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Post by Anwen on Feb 2, 2014 19:49:28 GMT -8
Angie giggled again after her sip of hot cocoa. "Well then Jon, Ben, this is my house. If one of you could take my drink a moment, I'll run in and exchange my flute for my guitar." She smiled. I think it will be Jon... he seems to behave in a more gentleman-like manner.
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Post by Brock on Feb 2, 2014 21:49:12 GMT -8
Ben stepped forward before Jon could shift his coffee from one hand to the other. "I'll hold it for you." Ben said.
"Come on, I was going to do it," Jonathan said with a touch of jealousy, "We'll be right here if you need us. But, you probably shouldn't give your coffee to Ben, there may not be anything left."
"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to get you worried about me. Rule number one, Johnathan lies."
"No, that rule is for you. For me it's, 'Rule number one, Jon is the greater.'"
"No," Ben turned back, "you are the lesser." They continued to bicker back and forth about this while Angie went inside and got her guitar.
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Post by Anwen on Feb 3, 2014 8:42:47 GMT -8
Sighing in mock exasperation, Angie turned back to her house. Once she made it inside, the game began.
As she ran across the open spaces, she just barely avoided a run-in with Mayhem.
Once in her room, Angie quickly changed into a different outfit, complete with straw hat, grabbed her guitar, and ran back outside. Angie found the boys were still arguing. With a high clear laugh, Angie took her hot cocoa, forgotten in the quarrel, and interjected over the noise, "Are you boys coming or not?
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Post by Brock on Feb 3, 2014 21:02:40 GMT -8
"...my nickname is better-" Jon broke off. "Of course, we were just waiting for you to finish up."
By now Ben just realized that Angie had a different outfit on and, shyly he said, "Wow Angie, you look stunning."
"Of course she does. She always looks stunning." But now Ben was more interested in her guitar to listen to Johnathan.
"Isn't that a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic? They're a very good guitar and the strings that come with it are the best that you can find." Benjamin was practically drooling over it.
"No, I think it's the Martin Vintage series HD28V Dreadnought acoustic with the vintage copper strings." Jon was also almost drooling over it. "Am I right, Angie?"
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Post by Anwen on Feb 4, 2014 19:40:23 GMT -8
Eyes twinkling, Angie replied, "You sillies! I already told you my guitar was made by my father's company. I wouldn't bring my Sunburst Gibson Hummingbird out to the park! It's an antique!" She stroked her guitar lovingly. "This is my father's prototype for a Gibson/Martin hybrid... The best of both." She looked up at them. "They haven't been released to the public yet."
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Post by Brock on Feb 4, 2014 19:48:41 GMT -8
"Cool!" Ben was now inspecting the guitar from only a few feet away, "How's the sound of it? My best guitar is the Martin 15 Series 00015M acoustic and I think that it has the best sound ever."
"I've herd it and I have to admit, it does have a really great sound." Jon said, "But I think that the Rogue RG-624 Dreadnaught is better sounding. Why don't you play us a little tune so we can see if your guitar is better sounding than ours."
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Post by Anwen on Feb 7, 2014 8:19:51 GMT -8
"We should get to the park first." Angie said teasingly. "but, I do have a song that I can play walking I suppose." She did an experimental strum to check for tuning. And so began. this is a safe link to the guitar music she's playing. www.clemsmusic.com/vrac/let-it-go.pdf |
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Post by Brock on Feb 7, 2014 19:17:30 GMT -8
"I don't think I've ever heard that tune before." Ben said with bright eyes, "Can you teach us it when we get to the park?"
"I have to admit, it was pretty good sounding. But, have you ever heard Minor Swing before? It's the current song that I'm working on Benjamin with." Johnathan said.
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Post by Anwen on Feb 10, 2014 20:43:41 GMT -8
"Yes, I have heard it! I was just learning the fiddle part for it! I don't think I could handle it on a guitar." Angie trailed off into a false pout. "I do want to hear you guys do it though!"
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Post by Brock on Feb 13, 2014 10:53:10 GMT -8
"Well, it is challenging. It took me almost two years to be able to master it." Johnathan said with obvious pride. "There's a bench over there where we could play. I, unfortunately, didn't bring a guitar with a strap."
