Writing Music During a Pandemic
At the time of writing this, the entire world has spent more than 10 months in a state of pandemic. Many of us have taken steps to quarantine and isolate in order to keep the most vulnerable safe. In the wake of a global health crisis, we’ve been forced to re-learn how to operate on our own, socialize in different forms, and do what we can to lead fulfilling lives despite the pandemic. Musicians are not strangers to change within their field, as music has evolved drastically over the last 10, 20, 30 years (you could go on and on to the beginning of time if you wanted to). But just because musicians are weathered against change, doesn’t mean that making music has been easy during the pandemic… or has it been?
It is SO much easier
The nature of self-isolation means that more people are working from home, or not working at all. Many people have turned to their hobbies, and for some people that might mean picking up their guitar, or sitting down at the piano, and playing something that they haven't played in years. Many people are rediscovering their passions simply because they have more time on their hands.
Many other creatives are working tirelessly to create music and art despite the limitations of COVID-related restrictions. People are building out their network to expand beyond their local vicinity as people discover new artists that they can work with around the world. Digital Networking has become something that we rely on as an essential means of communication, at least if we’re trying to find and maintain work.
Some people might feel a sense of relief as they have more time to create without pressure. As many artists can attest, hardship also tends to create better work. Many artists are also turning to livestreams and online concerts as a way to supplement lost income from the loss of live music. There are still ways to work around COVID, we just need to get a little creative.
It is SO much harder
Lack of inspiration is something that every artist faces at some point during their career, and for some people, the pandemic didn’t bring a wave of enthusiastic work - it brought on a depression. More people are out of their regular jobs, and while some people work away, some people (especially extroverts) find it challenging to muster up the strength to be inspired to create something amazing, especially if these people now work from home. A change in scenery and routine can help reinvigorate ourselves, but what do we have when we’re forced inside, with no social lives to speak of? Well… personally, I tend to get depressed, but I’m not alone in that feeling. Some people have a restless nature that is suppressed by COVID restrictions. It’s hard for those people to draw inspiration from an uninspired environment, and when they have no choice in the matter as COVID-19 would have it, their spirit dulls, and their work suffers because of it. Some people refer to this as “cabin fever.”
Communication plays a huge part in writing music, because writers want the message of their music to be communicated eloquently or otherwise to their liking, and the communication between writer, producer, mixing engineer, mastering engineer, and everyone else is essential. Because of the need to quarantine, we find ourselves stuck in zoom meetings all day, and when one person isn’t communicating something properly or fully, it can cause a huge issue down the road. When the level of communication drops from in-person communication, there are bound to be loose ends in conversation. There is an entire feeling of body language that is effectively lost when you’re looking into a computer all day. When the method of communication is degraded, the quality of the work produced is often degraded in turn.
COVID-19 related restrictions mean that we can’t be together as we once were. Entire industries have collapsed. Live music literally stopped in its tracks. We can’t have more than 25% capacity in any area of business (for the safety of the clients, ourselves, and the public), which changes the way we do studio sessions. There are many things that could affect the entertainment industry, but nobody predicted a pandemic of this nature, which means that many people are still learning how to readjust.
Whether you feel that writing music in pandemic is easier or harder, or a bit of both, it can’t be denied that there are two sides to the coin, and just like with any business, we have to learn to readjust and adapt to new circumstances, or we suffer. No matter what happens to us as a society in the future, music will always be around, and as we grow from this, we will have developed a greater appreciation for the moments that we are together in person, operating as we normally would.