A New York City musician found a natural outlet for his music while in quarantine due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Professional clarinetist Michael Winograd was performing in Europe and returned to the U.S. just over a week ago. While following COVID-19 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he has figured out a way to cope with his 14-day quarantine.
Winograd had the idea to write a short song aptly called “Quarantine.” Once he posted it to social media, it began getting a lot of positive feedback.
That day he promised to do a new song for each day of his quarantine, and he left virtually no topic related to this situation untouched.
There was a song about the scarcity of toilet paper and the need for frequent handwashing. “From a Distance,” sheds light on love in a world of social distancing. There is also a song about all the many things he now has time to do while stuck at home.
“I’m really enjoying it, and surprisingly people are just, they’re loving it too. I think it’s as therapeutic (for them) as it is for me,” Winograd said.
Winograd sings in the videos, which he thinks is funny because he said he is not a singer. He’s not embarrassed to say it takes the help of audio editing software to hit the right notes.
Winograd starts working on the day’s song as soon as he gets up each day, motivated by the many people who said the short movies lighten up their day.
He called the process a great outlet for him, especially after he takes in the latest developments in the news during what he calls a “wild and very dark time.”
“You go to the dark place immediately, so this has been helpful for me, and I’m very happy that it’s been helpful for family, friends and fans and everyone else,” he said.
You can hear and see more of Winograd’s music on his Facebook page.
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