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Late afteroon
By: Her Bessiness

3PM... first piano student arrives.
"How are you Megan?"
(no answer.)
"So did you get much practicing done this week?"
"No."
"OK, let’s hear what you did do."
(Long pause, longer pause, she puts music up on piano; it falls off; puts it up again; it falls off.)
"I have to go to the bathroom."
"It’s across from the kitchen."
Megan gets up and searches for the bathroom.
(Long pause, long pause, longer pause.)
"Do you need any help?
Are you sure you don’t need any help Megan?
Megan?"
(Megan walks back in.)
"OK, Megan, Let’s play your song."
(Blank look from Megan.)
"Why don’t you put your right thumb on middle C.
Good try, but that was your left thumb.
Honey, you have to take your foot off the pedals, OK?”
“I need a Kleenex."
"I am out of Kleenex but I will get you some toilet paper."
(Bessy walks out to the bathroom and returns with the toilet paper. Megan fiddles with blowing her nose and hands the wet tissue to Bessy.)
"OK, let’s put your right thumb on middle C... no, that was your left thumb.
Yes, Megan, you did tell me that your dog, Terri, was groomed yesterday, but let’s play middle C. Why don’t I put a sticky star on middle C so you know where it is."
"Do I have to play anymore?"
"Yes, sweetheart, we have twenty-five minutes to go.
Let’s try middle C again; how about with the left thumb because you like that thumb.
Good try, Megan, but that was your right thumb."

Later that day...

“Mitchell, I want you to play the E-flat in the second measure.
Not with the fourth finger, but with the third.
That was a four, try a three.
That was a three, but it wasn’t flat.
That one was a natural.
Try it again, sweetie.
This time it was the right note, but you played the E-flat with a two instead of a three, which would make it a D sharp, not an E-flat.
Okay, this time take your third finger and instead of flatting it, make it a natural.”
“What’s a natural?”
“A regular.”
“Not with the left hand, Mitchell, but with the right hand.”
“What?”
“Try the right hand three. The three.
Good.
Now flat it.”
“What’s a flat? And that reminds me, Mrs. G., I may get the wishbone.”
“The what?”
“The wishbone.”
“What’s the wishbone?”
“Remember? It’s Thanksgiving next month.”
“Oh, right, right. The wishbone.
Okay, Mitchell, let’s play the E-flat in the third measure.”
Pause, pause, pause...
“Hey Mrs. Goldman, I still have chocolate cake stuck in my jaw-expander from yesterday.”
“The third measure, Mitchell. Play the third measure.”

“What’s a measure?”

Article Source: http://journal.ilovephilosophy.com

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