The John Payne Music Center

Bell Covers for Wind Instruments

With the rise of the delta variant in recent weeks, the John Payne Music Center is requiring masks indoors wherever possible. We will allow wind instrument musicians to remove their masks while they are playing their instruments, but we are asking wind instrument musicians to purchase a bell cover to reduce the spread of aerosols. Wind instrument playing and singing are both known to spread significantly more aerosols (very tiny droplets in the air coming from someone’s mouth or nose which can contain viruses) than talking at ordinary volumes.

Brass Instruments (trumpet, trombone, French horn, etc.) generally have considerably greater aerosol spread than reed instruments  (saxophone, clarinet), but using bell covers can eliminate up to 90% of that aerosol spread.  

Flutes and Recorders create a minimal amount of aerosols.  Both flutes and recorders cannot use bell covers, but aerosols can be reduced by plugging up the far end of the instrument with a small piece of cloth, though this makes the lowest note on the instrument unplayable.

Saxophones and Clarinets create a moderate amount of aerosols, more than flutes, but less than brass. I have been using Gator Cases brand bell covers on my saxophones and clarinet for over a month now. They have three layers, with the middle layer a MERV13 filter,  and satisfy the requirements set by the PAAS (Performance Arts Aerosol Study—see the end of this webpage for more details** ) for effectiveness in impeding aerosol spread. On the saxophones, other than not being easily able to hit low, low Bb (not a big loss), I don’t even notice a difference anymore. I forget the bell covers are on.  There is a VERY slight lessening of the brightness and loudness of the tone which isn’t a major problem. With the clarinet, low, low E, and low B in the upper register are both more difficult to play, but I am getting used to that. In addition, I have found that if you loosen the cover a bit around the bell of the clarinet, it plays much easier on these notes.

Trumpets create a high amount of aerosols. I know of two trumpet players who have bell covers. One is using a Gator Cases cover and has no problem with it. The other found that the Gator Cases cover impeded his playing too much and switched to a thinner Protec bell cover which works fine for him. However, the Protec is most probably not impeding aerosol spread as well as the Gator Cases bell cover.

Gator Cases bell covers are available on Amazon for $19.95 with free two-day shipping. They are also available online at Guitar Center and, presumably, also at their stores, but call and make sure before you go!  Make sure you are getting the right size. Please try Gator Cases brand (or another brand that has MERV13 filter as the middle layer, if there is one) first.  

The John Payne Music Center will gladly pay for the expense of our students’ bell covers. If you wish reimbursement, just email your name, your teacher’s name, and your mailing address, to jpayne5355@gmail.com— state what you paid for the bell cover and I will mail you a check, rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Be healthy and keep the music alive!

John Payne, Director 
August 8th, 2021
JPMC

**PAAS. The Performing Arts Aerosol Study Third Interim Report, which came out before vaccines were available, goes into excruciating (and often very technical) detail on these subjects, if you want to wade through it. It is important to keep in mind that this report, issued in December, 2020 is talking about the safety of unvaccinated people playing wind instruments and singing whereas we at the center are talking about fully vaccinated people playing wind instruments and singing, whose basic risk of contracting covid from aerosols is much lower. I have checked online and can find no updates from PAAF after December, 2020.