Playing with a Group - In Person!

Jerryc41

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Yesterday, nine of us met in a church parking lot and played for over an hour. We were distanced and wore masks, but the singers sang. (I'm not a singer.) All of us had both our Covid shots.

Two things were funny: as people arrived, we weren't sure who they were, and they didn't recognize us. I haven't cut my hair in over a year, and I haven't shaved in a couple of months, so even without a mask, some people don't recognize me. Also, we had difficulty talking to each other and being understood. It's surprising how much we rely on seeing lip movement to understand what people are saying.

It was windy, and that was a problem. I'll have to give that some thought. Using my Kindle didn't work in the bright sun, but we all had our yellow and blue Beloff books.

It was definitely invigorating playing with the group again. I was energized for the rest of the day.
 
Our local group has been meeting outside in people's green belt areas for a couple months. I went to a couple, it was great to see some people in person I haven't seen in a year. The first time, I played bass and had a good time. The second time, I was playing my uke out in the "audience" and really couldn't hear the leader over my uke! I've gotten so used to zoom jams, it's so easy, you don't have to leave the house! I am looking forward to getting back to "normal" whatever that's going to be. It may be soon in my area, the Rec Centers may open up next month!? Our music room is really big. Outside is not going to work after this week, it's getting a little too hot in AZ. Other groups, it may be a while, one group meets in a restaurant and it's pretty tight.
 
I'm suffering from the double whammy when it comes to group playing. We moved just when Covid got going around here. So, I don't really know any local players yet. I'm going to have to wait until the big groups start getting together before I'll have the chance to play with anyone else. I envy you guys!
 
A gentle reminder: Just over half of the adult population has had one shot of the vaccine. Only 30% have had their second.

The vaccines are 95 - 97% effective to prevent being infected by the Covid-19 virus. They are, so far, 100% effective for preventing serious complications and dying.
The effectiveness is much less for infection from the variant strains of the virus. Protection from serious complications is less with the variants, but exact numbers are not known.

So, wear your mask, practice safe distancing, play outside if possible, and have fun.
 
A gentle reminder: Just over half of the adult population has had one shot of the vaccine. Only 30% have had their second.

The vaccines are 95 - 97% effective to prevent being infected by the Covid-19 virus. They are, so far, 100% effective for preventing serious complications and dying.
The effectiveness is much less for infection from the variant strains of the virus. Protection from serious complications is less with the variants, but exact numbers are not known.

So, wear your mask, practice safe distancing, play outside if possible, and have fun.

Thanks for the reminder. I'm just now recovering from the side effects of vaccination #2 which packed quite a punch, but I've lost track of how many people I know or have been in contact with via work who have had COVID, and one friend died, so I'll take that short lived feeling of knocked down & miserable over that.

There have been people who have been fully vaccinated who have died from COVID, so it hasn't been 100% effective at preventing deaths or hospitalizations, but fortunately, so far, still impressively effective.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...ons-reported-fully-vaccinated-people-n1264186

Jerry, I had the realization last week that there are people at work who I wouldn't recognize *without* a mask. Kind of the opposite of your problem. I've never seen their faces. A strange thought!

Glad that people are able to start playing outdoors, (still seems like winter here!), and interacting with others, even if from a distance and while masked.

I'm not brave enough yet for that, (worried I could pass along COVID, for one thing, since in the last few weeks, I know of 3 people I've been exposed to during that asymptomatic period before they got sick & tested positive), but it's reassuring that there are signs of life returning to normal out there. We'll get there!
 
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Thanks for the reminder. I'm just now recovering from the side effects of vaccination #2 which packed quite a punch, but I've lost track of how many people I know or have been in contact with via work who have had COVID, and one friend died, so I'll take that short lived feeling of knocked down & miserable over that.

There have been people who have been fully vaccinated who have died from COVID, so it hasn't been 100% effective at preventing deaths or hospitalizations, but fortunately, so far, still impressively effective.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...ons-reported-fully-vaccinated-people-n1264186

Jerry, I had the realization last week that there are people at work who I wouldn't recognize *without* a mask. Kind of the opposite of your problem. I've never seen their faces. A strange thought!

Glad that people are able to start playing outdoors, (still seems like winter here!), and interacting with others, even if from a distance and while masked.

