Teachers have to deal with a lack of skills, broken instruments, and fewer students who want to study music
Jewel Casselman, a music teacher in Winnipeg, is back in her element. After three years of pandemic restrictions and changed lessons, she is leading elementary school students in songs and teaching them how to play musical instruments. For example, the ukuleles she bought in 2019 are now being given to her students, who are having a great time with them.
“You can play music. That’s not really something you get to do in math class, “Arun Sharma, a Grade 5 student who is 11 years old, said this.
“I was a little upset that we couldn’t do [music class] during the pandemic,” said Grade 4 student Anna Lockerby, who is almost 10 years old.
The pandemic put an end to traditional music education by putting a lot of limits on things like singing, playing wind instruments, holding sessions inside, and sharing instruments.
Even after other classes and activities were back to normal, music classes, bands, and ensembles didn’t go back to normal until this school year for some. Music teachers say that the break has caused a gap in musical skills, a lot of broken instruments that aren’t being used, and a lot of people who haven’t taken music class or haven’t taken it in a while.
Still, students, teachers, and advocates are forming a band to show Canadians how important music is in the classroom.
WATCH | Music is back in schools in Canada, but teachers say the pandemic has taken a toll:
Casselman said that it was hard for many people to lose music at school. Some of his second- and third-graders haven’t sung much since the pandemic, and some of his Grade 5 students haven’t sung since they were in kindergarten.
“Music is in them and all around them, so when they couldn’t play, sing, or dance to it, it was really hard,” said the teacher who had been in the classroom for 35 years. “We’ve had to go back and teach things all over again.”
Music lessons “can teach you a lot more than just how to sing. It can help you find a rhythm or hear things that might be harder to hear. It can also help you figure out what sounds are “Grade 4 student Brian Huggard, who is nine years old, said this. “Sometimes it can even sound pretty good.”
Casselman, who was named the 2023 MusiCounts teacher of the year at last week’s Juno Awards, said that learning music helps students’ brains grow and makes them more creative. This is true for students as young as kindergarten.
She also said that it goes beyond music and inspires new music fans, people who go to concerts, musicians, producers, and more.
“When you learn music in music class, you can find your voice,” said Smayana Sharma, a 9-year-old in Grade 4.
‘A core subject
The Canadian public school system’s music education programs were already in trouble before COVID-19. “When the pandemic hit, it just made things worse,” said Kristy Fletcher, president of MusiCounts, a national music education charity run by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
She says that Canadian teachers are very creative in the way they teach music even though they can’t sing or play wind instruments, for example. But she says that another pandemic rule, which says that people can’t share instruments, has also made it hard for school music to move forward.
“Because teachers don’t have enough instruments, sharing them is a key part of the music program. There aren’t enough instruments for each student to have their own in music programs “Fletcher said.
She went on to say that most school instruments were 20 years old or older, and music teachers were already doing everything they could to fix them and keep them in working order.
After a few years off because of the pandemic, “in many schools, you just have instruments that can’t be played or used.”
Fletcher says that, on average, Canadian schools get less than $500 a year for music programs. Some schools can’t afford a music program and have to raise money to keep going.
MusicCounts gives Canadian schools instruments, equipment, and other resources. “We can help maybe one in six schools right now, so we have a long way to go,” she said.
Fletcher has talked to many school administrators and has learned that music programs are often the last thing paid for in schools with tight budgets. Still, she thinks they deserve a lot more attention.
“We talk a lot about STEM, and it goes without saying that STEM programs are very important…. But music is too. The arts are too, “she told me.
There are fewer student musicians, COVID-1
Lani Sommers, a music teacher at an Ottawa high school, said that the return of music classes has broken up the “very quiet” school hallways of the past few years.
Music teachers no longer have to deal with slow online sessions, awkward band practices outside, or awkward classes through video conferencing. However, there has been a noticeable drop in student players compared to the time before the pandemic.
“Students didn’t sign up for music class so they could play at home or on the computer. They agreed to play together and make music, “Sommers said.
This is important because exposure and experience in school give all students the same chance to learn. “Two years without instrumental music in elementary school has really made a difference in high school,” she said. “Not everyone can pay for private music lessons.”
Sommers said that music education can help students’ social and emotional growth as well as their cognitive growth, motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and creativity. For example, it can help students learn to listen to and work with others, set goals, build resilience, a sense of community, and more.
“We need to make a little noise and make sure people know what was lost,” said Sommers, who is also a volunteer with the Ontario Band Association. “If you were never in a band and didn’t take part, you don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Music really is a language that can be learned by anyone.”
“90% of music is about working together
Isla Rennison, a senior in high school in Ottawa, has played the flute since seventh grade and started playing percussion not long after through her cadet troop. However, she didn’t realize how important music was to her until the pandemic hit. Online lag kept her from working at the same time as her classmates. If everyone but the conductor was on mute or playing along with recordings, she would have felt completely alone.
“You can’t learn to listen to other people, work on your dynamics, or work on your timing unless you play with someone else in the room,” she said. “About 90% of music is about working together.”
The 17-year-old is trying to quickly improve her skills while also dealing with the fact that she doesn’t have many musical peers. Like Sommers, she’s seen students stop playing music during COVID-19, including friends who played for years but stopped when pandemic lessons lost their interest.
“We don’t have enough students to make a senior ensemble, so we have to add Grade 11s and even Grade 10s to help us out,” she said. “This means we can’t play those pieces that are really hard for us, since the younger players have less experience and fewer of them.”
“We lost two years of getting better at that skill, working together, making progress, and learning.”
Rennison has joined Sommers in going to elementary schools in the Ottawa area to perform, show kids different instruments, and hopefully get them interested in playing.
“A lot of people don’t think they can pursue music,” said the teen, who plays in school ensembles and at cadets and has also started a punk band with friends.
“You don’t have to have a career in music to be interested in it…. I don’t think I’ll ever do that again.notBe a musician,” she told him. “Music makes me very happy.”