Music during Covid-19

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"Beyond the immediate health risks of the Covid-19 pandemic, the containment measures it necessitates have brought with them a number of other stressors that can undermine individual and collective well-being. As part of an international research project, the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics investigated whether musical engagement is an effective strategy for socio-emotional coping during lockdown.

The project team collected demographically representative samples from six countries on three continents during the first lockdown in April and May 2020. Over 5000 people from Germany, France, Great Britain, India, Italy, and the USA were asked in an online survey about how they engaged with music during the crisis. More than half of respondents reported using music to cope with emotional and social stressors.

It’s worth noting that music itself wasn’t the coping aid, but rather, music-related behavior, specifically the ways people have adapted their musical behaviors during the crisis. In this regard, music listening and music making appear to provide different coping potentials,” explains Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics."

Music had always been a release from stress for me - even when I was doing grade exams as a kid. (The exams were only once a year, and took up less than 5% of my overall practice time through the year - of course, I didn't need to practice sight-reading, as I was already sight-reading music every day because I was singing in the school choir). I regarded it as my "me time", to use a contemporary term which even the advant-gardists never invented.

So how did music helped you cope during this crisis? Any thoughts?
 
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Shakedown Streams, 6 PRSi, and hyper focus for my music Project at "The Shop" made the pandemic respectively fun, educational, and inspiring. Its been a weird time, and it paid cos I played a music event this weekend in 4 bands!

F Covid..we can mitigate and still make the music happen! Just do it a little differently!

Lets not forget the PRS virtual events, those were awesome!
 
I think that social isolation because of the pandemic has caused many of us to turn towards other sources of entertainment or study to relieve negative emotions. Many have binge-watched their favorite movies (since theaters were usually places where new movie releases were shown), and they wished to be entertained.

Others have decreased their viewing of network TV, because of the propensity for negative emotions there. (Too much emphasis on dysfunctional relationships or violence can drive you nuts).

Still others have found that spending time with their hobbies provides relief from pandemic fatigue. Because music-listening is considered a hobby and music-making sometimes a professional pursuit, both can be utilized for relieving pandemic fatigue.

Because we'd all like to "theoretically escape" from the boredom produced when were forced to isolate ourselves from others, we should recall that the internet may not always be the safest outlet for our boredom, (because sometimes boredom causes us to look for ways we can find excitement in new things). The better course is to be content with what we already have, and not waste our valuable resources on things we think will relieve pandemic fatigue. The truth is, the novelty of something new wears off once you've had a chance to work or play with the new item...then boredom takes over and the cycle begins again. (It's kind of like Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day." SSDD.)

What I've personally found works well is how students view the learning process. I'm not satisfied with knowing only a little; I love learning about the world around us, the deeper things of the creative process, what laws and principles we can derive from understanding these processes. How we can apply these principles to our daily lives so that we will benefit from them.

Music, in itself, is an important facet of our lives, because it can bring joy to us when we hear it, and can lift our emotions from the depths when we play it. My being content with what I already have is not designed to instruct others in how they should view their own lives. It's what works in my instance, saves me money, and allows me the freedom of enjoying the hobbies I already experience without being in need of anything. Could this also work for you? You only need imitate this example and see for yourself.
 
People who experienced increased negative emotions due to the pandemic were found to engage with music primarily as a way to regulate depression, fear, and stress, especially via music listening. People who reported more positive emotions overall were found to use music largely as a replacement for social interaction. Not just music listening, but also music-making gave them a sense of belonging to a community. Making music, moreover, served as a method for self-reflection.
 
Music heals the soul! I started taking singing lessons and practicing more during Covid -- it was significantly different from my day job, and as I told my boss, "it's not therapy, but it has the same positive effect on my psyche".

Measurably so -- I took my blood pressure both before and after a vocal lesson, and it was over 10 points lower.
 
Frank Zappa said that!
I'm gonna give credit to Mary from Canoga Park! Frank is my musical GOD (I have 437 live shows and 158 other releases/performances/materials in my FZ digital archive), but thanks for noting it, probably should have included the reference note!! In case anyone is wondering, it (the line "Music is the best") is on "Joe's Garage" by Mr. Frank Zappa where Mary from Canoga Park (a character in this 3 LP rock opera) muses:

Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is THE BEST.

I just stole the last line!!! May FZ himself forgive me with his cruel mercy!!!

Happy Zappin'!
MW
 
I'm gonna give credit to Mary from Canoga Park! Frank is my musical GOD (I have 437 live shows and 158 other releases/performances/materials in my FZ digital archive), but thanks for noting it, probably should have included the reference note!! In case anyone is wondering, it (the line "Music is the best") is on "Joe's Garage" by Mr. Frank Zappa where Mary from Canoga Park (a character in this 3 LP rock opera) muses:

Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is THE BEST.

I just stole the last line!!! May FZ himself forgive me with his cruel mercy!!!

Happy Zappin'!
MW

Years ago, I had my wife crosstitch that for me. Sits down in my music room. Even added the little "Joe's Garage" notation at the bottom.
 
