Bluegrass Corner Coming to You From Covid Land

Music in a covid world. Music is always important. It seems especially so in our covid world, as we face being isolated from each other, unable to attend concerts or jam sessions, or even to play music with friends in the living room without fear of contagion, wearing masks, and sanitizing everything in sight. Humans need key essentials to survive and thrive—food, safe shelter, and good health. It’s the good health part of these essentials that is broken by the covid pandemic. Good health includes not only staying free of the virus (and other deadly diseases) but it also includes mental health to maintain a strong and positive spirit. This is where music comes in.

Here are my thoughts on how to maintain a healthy spirit, using bluegrass as a prescription for good health during the covid crisis.

• Get out the instruments, dust ‘em off, tune ‘em up and give it a go!
• Record yourself, then play it back and sing and play with yourself
• Listen to lots of good bluegrass musicyour options are limitless—Spotify, CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, Media Monkey, and more. YouTube can keep you busy for a lifetime of great bluegrass
• Zoom with your musical friends, even just to chat about music
• Read a good book about the music you love; you probably have the time now
• Watch a virtual bluegrass concert online. Google the topic, and you will see there are lots to find. In the last weeks there were offerings from Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Tim O’Brien, Della Mae, the Infamous Stringdusters, and more
• Take up that new instrument you’ve always wanted to give a try!
• Get outside, take a walk with the dog, and sing. I promise your dog will like it!
• Try writing a song—maybe about your life under covid?

Some things will be opening up soon and may be open by the time you read this—restaurants, malls, and so on. The bad news is that concert venues and live music gatherings with many people in close quarters are likely to be some of the last to reopen.  As I write this, whether or not there will be a Summergrass festival this August remains uncertain. Stay tuned for more on that.

Stay healthy and remembermusic—especially bluegrass—was invented for hard times. Bluegrass music reflects melodies and lyrics about life’s ups and downs and challenges. It can help us all get through these tough times.