.
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https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/it-safe-strike-band-time-coronavirus
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