I'm not brave enough yet for that, (worried I could pass along COVID, for one thing, since in the last few weeks, I know of 3 people I've been exposed to during that asymptomatic period before they got sick & tested positive), but it's reassuring that there are signs of life returning to normal out there. We'll get there!

I think I might go to every other weekly session. One woman didn't seem to be able to find her nose with her mask. :)
 
I'm definitely looking forward to this! Just got my second shot (just now! I'm in the 15 minute waiting area). Even with that it's going to be a slow roll back into anything resembling normal, but I'll get together with a few carefully selected friends once we're all set and the weather cooperates. Lovely out now -- good porch pickin weather -- but expected to get wet before the two weeks to full effect kicks in.
 
I run the San Francisco Ukulele Rebellion, which used to meet twice a month in indoor public spaces (the seating area at a supermarket and a local cafe) and would meet outside from time to time during warm weather months. We've been meeting on Zoom since last April. I'm now contemplating scheduling an outdoor in-person meeting for May or June with the requirements that attendees have received their second shot more than two weeks prior (proof of vaccination required), attendees wear masks at all times, and attendees practice social distancing. That may be a little over the top, but I take the responsibility of providing an opportunity for people to meet in person during a pandemic seriously. Nobody is getting sick on my watch.

Singers masks are available. They make the people who wear them look like ducks, but they provide your mouth with space to inhale deeply and exhale heartily while singing without the mask getting in the way. Friends who have them highly recommend them.

One of the side effects of my two vaccination shots (Pfizer) was an urge to return to my pre-quarantine look. (I was hoping that this look would be from the 1990s, but I'll settle for immediately pre-pandemic.) It's the people I met on Zoom last summer during Zoom jams who don't recognize pre-pandemic me.

Also, I've had hearing issues for a long time and the pandemic mask-wearing has made me aware of how much I rely on informal lip-reading to actually hear what people are saying. Talking to people with masks has been frustrating not only because masks muffle voices but also becauseI can't see people's mouths moving.
 
You folks down south are lucky to be so far ahead with your vaccinations and even starting to get together in person to play. I’m just a little bit jealous!
I’m still waiting for my first shot and the second will be four months or so down the road from the first. So still lots of time for working on my fingerstyle lessons solo safely isolated at home and zoom meetups will continue for us for the foreseeable future.
 
My jam is outdoors and we started back up in the fall and have been meeting weekly ever since. We kept our distance and those who felt the need wore masks. Most of us have been vaccinated quite a while ago but we still stay further apart than we did before Covid. I look forward to when we all get back normal. We play and sound better when we are close together.

Several bluegrass jams here have been meeting regularly. One neighborhood uke group started back a few months ago. It’s indoors but folks sit apart and a few wear masks. There are a few groups still out on break but most have been coming back. Again, most nearly everyone is vaccinated.
 
Just to clarify vaccination to covid numbers: as of April 14th 74 million people in the US were fully vaccinated. Of those 74 million, 5800 contracted covid two weeks or longer after full vaccination. Of those, 7% required hospitalization, and 1%, 74 people, died.
 
Just to clarify vaccination to covid numbers: as of April 14th 74 million people in the US were fully vaccinated. Of those 74 million, 5800 contracted covid two weeks or longer after full vaccination. Of those, 7% required hospitalization, and 1%, 74 people, died.

My math skills are shaky but that means 5800 got Covid after full vaccination out of 74 million vaccinated. That’s 0.008%. So 99.9+% did not. And of that tiny percentage only a very small amount had serious illness. Just putting those statistics in perspective. Correct me if I’m wrong. Math is not my strong suit.
 
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A few members of my 50 member uke group started meeting in the backyard of one member a few weeks ago, after all of us had our vaccines. We still are safe distance, but remove our masks when singing. As well, I also started participating again with a group of acoustic players in a park Sundays from 2 to 3pm, safe distance and masks since some are still getting ready for their vaccines. I actually have a set of see through masks that I bought on Etsy which are made for people that know someone who's deaf to be able read lips, I've been using them for the last year and many people comment how nice it is to see my mouth.