I got my first PRS during the pandemic. A 35th Anniversary SE in gold/black burst.. I’d started slowly saving up to purchase one but the Covid19 outbreak had both me and my fiancée out of work for months so I kept off from going ahead with the purchase. One day my fiancée saw me looking at the guitar again on my laptop screen and told me "are you just going to keep staring at that guitar? Go ahead and buy it already. We'll work things out". Right away I called the Greek PRS Distributor, told them I’m interested in the 35th Anniversary SE CU 24 !!! Only 3 were imported to Greece and i managed to grab one. This guitar breathed new life into my love for music and has been a source of endless inspiration for almost a year and half now. It was my anchor to sanity during months of lockdown and the 14 months my bar was closed due to the pandemic.
 
I got my first PRS during the pandemic. A 35th Anniversary SE in gold/black burst.. I’d started slowly saving up to purchase one but the Covid19 outbreak had both me and my fiancée out of work for months so I kept off from going ahead with the purchase. One day my fiancée saw me looking at the guitar again on my laptop screen and told me "are you just going to keep staring at that guitar? Go ahead and buy it already. We'll work things out". Right away I called the Greek PRS Distributor, told them I’m interested in the 35th Anniversary SE CU 24 !!! Only 3 were imported to Greece and i managed to grab one. This guitar breathed new life into my love for music and has been a source of endless inspiration for almost a year and half now. It was my anchor to sanity during months of lockdown and the 14 months my bar was closed due to the pandemic.
Could not ask for much more solace than that! A PRS and approval from the girl!! Win WIN!!! Cheers to the end of this nightmare!!!!
 
I got my first PRS during the pandemic. A 35th Anniversary SE in gold/black burst.. I’d started slowly saving up to purchase one but the Covid19 outbreak had both me and my fiancée out of work for months so I kept off from going ahead with the purchase. One day my fiancée saw me looking at the guitar again on my laptop screen and told me "are you just going to keep staring at that guitar? Go ahead and buy it already. We'll work things out". Right away I called the Greek PRS Distributor, told them I’m interested in the 35th Anniversary SE CU 24 !!! Only 3 were imported to Greece and i managed to grab one. This guitar breathed new life into my love for music and has been a source of endless inspiration for almost a year and half now. It was my anchor to sanity during months of lockdown and the 14 months my bar was closed due to the pandemic.

See it’s shares like this that keep me coming back here every day!

Could not ask for much more solace than that! A PRS and approval from the girl!! Win WIN!!! Cheers to the end of this nightmare!!!!

Ab-so-lute-ly!! This is the truth.
 
I find that our activities have a way of finding time for themselves at varying times of the year.

The reason I say this is because, just after the leaves fall from the trees, the weather turns cooler, and my chores also include cleaning out the gutters outside my apartment. While this might be a normal activity to some, to me it signals the beginning of staying warmer and turning to indoor activities instead of the usual outdoor exercise we might usually engage in. Gutters moves me to think more about my guitar practice. And building more templates with my guitar processor.

What might be the issue, you might ask? None, that I can see. My hunger for buying or selling gear is satiated. I'm presently content with what I own. Is it wrong to not hunger for more gear? As the holidays approach, we will all fill our stomachs with food at gatherings if we attend. If not, we might be watching our weight and trying to exercise more. Desiring more gear is much like hungering for a good recipe we can savor.

Like some, I am considering a "retail diet" that involves strengthening my abilities without bingeing on purchases OR food. My preference is to not be burdened with significant credit card debt come January. I am taking the first few steps towards "tightening my belt" until the beginning of the next year, and what expenses will occur then.

Although I am by no means "poor," I am personally conscious of what I need, and what I don't. What I want is immaterial. Some things we want are beyond our abilities or reach. I just feel that I am not "in want" of anything.

And so, may you all enjoy the next several months of anticipation of new gear and gatherings where you can enjoy family and friends.

I will be occupied with my work, my studies, my household chores, my time with you folks, and my guitar practice. It seems that when I can enjoy the simple things of life, I'm happier. Be well, and stay safe in these troubled times of ours.
 
This one is tough for me right now. I have not been doing anything with music other than buying some gear that I probably don't really need. I have been playing video games and streaming TV shows and binge watching them. I have also been drinking a lot more than I typically do over the past year. I have been trying to cut that back. I know that isn't good. Thankfully I don't really have an addictive personality so I can usually control these things easy enough... On the positive side I reversed the weight gain that was happening last year due to being home all the time and am at a lower weight than I have been at for many years. My blood work looks way better than it has in years as well. I am trying really hard to get into going back to some theory study and getting the guitar back in my hands more. I know from the past that this is a huge stress reliever for me and that it will be good for me. Getting the drive up has been tough.
 
This one is tough for me right now. I have not been doing anything with music other than buying some gear that I probably don't really need. I have been playing video games and streaming TV shows and binge watching them. I have also been drinking a lot more than I typically do over the past year. I have been trying to cut that back. I know that isn't good. Thankfully I don't really have an addictive personality so I can usually control these things easy enough... On the positive side I reversed the weight gain that was happening last year due to being home all the time and am at a lower weight than I have been at for many years. My blood work looks way better than it has in years as well. I am trying really hard to get into going back to some theory study and getting the guitar back in my hands more. I know from the past that this is a huge stress reliever for me and that it will be good for me. Getting the drive up has been tough.
I would skip the extra theory for now and just get the guitar in my hands. Just see what it has to say and how playing makes you feel. Once you get that feeling, go ahead with the theory if you think it will give you more to say.
 
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