Sweet sounds
JK Musicians Workshop owners Karen Jardine and Jim Dofka teach music lessons in their building at 31 E. Chestnut St. in Washington. Jardine teaches piano, and Dofka teaches guitar. Other music teachers give lessons in the building for violin, voice and a variety of instruments.
The JK Musicians Workshop building is home to several music teachers providing lessons to students of all ages and skill levels in piano, drums, vocals and string instruments.
In addition to lessons, JK Musicians Workshop has a studio where artists can record their music or record demos for college applications and provide singers complete instrumental tracks for their songs.
In a converted furniture store, a couple of devoted musicians are furnishing educations in their craft.
“Our students are 5 to 72,” Jim Dofka said. “We teach all ages, all levels, all styles. It’s up to each person to determine their goals.”
He and Karen Jardine are the J and K of JK Musicians Workshop in downtown Washington. They are co-owners of the music teaching studio that operates out of the upper end of the Freedom Center, once venerable Weber Furniture, on East Chestnut Street.
Lessons are JK Musicians’ forte, one-on-one weekly sessions – by appointment – that generally last a half-hour.
“We don’t sell anything. We only give lessons,” Jardine said.
JK’s remodeled work space – it’s wheelchair accessible – features nine teaching rooms and a full-production recording studio, where instruction is offered in piano, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, violin, trumpet, voice and digital recording. Sessions, the co-owners said, are mostly in the afternoon and evening Monday through Thursday, and daytime Saturday.
Voice lessons are an hour. Some students, especially those with a lengthy commute, may request a 60-minute session. They come from as far as New Martinsville, W.Va., and Plum in easternmost Allegheny County.
Instruction also includes a popular initiative for youth: Rock Camp for the Kids.
Jardine and Dofka are experienced musicians with about 50 pupils apiece. Jardine teaches piano and keyboard, Dofka guitar. They and the five other instructors, combined, give an estimated 150 to 200 lessons per week.
The staff strives to impart more than the basics.
“Not everyone teaches performance,” Jardine said. “We teach performance and how to improvise.”
Dofka said, “The main thing about lessons is (that students) are learning, and not just their favorite songs but techniques they have to be able to perform.”
The duo launched their enterprise in March 2010, and while the ride hasn’t been pothole-free, it has been relatively smooth. “We’ve been running strong without the help of grants or any other outside investment source,” Dofka said. “We are constantly trying to expand and provide for the community.
Enrollment could rise in the aftermath of the WashArts closure in Washington, announced Sept. 5. “If we had demand, we’d add instructors,” he said. “We look for teachers who are music people.”
Dofka and Jardine head a faculty that also features Katie Vercek, violin; Wayne Bartley, guitar; Pat DiIanni, drums and percussion; Sophia Mintas, voice; and Karen Marietta, trumpet.
Guitar is Dofka’s trademark – along with his shoulder-length-and-beyond hair. He lives in Wheeling, W.Va., performs with several bands including his own – called Dofka – and has done production work with a number of groups, labels and artists. He said he did all of the tracks for county star Lorrie Morgan’s greatest hits CD.
Jardine is a longtime Lone Pine area resident who grew up in Virginia. She is a piano soloist whose specialties include New Orleans jazz, and who has performed with her students at selected events.
Both are advocates of the power of music.
“Kids can be so distracted these days, playing video games,” Dofka said. “Music is something you can share with everyone. The main thing is to have fun. They should be able to smile.”
They do, Jardine attested.
“We try to be thorough and positive with what we do (in the classroom),” she said. “We’ve had some kids come in after having a bad day at school, then leave smiling.”
Dofka usually does, as well, despite the physical toll of marathon days on the job. He’s got the music in him.
“I’m here forever,” he sighed mildly. “I’m spread thin. But I’d rather do this than a lot of other things.”
For more information, visit jkmusicwashington.com.