Mask transparent.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 38)

Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
My math skills are shaky but that means 5800 got Covid after full vaccination out of 74 million vaccinated. That’s 0.008%. So 99.9+% did not. And of that tiny percentage only a very small amount had serious illness. Just putting those statistics in perspective. Correct me if I’m wrong. Math is not my strong suit.

Compelling numbers anyway you look at it but I wouldn't want to be one of those 0.008%.
 
I run the San Francisco Ukulele Rebellion, which used to meet twice a month in indoor public spaces (the seating area at a supermarket and a local cafe) and would meet outside from time to time during warm weather months. We've been meeting on Zoom since last April. I'm now contemplating scheduling an outdoor in-person meeting for May or June with the requirements that attendees have received their second shot more than two weeks prior (proof of vaccination required), attendees wear masks at all times, and attendees practice social distancing. That may be a little over the top, but I take the responsibility of providing an opportunity for people to meet in person during a pandemic seriously. Nobody is getting sick on my watch.

Singers masks are available. They make the people who wear them look like ducks, but they provide your mouth with space to inhale deeply and exhale heartily while singing without the mask getting in the way. Friends who have them highly recommend them.

One of the side effects of my two vaccination shots (Pfizer) was an urge to return to my pre-quarantine look. (I was hoping that this look would be from the 1990s, but I'll settle for immediately pre-pandemic.) It's the people I met on Zoom last summer during Zoom jams who don't recognize pre-pandemic me.

Also, I've had hearing issues for a long time and the pandemic mask-wearing has made me aware of how much I rely on informal lip-reading to actually hear what people are saying. Talking to people with masks has been frustrating not only because masks muffle voices but also because I can't see people's mouths moving.

"Over the top" is better than Covid. I know what you mean about "lip reading." : )
 
A few members of my 50 member uke group started meeting in the backyard of one member a few weeks ago, after all of us had our vaccines. We still are safe distance, but remove our masks when singing. As well, I also started participating again with a group of acoustic players in a park Sundays from 2 to 3pm, safe distance and masks since some are still getting ready for their vaccines. I actually have a set of see through masks that I bought on Etsy which are made for people that know someone who's deaf to be able read lips, I've been using them for the last year and many people comment how nice it is to see my mouth.

Mask transparent.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 38)

Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

That would scare little kids. :D
 
Compelling numbers anyway you look at it but I wouldn't want to be one of those 0.008%.

Who would, but we all make risk assessments every minute of every day. Life, in all its wonderment, is not risk free. We drive, ride bikes, swim in the ocean, we step out our front door & any number of “one in a million” events could happen but we don’t allow it to immobilize us. We make prudent, reasoned, fact-based choices, and live life...and play ukulele together.
 
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Just to clarify vaccination to covid numbers: as of April 14th 74 million people in the US were fully vaccinated. Of those 74 million, 5800 contracted covid two weeks or longer after full vaccination. Of those, 7% required hospitalization, and 1%, 74 people, died.

I read that this morning, but how were those people living? Did they relax too much? The vaccine is supposed to prevent a severe reaction to Covid as well as decreasing the chances of getting it.

I see reports about people dying after getting both shots. However, most of those people were between 80 - 89, and there's no indication why they died or how long after getting the shots. You could also say that .003% of people got into traffic accidents after getting the shots. I'm just saying that the vaccines are miracles cures, and we still have to take precautions. I still wear two masks and avoid crowds.

Water.jpg

Meaningful-or-Just-True-Statistics.jpg
 
Since we're doing the math here...
At the time I'm typing this, on the CDC site they list 31,666,546 confirmed cases in the USA. Deaths are listed at: 566,494.

Divide that out and you'll see that the death rate is: 0.017889352
So you have a less than 2% chance of dying from Covid, assuming those numbers are anywhere near correct. My guess is there are actually quite many more cases that are not documented (asymptomatic, etc.), making that percentage go down even farther.

I've been careful over the past year or so, worn masks, avoided large crowds, etc. etc....but in reality I have a better chance of dying of a lot of other things...Of course no one wants to be in that small percentage....but that's the math and reality of it...not quite as sensational as some make it out to be.
Stress and worry over getting it will likely end up being more harmful than the actual virus to many. That's just my guess.
I try not to criticize anyone for being "too careful" or "not being careful enough". It should be a personal decision.
 
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