Do "brassy" sounding musical instruments need increased safe distancing requirements to minimize the spread of COVID-19?

ABSTRACT

Brass wind instruments with long sections of cylindrical pipe, such as trumpets and trombones, sound "brassy" when played at a fortissimo level due to the generation of a shock front in the instrument. It has been suggested that these shock fronts may increase the spread of COVID-19 by propelling respiratory particles containing the SARS-CoV-2 virus several meters due to particle entrainment in the low pressure area behind the shocks. To determine the likelihood of this occurring, fluorescent particles, ranging in size from 10-50 µm, were dropped into the shock regions produced by a trombone, a trumpet, and a shock tube. Preliminary results indicate that propagation of small airborne particles by the shock fronts radiating from brass wind instruments is unlikely.