Coronavirus and choir: 5 ways to keep working

No matter if you are a choral composer, conductor, or singer, coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting your entire life right now. The whole world seems to be shutting down in the coming weeks and we are all freaking out. It’s completely understandable. 

I’ve read so many great resources out there on how to teach choir online or hold rehearsals, keep the education going and I want to bring something else to the table.

Coronavirus has changed the game, let’s change ours too

This might not be what you want to read but I believe that so many of the things we want to do are so difficult (held rehearsals online for 30+ people) because they yet don’t happen online. There has not been something invented for that and we are breaking our heads to do it. 

Instead, I propose here 5 ways that we can use this time at home to keep connecting through choral music and keep engaging with our communities, students, and everyone who wants more choral music amidst this chaos because we all know the power that choral music has in our life (and for a lot of us in our pocket $).

1. Teach/learn how to record from home

I do this myself as a composer/singer. I contact other composers and record their music as a service. This is not only happening in the choral world but in the instrumental world has happened a lot before. This could well be an entire career in the coming years, why not to learn how to do it?

Use free software such as GarageBand, audacity, or reaper fm (you can find the last two in Google!).

Let them also figure out by themselves or use YouTube if you don’t know but give them the task. We are so proactive these days that it would be another challenge for them to learn how to do this (most will know by now or will have done some multitrack video with apps).

You don’t have to have a perfect end product. But dare to have the experience because someday you will look back and realize that your time figuring out this software and recording lead you to bring to life many compositions of people around the world and you will feel overwhelmed with happiness.

2. Teach/learn people to Find new composers/conductors and have conversations or create a project together

Many composers are alive. I’m one of them and I know several others. Let’s use this time to connect and to talk about ways we can all be closer as a choral community. What we can each bring to the table and how. It doesn’t have to be a coffee if you want to stay home but you can have Skype or Zoom meetings.

Make new friends, ask questions, learn about people in the field. This is the time where people would be available for that. If you want to schedule time with me, you can go to:

www.calendly.com/composercordero/60min

3. Write/find music for next season (Maybe even Coronavirus related?)

You can even send your students on a quest for their preferred songs for a concert. Teach them how to program a concert. Many of these students will go on to program their own concert and will value this experience as much as having sung with you.

Another experience could be to pair local composers with local students and work (maybe online if it needs to) on a new piece or help the student compose something. Help to forge this relationship school/choir composer because there is so much education for both in the process.

This goes with number two as well. 

4. Find a podcast about the choral world and make notes or reports

There are a few podcasts out there about choral music and this is the time to listen to them as much as we can. Not because I have one (The Happy Choir Podcast) but because they are a great source of education from people on the field.

Send emails to these podcasts and pitch yourself as a guest to keep your appearance on platforms where other choral people are. Tell us what you can offer to our audience and make that online interview happen.

Some of the podcasts out there are: Choirbaton, Choralosophy, The Happy Choir Podcast, and others that you can find here (Hopefully, The Happy Choir Podcast will make it one day to these lists!).

Even though there is no much to do, there ARE other things to do. This also goes with number two as well. 

5. Make a virtual choir, start small and go big

Start small.

Don’t give yourself a huge task of doing a virtual choir of the entire Carmina Burana.

Make a virtual chord. Make a virtual phrase. That way you can learn and people will practice for the end goal without feeling overwhelmed.

No matter if you are a composer, conductor, or singer, you can do this. Technology is the only thing that has not shut down and thankfully of our times, we have the internet on our side. 

Create groups or people and set to music a short poem and have it recorded (or call me and I can talk to you about my recording services but this is not the point).

Coronavirus impacts us all, we are trying to do our best

All of this to say that I understand that Coronavirus has turned upside down our world but I love that we are all trying our best to keep the music alive and education going. We will make it, people! I am sure that we will look back and see how we came together and created meaningful conversations and programs.

You are making the best you can. Give yourself some space to breathe and connect.

I am planning to do a virtual choir with one of my most recent compositions and if you want to sign up, click here.