As we enter a new reality around COVID-19, there are several low-tech strategies we can use to prepare and to take some stress off of our music programs.
Remember: important as our collective worship is, we can “worship God in spirit and in truth” wherever we are, and whether or not our choir learns a new Easter anthem.
1. Encourage people to stay home if they feel unwell.
This might seem so obvious that you wouldn’t have to say it, but some folks feel very guilty if they don’t show up for a commitment. Give those folks the permission they need to stay home, even if they “just” have the sniffles.
2. Print congregational music so no one touches hymnals.
This is especially important if you have multiple services each weekend.
If you don’t have a printed bulletin: print just the hymns as a leaflet.
If you don’t have the appropriate copyright license: choose hymns in the public domain or get a license at OneLicense.com – it’s easy and not very expensive). EDIT: OneLicense is offering gratis licenses through April 15th because of COVID-19. Thank you Pam for sharing that info!
(Two easy ways to check for copyright: look for a copyright notice for a hymn in the back of your hymnal, or go to Hymnary.com and see if they have the hymn viewable. Hymnary is pretty good at only showing texts that are in the public domain, or else showing a copyright notice.)
3. Plan for solos instead of choir.
Because of social distancing, it might be wise to have a soloist rather than a choir. Also, it’s easier for a soloist to prepare with minimal rehearsal than it is for a choir. In my music program, I have tentatively scheduled soloists for several weeks, even through Easter, in case we have a service without a prior choir rehearsal.
Choose familiar repertoire in case rehearsals are canceled.
What could your choir sing after a few weeks without meeting? Think about the big services we have coming up. What repertoire does your choir know so well that they could sing without rehearsing between now and, say, Easter Day?
5. Have choir take music home.
In case you cancel for several weeks, your choir will have seasonally-appropriate music to rehearse on their own. Think especially about Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter. Have your choir take familiar music home in case you can’t rehearse much beforehand.
A couple slightly more techy ideas:
Consider posting recordings of hymns on your church’s social media accounts. Many people are feeling very anxious right now, and hymns can be a great comfort and a way to keep God’s care in our hearts.
If your church might livestream from staff people’s homes rather than on-site, now is the time to trouble-shoot your tech. What that means depends a lot on our specific situations. For me, I’m deciding how and where I’ll set-up my computer, and checking the audio my computer gets when I play hymns on my piano.