Ben was getting out his guitar from his soft case when it dawned upon him that she played the fiddle. "Wait, you play the fiddle? I've always wanted to play the fiddle but I have never gotten around to actually learning it throughly. I have a good quality fiddle at my house that I got at a garage sale."
"Where is your fiddle? I've never seen it and it seems that I'm always at your house!"
"It's in the leather case by my desk."
"I thought that was your ukulele." Jon said confused.
"No, my ukulele is hanging up over my night stand."
"So that's a ukulele... I thought that was a miniature guitar for a dwarf." By now they had reached the bench and taken out their guitars. Once they finished fine tuning them (which only took a minute) they got out the sheet music and started playing.
Here's what they played:
After they were done playing they both waited to see what Angie's response would be to their playing.
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Post by Cytherea on Feb 22, 2014 20:06:29 GMT -8
Alex
As they reached the very large, lit-up joint, Alex felt his muscles tense and squeeze nervously. People's voices and beautiful symphony music drifted down from the open doors, and Alex cringed at some of the notes that he heard. That one was flat, that high note squeaked on the violin, and the cello strings kept vibrating unnecessarily, adding this almost Western twang to the very sophisticated music.
"Are we late?" Mrs. O'Connor softly asked her husband, who in turn glanced at his watch.
"Right on time." he told her with a smile.
Alex climbed out of the car, careful to handle his violin case with ease. He was planning to slip away during the banquet and hopefully avoid any uncomfortable encounters with prying strangers.
"Remember Alex," Mrs. O'Connor took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If you really can't stand the pressure here, just let me or your father know. We'll try to leave early and get you home, if it's possible."
Alex nearly missed a step leading into the grand ballroom as relief swept over him.
"Thanks, Mom." he murmured lightly.
Mrs. O'Connor took her husband's arm, and Alex followed closely behind. As he crossed the threshold into the room, his heart pounded wildly in his chest. There were people everywhere. Mrs. O'Connor looked back at him, quickly bringing him back to reality. He stepped fully into the room and slipped into a corner away from people's eyes. He watched steadily as his parents were intercepted on their way to the drink table by a lady in rich red tones, and quite unnatural purple hair. Quickly, he averted his eyes when the lady looked his way, and he busied himself by staring fixedly at a painting nearby.
Oh... this is impossible. Why did I ever agree?! What sudden spasm of lunacy overcame my better judgement?
"Mr. Alex O'Connor?"
Upon hearing his name, a visible shiver ran down his spine. Quickly, he spun around to behold the purple-haired woman. She smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile by any means.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." the lady excused her behavior dryly. "I've never had the opportunity to meet you, Alex."
"No..." Alex fumbled for words. What did he say? Fear and embarrassment gripped his heart, and his words jumbled inside his head.
"I've worked with your parents for a while now, and they talked about their son often." she smiled again, and he felt a cold fear grab him. It was not a genuine smile. "I heard that you played a violin very well."
"I- I do play, ma'am." he sputtered.
"That's important for young people these days, to enhance their minds by music." she paused and her eyes rested on the case in his hand. "Oh, you even brought it with you here! I would appreciate it so much, Alex," she said his name with too much familiarity, and horror swept over him. "If you would play for us tonight."
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Post by Anwen on Mar 7, 2014 7:39:07 GMT -8
"Amazing." Angie breathed. "I didn't think it would sound so good with just guitars! Then again, I normally hear it without guitars. One of my brothers plays the cello and double bass. The other one plays the accordion. Between us, then, we have all the parts but guitar." She smiled at them. "You guys sounded really good! One of you fumbled a bit in the middle, but otherwise..."
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Post by Brock on Mar 10, 2014 10:17:36 GMT -8
Jon looked over at Ben, "What did you do?" he accused.
"It wasn't me! That was you." Ben said throwing his arms into the air and catching his guitar just before it hit the ground.
"Well, she liked it anyway, that's what matters."
"Besides, it's easy to mess up on that song. After all, you are playing it at about 230 bpm (Beats per minute) so you have a large chance of hitting the wrong note or fumbling." Ben said. "That's really cool that you guys have your own little band set up. I think it would be pretty cool to see you and your brothers perform. I bet you guys sound really good."
"How long have you and your brothers been playing?"
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Post by Anwen on Mar 18, 2014 18:35:30 GMT -8
"We've been playing since we were four." Another voice broke in. Angie started, then stared at the hedges. Sighing, Angie turned back to face Ben and Jon.
