Covers with Ms. Shila

On the weekends we run programs with the kids all day long. Our supervisor suggested that we organize clubs about things we were personally interested in, so naturally I decided to continue my newfound hobby of doing covers of pop songs.

We met on a Saturday afternoon, and in those first 30 minutes of our first session together, this was exactly how I felt:

Here I was, my typical enthusiastic self, and the kids were completely silent. There must have been some kind of mix up... these kids SIGNED UP for this club, so surely they wanted to make music!!! 

I asked if they liked to sing, and they replied that they did not. [false]

I asked if any of them could play instruments, and they replied that they did not. [false] 

I asked if any of them had artists they liked to listen to, and they said no one. [also false]

The attempt to break the ice was unsuccessful, so after a quick run down of some great cover groups, I set them to work to find a song they wanted to cover while I sat in a corner scheming about all the different ways I could disappear into the wallpaper. 

I was sweating.

BUT. 

By the end of that first session, the kids had chosen a song they liked. By the next one, the kids were slowly sorting out the arrangement and it was actually fun. We learned to do beat boxing. When I saw my kids in the hall they'd say hi with a beat box snare sound. We learned how to hear the different parts of a song. We started putting it all together. And slowly but surely, I discovered that these sneaky kids were actually very talented.

As it turns out, Korean kids are simply more concerned with humility than "standing out". The key was to discover their talents in less upfront ways. For example, while peeing, I heard a girl singing beautifully while she washed her hands. I came out of the stall and AHA! SHE WAS IN MY COVERS CLUB. From then on she was put on melody and totally nailed it. Another method was putting the song on REALLY LOUD and asking everyone to just sing with it. Once the shyness factor was mitigated, the kids flourished. And I was discovering all the individual strengths of these dumplings. Which were many!

I felt more and more excited. This was actually a great idea!

Finally, we were ready. We recorded it in only two takes, and for our very first attempt I'm super, super proud of these guys. They chose the song, they figured out the parts and learned them, and even overcame their intense self-consciousness of being recorded. Considering the initial level of reticence, it was a big win. Give it a listen, ideally with headphones since it's a tad on the quiet side.

I'm excited for our next session!!