Band Together: How College Marching Band Students Perceived Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 mitigations significantly altered college marching band operations during the fall 2020 football season. Modified band operations may have affected students’ sense of community and togetherness. The purpose of this study was to investigate college marching band students’ perceptions of community and other band experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. College marching band students ( N = 765) from 10 universities across the United States responded to survey questions related to several aspects of pandemic marching band operations, including (a) mitigation strategies, (b) perceived mitigation effectiveness, (c) band community, (d) perceived band experiences, and (e) the extent to which some aspects of band modifications could continue postpandemic. Results indicated that feelings of community and opportunities for togetherness in marching band were substantially reduced during the pandemic. Implications including the importance of music performance, virtual learning, and monitoring of student physical and mental health are discussed.

Racial-ethnic minority participants in the marching arts: Intergroup experiences, perceptions of inclusion, and well-being.

“…Furthermore, their group cohesion as related to show execution is significantly related to strong collective efficacy over the course of the season (Matthews, 2017). Even during times of great difficulty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where collegiate marching students reported decreased social connection, community was the third highest aspect of marching band looked forward to by the student (Cumberledge, 2021). Allport (1954) described four conditions of optimal intergroup contact experiences: support of governing bodies, equal group status, intergroup cooperation, and common goals.…”

Virtual Teaching in the Applied String Studio During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In some cases, researchers noticed that introverted or anxious students become more engaged or outgoing in virtual environments (Joseph & Lennox, 2021; Salvador et al, 2021). Negative findings relate to a lack of community (Cumberledge, 2021), difficulty providing material to students such as instruments that would be available in a traditional classroom (Joseph & Lennox, 2021), the inability to provide physical corrections for students (Daugvilaite, 2021; Salvador et al, 2021), and stakeholders’ preferences for in-person lessons (Daugvilaite, 2021; Murdaugh et al, in press; Salvador et al, 2021). As is the case in pre-COVID literature, technology failures such as poor connections and latency (Salvador et al, 2021) or technology limitations, especially sound quality (Murdaugh et al, in press), were discussed.…”