At MFL MarMac, there's still music behind the mask

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

Even during a pandemic, the show must go on. That’s the case at MFL MarMac, where music students are continuing to showcase their talents while practicing health and safety measures.

At the start of the school year, choral director Jaydeane Berns and band director Kaitlyn Strock weren’t certain they’d even get to do that much. COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets—posing a challenge for activities like singing and playing an instrument.

“Some things about music, both instrumental and vocal, is that they talk about the six foot. We had to have conversations about how we can safely do this because of how far the aerosol travels,” Berns said.

Choral students were required to wear face coverings—either a shield or mask. 

“The district had already purchased shields, so that’s what we started out with,” Berns explained. “There were mixed reviews from the kids. The shields really bounce the sound right back at you, and I didn’t even think about that aspect.”

The band developed layers of protection. The first is a playing mask, which Strock admitted is quite weird.

“They have an overlapping flap, so [the students] have to open that and put their mouth piece in,” she described. “Then we have bell covers to catch all our flying spit from there. It’s not the most ideal for woodwinds, but it’s better than nothing. We just talk about how that bell cover is a mask for your horn.”

Each section has its own challenges. Flute players, for example, can’t utilize the same coverings as other instruments, so have shields made of plastic pop bottles. The shield goes right on the head joint, covering the mouth so any extra particles come back to the player.

Percussionists wear gloves, limiting the amount of time sanitizing equipment, while brass players are working on using what Strock called brass buddies. “They look like a petri dish and they have a sponge in them, so that’s where they put all their spit,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s on the floor.”

Students are also physically distanced during rehearsals. With a smaller group, Strock said she can keep high school students spaced nearly six feet apart in the band room.

“There are a lot of schools who aren’t allowed to play in person because they can’t distance and have to be 10 feet apart. If we were doing 10 feet apart, I couldn’t fit half the kids,” she shared. “We are definitely lucky.”

But for a bigger group, like the high school choir, a more intimate space won’t work. Instead, they’ve been rehearsing in the auditorium, where there’s more room to spread out.

“I keep them every other row and every other seat. That fills up two sections from front to back,” Berns said.

Legacy Show Choir held its summer choreography camp at the Monona Community Center, which was a bigger space. Now, they’re rehearsing on the risers at school, but are still able to maintain distance.

“When we are just dancing they’ve been pretty good,” Berns said. “We have not done singing and dancing yet, but we do the physical distancing when we do the singing. We’re trying to keep things normal but safe.”

At the middle school, students are confined to the music room, so Berns and Strock spent an entire evening taping off squares that serve as space guidelines. The room is set up with groups of chairs for specific classes, not to be touched by others. 

“It’s cluttered a bit,” Berns noted, “but saves us having to clean a large number of chairs in between each class.”

While the band was able to practice outside earlier this year, particularly for marching, that concept was more difficult for choir.

“Outside, it’s hard to find a place that isn’t distracting,” quipped Berns. “You also don’t realize how much road noise there is.”

The changes have been challenging. Berns said some choral students find performing in the auditorium intimidating; in the big space, sound goes everywhere. Face coverings are also inhibiting.

“You can’t open your mouth as far or take that deeper breath. A lot of kids hold it away from their mouths so it doesn’t suck into their mouth,” she explained. “I’ve been trying to encourage them to release that jaw and create some space.” 

“It’s also hard for me because I don’t always get the same passion that I normally would. That has been just as much of an issue for the kids as well,” Berns added. “They’ve started singing out more, but it’s not the sound they’re used to and really long to hear.”

Having so much time away from school over the spring and summer also affected the musicians’ confidence. Strock saw that with the seventh and eighth graders especially.

“They were just scared to play again,” she said.

It’s been a learning curve for the sixth graders, who missed introduction to band as fifth graders and are now having to play catch up. They spent the first quarter working individually, and now that everyone has figured out how to put their instruments together and make a sound, Strock said the group will start playing together. 

“I told them, ‘Do I expect this to go perfect? No. Do I expect you to try and laugh with me? Yeah.’ We’re learning as we go,” she stated.

Berns said her goal was to start simple and just get students singing.

“Neither one of us rushed into anything right away,” she remarked. “Learning music has taken longer. It’s not that you lose those skills, but you get a little rusty. Now, my kids are ready to be challenged a little more.”

Both teachers said they’d like to see their students’ hard work showcased. The middle school will present its fall concert on Nov. 2, but the recorded pieces will only be shared in Google Drive and password protected. Streaming musical performances on Facebook Live and MFL MarMac’s YouTube channel can only be done with the correct licenses, assuring copyright compliance.

“We want to do things correctly as we move forward,” Berns said. “There are different options, so we’ll have to have some patience and do some planning so, if it’s virtual, we have time to get licenses. Fingers crossed we get to have some sort of performances at some time.”

Through the uncertainty, Berns reminds the students they’re lucky.

“This isn’t fun, wearing the mask isn’t fun. None of us like it,” she reflected. “But we’re lucky to be able to do the things we’re doing. We have to do our part so we can get through to the next stage.”