Dohyun Kim (Piano) – Santa Ana Branch
Portola High (Class of 2021)
To be truthful, when I first heard of the opportunity to volunteer at Love in Music, my initial reaction was of anything but excitement. Being a young student I was, I struggled quite a bit to find the true fruit behind the reason why I volunteer, especially when it seemed like the only realistic goal is to earn the volunteer hours; it’s a notion that I imagine many of my younger peers can agree to, and one that many will bring with them into their first Love in Music class. Fortunately for me, my times at Love in Music have forever widened my perspective in both volunteering and beyond, and I hope those future volunteer teachers will gain similar fruits out of this precious experience as I had.
I remember having my first students, who were mostly beginner-intermediate musicians already able to somewhat play the piano, and teaching them skills beyond just playing their concert piece. I would teach them what makes the piano special: harmony and chords, sounds of major and minor chords, and other music theory concepts that I found to help in setting the foundation to becoming a practical musician. I knew that teaching these otherwise “boring” concepts by merely talking wouldn’t work, so I snuck these concepts into the student’s music and later explained how I made such interesting sounds out of a familiar song. Perhaps the most important, I made sure to play duets with the students as much as I could, whenever the workbook had a “play with the teacher” section, or even by improvising simple accompaniment.
I saw my student’s eyes light up with awe after I enhanced their three-note melodies or explained how to play a chord that fits into a song, and, through their awe-filled eyes, I witnessed the core of my duty: I simply wanted these kids to feel the joy in music, so they would continue to associate music with the joyful feelings as they grow up into what the future holds for them. It’s impractical to assume that the kids will master music theory concepts within the 1-hour sessions, and it’s also discouraging for the students to hold such expectations. So instead, I focused my lessons on ensuring that the student was having fun, learning piano can be fun.
These are only a part of my experience at Love in Music, and there were other exciting and valuable moments such as planning concert events and helping out at the Kidworks garage sales. Volunteering is truly a special privilege that allows our efforts to make impacts in other’s lives. It’s important to remember that a muscle-memory-learned “Carol of the Bells” can last only so long, but a thoroughly learned joy can last a lifetime.