Music in the time of covid
it was the best of times; it was the worst of times
by kevin rak
Looking back on the last twelve months, the aforementioned Charles Dickens quote can seem oddly apropos. For many, it has been a rough year, however opportunities often emerge during good and bad times alike. While an abundance of industries and companies have been hard-hit by COVID and its subsequent closures and lockdowns, others have risen triumphantly. One of those examples has been the musical instrument industry. Fender Musical Instruments, for example, recorded their best-ever sales year in 2020. That’s certainly remarkable, taking into account the mid 60s and 70s, when Rock N’ Roll was king and most pop/rock music was guitar-centric. During that time, everyone and their grandmother were learning how to play guitar and consequently, sales were massive. Remarkably, 2020, with its raging pandemic as a backdrop, outpaced those years’ sales. In fact, Guitar World magazine just published an article stating that peak demand for electric guitars has left manufacturers, as well as retailers, struggling to keep up with the current demand. Perhaps in a few years from now there will be an abundance of slightly used guitars flooding the marketplace and good deals will be plentiful.
In simplistic terms, the pandemic has created additional time for many. More time often leads to increased introspection, at least for those of us prone to that way of thinking. Add sheer boredom and a touch of mindfulness and suddenly people are thinking about learning that instrument that’s been sitting in their closet for the past twenty-five years.
With many now faced with extra “disposable” time, no longer commuting to the office and sitting at home staring at the same family members day in and day out, a lot of us were primed for some new stimulation, and for many, that new stimulus came from music, in one form or another. Many began listening to new tunes, signing up for music streaming services or satellite radio, or, getting back to basics and learning twelve-bar blues again.
In the early days of the pandemic, now a full year ago, none of us knew what was really going to happen and how COVID would ultimately affect us. The collective thought at the time was that we just need to hunker down for a few weeks, buy tons of toilet paper and normality would shortly resume. A year later, normality is nowhere to be found, albeit hope is now on the horizon in the form of multiple vaccines and lower infection rate trends.
Disruption generally makes us perk up and pay attention and forces us to reevaluate, alter, or abort current behaviour. Perhaps ten years from now, we’ll look back and remember that this was the time you began your piano lessons, or just wore out the couch pillows and didn’t cut your hair for a year. For those in the former group, the big question will be; will you continue playing and learning once everything returns to normal. For those in the latter, it will unfortunately be viewed as a potential missed opportunity. For me, I actually did both. I wore out my couch cushions and was haircut free, but did so with my guitar in hand and a tune in my head, learning more songs than ever.
Things will eventually get back to normal, although I suspect some differences will still permeate moving forward.
One can quickly assume, simply by the fact you’re reading this on the Snider’s Music website, you already have a musical inclination and perhaps already have begun learning, or at the stage when it’s time to start looking for the next step with your instrument of choice.
With all that said, the window of opportunity has certainly not closed, and really, it’s never too late to start learning and/or playing your favourite instrument!
Keep Listening
Keep Playing
Kevin Rak
