Now more than ever, our society depends on technology to stay in touch with other people. Whether it be texting your friends or Zooming for English 105, technology plays a key role in allowing us to contact our loved ones.
Since all classes have moved online, students and teachers alike have been trying to navigate the murky waters of what being in online school truly means. As a music student, I’ve had to adjust even more to the idea of learning online. Pretty quickly I went from having in-person lessons and performance groups to meeting on Zoom to sing with other people. We don’t even sing together, we have to stay muted and sing alone! As someone who loves to socialize and talk with other musicians, social distancing has been hard on the creative part of my mind. But, where there are losses, people have also become very inventive.
Since being home, I’ve had plenty of time to write and perfect music, but I’ve had nowhere to share it. I was looking through Instagram on Tuesday night and I stumbled across a sign up sheet for an online Open Mic Night. An Open Mic Night is usually held at a bar or cafe, and it allows artists of many kinds to share their work with an audience. The online version was called “Quaranteen Open Mic,” and it was an Instagram Live where musicians could sign up and play music or perform slam poetry. It was an impulse decision, but I decided to sign up.
Performing gives me such a rush. The endorphins released make me feel happy to a point that’s unexplainable, and I hadn’t gotten that rush in a while. Being busy with school work and music I had to do for school, I hadn’t written or performed much of my own music. I never expected being stuck in my house to be the reason I reconnected with that love of performing. I performed two of my own songs, and not only did I just love performing, but the response I got for sharing my music was so gratifying. It made me feel like I was being productive in a way that made me happy.
Music has always been something that connected people. From meeting another random fan at a concert who becomes your best friend for the night, to having that one crying song with your best friend, it is a source of connection for people no matter what you know about it. As a music student, I’ve connected with my best friend through our love of the Dixie Chicks and how our mothers raised us on them. Sharing your own music is even more powerful because it gives you a platform to speak with people who you might have never met without it. 2020 has been a scary year with things being thrown at us left and right, but it’s important to find solace and connection with people, even if you can’t be with them physically. Having this moment of connectivity with other musicians provided me with a moment of healing, and it also allowed me to do what I love while being stuck in a house with seemingly less and less space.
It’s an odd thing to bring joy. The age of technology has always seemed overwhelming, but it has done its duty in keeping everyone connected through this time of isolation. Music is just one way that it’s exceeding expectations and allowing everyone to thrive creatively. Writing and sharing music is how I’m staying sane (along with a lot of Netflix), but that’s not necessarily true for everyone. There are plenty of ways to share your creative endeavors with the world, you just have to find them. I promise it made me feel better, and it might do the same for you.