NHCA 2021 Virtual Conference

Reports of deaths from choir rehearsals without masks, where COVID19 aerosols had flooded the room from prolonged loud singing, have resulted in suggestions that the only safe rehearsals are conducted outdoors. An unmasked sneeze can result in aerosols 26 feet from the sneezer, and singing fortississimo can release a prolonged flood of dangerous aerosols in an indoor rehearsal space. As the conductor of a small church choir for 35 years, the author speculated that there might be an alternate approach to reducing risk, including a) wearing effective masks, of course (the N95 mask muffles the singer’s voice, but a mask rated as equally safe does not), b) increasing the spacing between singers to perhaps 10 feet, and c) sacrificing the drama of loud singing, all of which might reduce the risk below “shopping with cloth masks.” Two choir members thought it would be difficult to hear each other at those distances. A quick experimemt with a quartet singing harmony at 12 foot spacing in the Sanctuary resulted in the surprised comments: “It was easier to hear the harmony!” This abstract is too short to explain why, but the reader who took a class in acoustics may recall the reason.

Learning Objectives:
As a result of this Continuing Education Activity, readers will be able to:
1) Identify the music perception at increased distances in choir practices in pandemic.
2) Identify the effects of facial masks on music perception.
3) Loud singing inside choirs without masks has been associated with COVID19-related deaths from the spreading of aerosols.