Thoughts on Coronavirus from a Piano Player
Pianos are a hand intensive craft. If you play, wash your hands.
The coronavirus, specifically COVID-19, is spreading everywhere. People are reacting to it differently in every country. Some are being quarantined on a cruise ship. Other’s are hoarding masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer. And some are just not washing their hands. Go figure.
However, from a pianist’s perspective, what has the effect of coronavirus been like in our industry and the behaviors of musicians? Here’s how I have been affected personally.
1. Canceled or Postponed Gigs
With the virus spreading, people are not coming out to gigs. What does this mean? Almost all my concerts/engagements are postponed. Flight cancelations and mandatory quarantines at airports add chaos to the logistical nightmare. This puts a ton of financial pressure on musicians. How can you help? Support them by paying for merchandise or any special content the artist has. For me specifically? If you send me $25 via PayPal, I’ll record a custom 1-minute song for you and email it to you within a week. Send payments to ko (at) georgeko.co with the description as “Custom Song from George”.
2. Washing hands- Before and after practicing
Something pianists don’t really think about is washing hands before and after practicing. In my entire piano career, I’ve never really seen musicians proactively go about washing their hands before and after rehearsals. In a music school setting, there are dozens of students practicing on the same piano every day. Considering COVID-19 is easily transmissible through surfaces, a piano could be a Petri dish of that virus. Best to have good practices. It also wouldn’t hurt to bring some disinfectant wipes along.
3. Piano sales are hurting, which means less support for pianists
With many cities requiring lockdown policies or discouraging outdoor gatherings, fewer and fewer people have been visiting piano shops/dealers to purchase instruments. In general, the entire piano industry is hurting. This means that there is a higher risk of dealers closing and not having expendable capital to support local artists. I visited a couple of dealerships in my area and all of them have seen an immediate drop in customers. I’m not really sure how to remedy this problem.
All in all, the best thing we can do is wash our hands, have good sanitary practices and wait out this storm. Don’t forget to support the artists you love so they can survive this lull. How has the coronavirus affected your musical life?