Classical Pop PV Mardella Bram Finished

"You'll be fine. If you mess up, that's also fine. I had to take this exam once, right, and the judge, she was super duper British, so she was all, 'Play the E scale,' but she said it so weird and with such a heavy accent I played the A scale instead, and ahhh, it was a mess," Ami rambled. "But chiseling and carving. Yo, that's dope, Mardella. So you're a hands-on type artist. I like it. I can work with that." Ami gently spread the fingers of one Mardella's hands apart so that her pinky finger and thumb were eight keys apart. "This hand position? It's called an octave. If you play both notes..." Ami demonstrated an octave higher. "You'll notice they're the same note, just higher, or lower, depending on how you look at it. Do you notice any special about it, the hand position? Look at the keys in the middle, in between your fingers- d'you see any patterns or anything?"

"You'll be fine. If you mess up, that's also fine. I had to take this exam once, right, and the judge, she was super duper British, so she was all, 'Play the E scale,' but she said it so weird and with such a heavy accent I played the A scale instead, and ahhh, it was a mess," Ami rambled

Mardella laughed, feeling a little more at ease. She could imagine how that could get confusing, but at least it wasn't a Geordie speaking! For an American that would definitely be a thousand times worse! She let Ami take her hands, feeling a fission of nervousness when the redhead began actually teaching her.

"This hand position? It's called an octave. If you play both notes..."

The Hufflepuff demonstrated playing two notes together that...sounded the same-ish? Sort of?

"You'll notice they're the same note, just higher, or lower, depending on how you look at it. Do you notice any special about it, the hand position? Look at the keys in the middle, in between your fingers- d'you see any patterns or anything?"

Mardella nodded along, feeling like she'd perhaps bitten off more than she could chew. So the notes were the same, she'd gotten that right at least. She stared at the keyboard, trying not to feel like she was being tested in an exam she hadn't studied for. Patterns...patterns? The keys between her fingers...? She could feel the silence dragging as she tried to frantically think of the right answer. So there were white ones and black ones... right. Somehow that didn't seem like the answer Ami would be looking for. Well...there were black ones between the white ones...between some white keys? Some of the keys were white-white, instead of white-black?

"Er..." She said, at last, drawing the sound out between her teeth. "There's a gap there?" And relaxed her fingers to point at the white keys with no black key between them. "...I think?"

"Yeah," Ami smiled. "Exactly. Nice job, most people don't usually notice that." Surprisingly true. She'd tried teaching her father to play, but the only thing he managed to accomplish was punching a hole through their innocent upright in their flat in Chicago. Her mother had gone even farther at their house in London, making the keyboard spark and short out. They'd had to get a new keyboard, and her father had the piano repaired. Ami never tried to teach her parents to play again.

"Okay, so, see this?" Ami pointed to the two white keys right next to each other. The white key on the right had a black key, white key, and another black key next to it, then there were two white keys in a row. The one on the left had a black key, white key, black key, white key, and another black key next to it, before reaching two white keys together. "This one is a C." She pressed the white key on the right. "This is a B." She pressed the one on the left. "You with me so far? C and B. Right next to each other. There's a second pair, E, and F, that are right next to each other, too, but they're further away."

"Yeah, Exactly. Nice job, most people don't usually notice that."

Ami, Mardella decided, was a really good teacher. She watched as the other girl proceeded to point out a few new keys and name them by letters. Oh-kay, concentrate! She had no idea how the other girl knew which notes were which, they all looked far to similar. And besides, even staring at the white-black-white-black pattern was making her go cross-eyed, how was she supposed to play on it?

""Okay, so, see this? This one is a C."

"Right!"

"This is a B. You with me so far?"

Mardella gave the other girl a nod, and a tentative smile.

"C and B. Right next to each other. There's a second pair, E, and F, that are right next to each other, too, but they're further away."

She shot the keyboard a panicked look, before trying to cover it up. "...right." Okay, so there was C and...B? It was B right? Or was it E? or D? Oh no, oh no! It was C and...no, the second one was E and F, right? So C and D? C and B? C and G? "...got it....I think?" Mardella scratched one side of her freckled nose sheepishly, before guessing: "It's...C and D? Right?"

Ami pursed her lips in a smile. "C and B. The musical scale goes in alphabetical order, left to right- A, B, C, D, E, F, G- it stops at G, though, and goes back to A. Am I going too fast for you?" she asked nervously. "I've never really tried to teach someone piano before... I hope I'm doing okay."

Absentmindedly, Ami started to play the bass line of Heart and Soul while trying to rack her brains for another, easier explanation of piano (spoiler alert: she couldn't). C, C, A, A, F, F, G, G... then she started playing the melody, and softly sang along,

Heart and soul,
I fell in love with you
Lost control,
just like a fool would do,
madly
Because you held me tight
And stole a kiss in the night

She froze suddenly, and glanced shyly at Mardella. "So, so sorry about that. I'm supposed to be teaching you how to play this, not making you feel bad about not knowing how to paly it. But you just heard the song- you'll play the bass line, I play the melody and screw up my improvising a harmonic bass line. At least, that's my goal. I mean, to teach you the bass line, not to totally screw up the harmonic bass line."

"C and B. The musical scale goes in alphabetical order, left to right- A, B, C, D, E, F, G- it stops at G, though, and goes back to A. Am I going too fast for you?" she asked nervously. "I've never really tried to teach someone piano before... I hope I'm doing okay."

Mardella shook her head a little frantically, dropping her fingers from the keyboard. So A to G and then starting from A again. That didn't sound...awful? She thought cautiously.

