I am REALLY excited about this content. To keep it digestible and give you time to ponder, I am breaking this into two separate posts - the second one will arrive on Friday. Another way of saying thank you for being a Patron.

Is your event calendar filling up? Do you hear the champagne corks popping aplenty? If so, you're not the only one - because engagements are on the rise, and weddings are coming back - and in a big way!

According to a report on CNN.com, the downturn in weddings (and relationships) caused by the pandemic has the marital frown turning upside down. The report cites sales data from Signet Jewelers, the largest jewelry company in the United States, as evidence that the relationship doom of the pandemic has evolved into a relationship boom.

"The pandemic created a temporary disruption in dating. Accordingly, several years ago we predicted a future lull in engagements caused by the global shutdown,"

Virginia Drosos, Signet CEO

But the return of many pre-pandemic lifestyles, including dating, has the lull in proposals bottoming out this year and rebounding in early 2024.

According to Signet's proprietary data, the typical time between when couples meet and get engaged, called the "engagement gap," is, on average, about 3.25 years.

Um, I short cut that one. How about you?

It turns out that about 2.8 million couples, on average, get engaged every year in the United States, said Drosos. Last year, the number slipped to 2.5 million. She said it will continue to head lower to level out at 2.1 to 2.2 million in 2023 before climbing back up and fully rebounding over the next three years. In 2024, Signet expects engagements will reach 2.4 to 2.5 million as it works its way back to pre-pandemic numbers.

"We have 14 million people in the dating funnel right now that we can identify in our database," Signet states.

The dating funnel? And they say romance is dead.

What's in this dating funnel? And how do they know who is in it? More on that Friday, for now, I want to look at our music funnel.

While the circumstances are VERY different, the numbers and outcomes associated with the pandemic are eerily similar for relationships and music education.

Like its dating counterpart, our public schools currently have about 14 million children in elementary school receiving some soft of general music. This is our funnel.

Also similar to 2.8 million engagements, we have around three million students involved in music in junior and high school. They have chosen a class,, rented an instrument, and are in a committed relationship with their clarinet.

Like all relationships, all seventeen million people are somewhere between courtship (beginning music), and seriously committed relationship (high school marching band/show choir/symphony orchestra).

They start and end on an almost annual basis, and travel the same path - just a different speeds and with different outcomes. Like all relationships, there are trying times and difficult moments. But regardless of how and when it ends, this journey is a transformative one.

But the pandemic altered that.

This global event brought the seemingly normal music-making activity to a grinding halt and quickly eroded our students' skill sets and your program enrollment. It took away their musical making partner and created a physical, cognitive, and emotional distance that was too hard for some to overcome. They lost it all, their relationships (with their instruments), the activity, and the people they used to make music with.

Those were dark days - and like the diamond industry, it was easy to see not just the immediate impact of distant/remote learning, but its long-term associative effects.

For high school teachers, you are likely seeing the storm before the sun. You are the epicenter of that impact zone. Nearly three years after the pandemic, every student in your program experienced an altered or truncated beginning experience, which affects them (musically and otherwise) to this day. Yes, this is the start of the climb out, and your sunrise comes soon.

If you start beginners, you have already been through the storm - and you are likely seeing more sun than your secondary counterparts. You endured the worst and are now better and brighter days.

Either way, the days before us should be sunnier than those behind us. As in all relationships, your students' musical relationships will not always be smooth and uncomplicated - but the tough days are when the love is solidified and the commitment personified.

More than anything it needs to be celebrated and honored on a regular basis. We celebrate to show progress. We celebrate for the solidarity of it We do this to deepen the connections and honor the commitment.

It won't just grow the bond, it could grow your enrollment. Music is like any other relationship, if not one is paying attention, progress and growth are hard to see. And without those two things, we lose interest.

In light of this, might I suggest you take a minute in rehearsal this week to acknowledge and celebrate your students' musical anniversary. There Banniversary that is (sorry couldn't come up with one for orchestra and choir). Bring a cupcake, light a candle, and make a wish.

I am approaching my 47th banniversary, (seven years in school, four in college, sixteen as a teacher, and I am approaching my twentieth year with Scott Lang Leadership).

No gift needed - for me, it's about celebrating some milestones.

I will explain why all of this matters so much on Friday. It's gonna blow your mind. Well, it did mine - but I am a drummer so...

Have a great day - talk to you in a couple of days.

Scott