Why learning music will help pass time during COVID-19 lock down

Why learning music will help pass time during COVID-19 lock down

No doubt, the situation for most schools, universities and colleges is to switch their face to face lessons into the online environment. Music schools are no different, and with the recent lock down measures put in place, music tuition is one of the activities that can continue successfully for many kids and adults.

With most people around the world in self-isolation or lock down mode, it’s important to understand the power of music. Our sporting clubs, recreational activities and social communities have been removed from our weekly lives, meaning social distancing and mandatory self-isolation will only worsen our mental state.

Learning a musical instrument or singing is funnily enough a therapeutic and stress relieving activity that is best done in self-isolation mode. Not only does it give a child or adult a sense of self-accomplishment and nourishment, it will ultimately contribute to the passing of time you spend in these months of social distancing and house-bound life.

Let’s look at what the professionals and famous artists are doing. They’re going on Facebook LIVE and performing for fans and friends. They’re probably all geared up to write a couple of new albums, a bucket load of songs which will go down in history as the COVID-19 hits, and they’re trying out new collaborations via the online world to keep themselves entertained and audiences engaged.

How many hours is the average teen spending on apps like TikTok? Coming up with quirky and interesting dance moves or music related parodies about Coronavirus? Imagine sitting at home right now without access to music, art, dance, literature or performances. People are spending more time now than ever consuming, watching and creating music related videos. It’s almost the only thing that can keep people sane.

We’re lucky that music schools and teachers are able to set up their tuition services online. Students only need access to a laptop and ideally one more device like an iPhone or iPad to maintain or commence the learning of their instrument. Be it guitar, piano, ukulele, singing, drums, bass, woodwind or brass. The second device is often great for getting another close up angle of your hands on or at the instrument. And if you really want to lift up your game, throw in a better microphone and webcam so that your teacher can see and hear you better. They’re also trying to do the same thing.

Australian music school All Age Music is using a combination of online platforms to continue delivering outstanding quality of music lessons. This includes ZOOM, Facetime (for iOS users), Google Hangouts, Skype and Whatsapp. The group classes, online recitals, work and music performance events are also being done via ZOOM, and with a lot of success. They’re even hosting social catch ups for the kids who haven’t seen each other, but are part of the same group class.

“The mission is to keep people surviving and thriving by way of learning a music instrument. If you’ve always wanted to sing, then this is the perfect time to start. Especially as it doesn’t require any purchase of instruments. Many music stores are stocked with inexpensive instruments like guitars and ukuleles which can easily be ordered and delivered to your door. As with basic keyboards, digital pianos, brass and woodwind instruments.” Sandra Lie, Principal Director of All Age Music

Not only will learning an instrument give a child or adult joy and mental health nourishment, they will learn a new skill that remains with them for a lifetime. Above all, it will help the passing of time as practicing an instrument can take anywhere from 30 minutes a day to 6 or 8 hours (for the more advanced).

As they say, it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at any skill and 90 days in lock down is only equal to 2,160 hours. Minus the hours of sleep, working from home, eating, cooking and personal grooming, there’s about 350 to 400 odd hours left to spare. That’s about the number of hours a person would spend learning an instrument and practicing 30 minutes everyday for 2 years. We think that’s a pretty good reason to pick up learning an instrument during this lock down period.