Band Practice in the Age of Covid-19 – The Wall Street Journal

Band practice might never be the same.

With Covid-19 continuing to spread and new coronavirus variants on the march, poorly ventilated, tightly packed practice rooms are considered too risky for musiciansespecially young ones, few of whom have been vaccinated against the virus.

But researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Maryland have found simple ways they say can mitigate the risk posed by the potentially virus-laden aerosols spewed into the air by singing and playing wind instruments, including placing covers on the bells of wind instruments.

With this approach, we think its very safe, said Shelly Miller, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and one of the scientists involved in the research on mitigation strategies. That has played out in our anecdotal data collection. We havent heard of any reported outbreaks from programs that have used our mitigation recommendations.

School bands and choirs across the country have adopted their recommendations, the researchers said.

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Band Practice in the Age of Covid-19 - The Wall Street Journal