Abstract
A wide range of countries decided to go into lockdown to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020, a setting separating people and restricting their movements. We investigated how musicians dealt with this sudden restriction in mobility. Responses of 234 people were collected. The majority of respondents (95%) resided in Belgium or the Netherlands. Results indicated a decrease of 79% of live music making in social settings during lockdown compared with before lockdown. In contrast, an increase of 264% was demonstrated for online joint music making. However, results showed that most respondents were largely or even completely unaccustomed with specialized platforms for online joint music making (e.g., JamKazam, Jamulus). Respondents reported to mostly use well-known video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Skype when playing together virtually. However, when such video-conferencing platforms were used, they were often not employed for synchronized playing and were generally reported to insufficiently deal with latency issues. Furthermore, respondents depending on music making as their main source of income explored online real-time methods significantly more than those relying on other income sources. Results also demonstrated an increase of 93% in the use of alternative remote joint music-making methods (e.g., recording parts separately and subsequently circulating these digital recordings). All in all, results of this study provide a more in-depth view on joint music making during the first weeks of lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, and demonstrate users’ perceptions of performance and usability of online real-time platforms as well as alternative methods for musical interaction.
Highlights
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization classified the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic (WHO, 2020b)
When inquiring about arguments for joint music making, social connectedness turned out to be pivotal. This item bared less relevance, since digitally evoked social contexts were generally considered as reduced settings. These findings suggest an increased “need,” combined with a decreased “experience,” of social connectedness during lockdown
While this study provides an account of some of the strategies applied by musicians to deal with lockdown restrictions, no details of specific setups used for online music making were included
Summary
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization classified the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic (WHO, 2020b). In Belgium, the National Security Council (CNS) decided that, from March 13 onward, people were only allowed to leave their residences for essential reasons (e.g., going to work if telework was not possible, going out for a doctor’s appointment, going to the stores) and for Impact Lockdown Joint Music Making outdoor activities that did not involve physical contact. Such activities could only take place with one other individual, and at all times, social distancing measures had to be applied (i.e., maintaining at least 1.50 m between non-cohabitating individuals) (Diplomacy Belgium, 2020). Such events were often broadcasted live to audiences ranging from small groups of individuals up to thousands or even millions of people around the world through online platforms (Palamar and Acosta, 2020; Ren, 2020; Weaver et al, 2020)
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