Heart and soul,
I fell in love with you
Lost control,
just like a fool would do,
madly
Because you held me tight
And stole a kiss in the night

"Oh wow," Mardella swallowed and then felt her lips tilt upwards in awe. "You have a really pretty voice!" The other girl tried to apologise, but she shook her head again, "No, it was nice, really."

"But you just heard the song- you'll play the bass line, I play the melody and screw up my improvising a harmonic bass line. At least, that's my goal. I mean, to teach you the bass line, not to totally screw up the harmonic bass line."

"Are you sure?" Mardella shifted on the piano stool - which was kind of at an awkward height sit at and honestly not as comfortable as it looked - "I'm happy to listen, I...er...I know where my strengths are," Her fingers tugged at the sleeves of her jumper once more, "And music is definitely not one of them!"

Ami gently (but firmly) set Mardella’s fingers back on the keys, saying, “I will teach you the bass line on the piano, even if it kills me. It’s a beautiful song, and deserves to be brought to the Gryffindor common room. Who better to do that than you?” She set her hands on top of Mardella’s, and spread them out so they were reaching an octave, and started playing the syncopated rhythm on just the two C notes. “This is the rhythm you’ll be playing. Bah, bah - buh, buh - bah, bah - buh, buh - bah, bah - buh, bah -buh, buh - bah...” Ami trailed off, realizing she probably sounded like a crazy person. “Do you get it? It’s a swing-y rhythm, if you know what I mean. Sway with it.”

Ami lifted her hand off of Mardella’s, indicating that she should try the rhythm by herself. “Try it. You’ll catch on pretty quickly- I believe in you.” She squeezed Mardella’s hand lightly for good luck, trying not to make it seem too weird, and gestured for Mardella to try it out. “If you have trouble with it... just run away with it. That’s the beauty of music- it can still sound amazing even if it’s not exact.”

Mardella let Ami's hands guide hers to the keyboard and shot the other girl a wry look as the redhead refused to let her give up.

"I will teach you the bass line on the piano, even if it kills me. It’s a beautiful song, and deserves to be brought to the Gryffindor common room. Who better to do that than you?”

She laughed, throwing her head back a bit as she did so. "I don't even know where that is yet, but I suppose...if you insist." Mardella narrowed her eyes at the notes and watched as Ami spread her thumb and pinky apart to rest on white keys.

"This is the rhythm you’ll be playing. Bah, bah - buh, buh - bah, bah - buh, buh - bah, bah - buh, bah -buh, buh - bah...”

The girl stopped abruptly, fixing her a focused look, bright and determined - it made Mardella want to wilt. Puppy dog eyes!

“Do you get it? It’s a swing-y rhythm, if you know what I mean. Sway with it.”

"Sway..." Mardella tried to arrange her face into some semblance of confidence as Ami dropped her own hands off the piano.

“Try it. You’ll catch on pretty quickly- I believe in you, If you have trouble with it... just run away with it. That’s the beauty of music- it can still sound amazing even if it’s not exact.”

The other girl reassured her, gesturing for her to try with a little flick of her fingers. Squaring her shoulders and swallowing, Mardella gave it ago. She had rather large hands - no doubt as a result of being so tall - so her hand didn't feel too strained on the piano - although she wasn't exactly sure what to do with her index, middle and fourth finger whilst the thumb and pinky were occupied. The first note was a bit tentative and she did her best to follow the pattern Ami had shown her, but at a much quieter volume. Mardella thought it sounded alright - unaware that to the well-trained ear (like Ami's was) the rhythm was slightly off - enough to drag a little in places.

"Like, uh, this?"

"I don't even know where that is yet, but I suppose...if you insist," Mardella laughed, and Ami couldn't help but laugh along. "I have no idea where anything is in this castle, either," Ami confided. "I have no idea how I'm going to get back to my common room after dinner- actually, scratch that. I don't even know where the Great Hall is!"

"Like, uh, this?" Mardella began to play, and Ami immediately thanked God (or whoever else was up there) for blessing Mardella with hands larger than most. Most elven-year-olds couldn't reach a sixth, let alone an octave, so that just made Ami's job a whole lot easier. When Mardella began to deteriorate slightly from the beat, Ami tapped her finger on the piano in time to the rhythm Mardella was playing. To her satisfaction, Mardella got back on track, and Ami was reluctant to stop her.

"That. Was. Amazing," Ami gushed, not even kidding. "Just three more notes you have to learn. That's it. That rhythm, repeated over four notes. Easy, right?" Ami smiled at Mardella, happy for her- a syncopated rhythm, and an octave with one hand? Impressive! "That was C, your first note. Now, you just have to do A, F, and G. I'll walk you through it."

"That. Was. Amazing," Just three more notes you have to learn. That's it. That rhythm, repeated over four notes. Easy, right?"

Mardella shook her head. "It was not!" She wailed, exaggerating playfully. "There's more?"

"That was C, your first note. Now, you just have to do A, F, and G. I'll walk you through it."

"Oh Merlin," She breathed, looking back to the keys again. She had no ear or talent for music - in fact, Tiordan was more than happy to remind her just how tone/rhythm deaf she was. "Um...I think that's about all I can do. I might melt if you try and teach me anymore tonight." Mardella winced apologetically. It had been fun, admittedly, but a glance out the window showed just how late it was getting and they did have classes early the next day. Maybe Ami wouldn't mind walking together for a bit, at least until she found a teacher or a prefect who could tell her where to go? "It is kind of late." She added, and then, because she was an idiot, she followed it with. "We should do this some other time!"