"Benjamin, Johnathan meet my brothers. Mayhem and Chaos. I-I mean Matthias and Chris." She corrected herself as her brothers popped out from behind her neighbors' arborvitae. "Matthias, Chris... you get the idea."
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Post by Brock on Mar 19, 2014 15:17:09 GMT -8
"So, do your brothers cause a lot of problems or just act like brothers?" Ben said grinning. Walking over to Angie's brothers Ben and Jon shook both their hands and started, like most teenagers and young men do, sizing each other up.
"How old are you two again?" Johnathan asked stretching himself out to be as tall as one of them.
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Post by Anwen on Mar 23, 2014 13:06:44 GMT -8
Matthias grinned, "Angry Angie here is the same age as us. We're all triplets!"
Angie punched him playfully. "They do cause a lot of problems! It's their fault I have so much energy."
Gasping in mock shock, Chris retorted "OUR fault! You're the one who started the idea of finishing quickly!"
"Hey, someone would've come up with it sooner or later! I just came up with it first."
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Post by Brock on Mar 25, 2014 14:56:47 GMT -8
Ben and Johnathan both looked at each other and they both thought the same thing, "They have the same problem that we have."
Then, Jon curiously asked the three, "What do you mean by 'finishing quickly'?"
Ben glared over at Jon and said, "What do you think they meant?"
"I don't know."
"What would you normally finish quickly?"
"School and everything else so that I can get back to my guitar playing."
"What about chores?"
"What are 'Chores'?" Jon joked.
"Anyways... where should we go next?"
"Or what should we do next?" Both Jon and Ben looked over at the triplets for suggestions.
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Post by Anwen on Mar 27, 2014 16:26:39 GMT -8
"Well--" Angie began.
"We could continue to the park," Matthias continued.
"Or we could find a piano for Double A here to astound us on." Chris added.
"Don't call me that!" Angie yelled at him. "And I'm not that good anyway..."
"Sure you are! I propose that we adjourn to our house!" Matthias declared with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
"I second that motion! What about you guys?" Chris asked, looking back to Ben and Jon.
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Post by Brock on Mar 28, 2014 9:26:32 GMT -8
Johnathan and Ben at the same time said, "That sounds great!"
"I'm sure you're a lot better than me on the piano." Ben said to Angie. "The most I can play on it is Cannon in D."
"Well, I can play Let it Go on the piano." Jon bragged.
"You can't even play a C chord."
"Yes I can. I figured it out last night."
"That is what a professional would call 'Banging on the keyboard'. Now, shall we be off?"
"We'll follow you guys."
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Post by Anwen on Apr 11, 2014 16:23:46 GMT -8
Sighing inwardly but resignedly, Angie replied, "fine. Let's go."
As she led the way back, she began moving faster and faster until she was running ahead of the group, strumming random chords on the guitar as she went. Because of the guitar, she was testing what sounds were right for today and this group. She turned a corner into the pathway of the house and ran up the 20 steps to the door. The butler opened it and she rushed through.
Once in her room, she carefully put her guitar away, and shuffled through her sheet music. Finding exactly what she wanted, she grabbed it and sat down at her piano, began warming up while waiting for the guys.
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Post by Brock on Apr 12, 2014 22:19:48 GMT -8
Ben saw Angie start speeding up her pace until she was running and started to speed up his pace to when Jon called him back. The four guys had a fun time talking about different instruments when they got to the base of the steps. Since Ben had extremely good hearing he heard the piano playing first and nudged Jon. "I think Angie is preparing some music for us on the piano."
"I think your right. It sounds like she's warming up right now." They got up to the top of the steps and the butler let them in with a warm smile. Angie's brothers led the way to her room and when they got to the door Jon asked, "Do you have a song picked out to entertain us with, Angie?"
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Post by Anwen on Apr 13, 2014 18:17:34 GMT -8
She looked up and smiled sweetly at Jon, then glared at her brothers. "You know what to do."
"Yes ma'am!" they mock saluted before Chris went to the percussion corner and Matthias left the room.
"Well, here I go!" Angie said to the guys that were left.
As she was playing Matthias returned to the room with his cello. Angie finished the song, added her own little flourish, and then started on the family adaptation of Rockelbel's Canon, with Chris for the beat and Matthias for the necessary cello bits.
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Post by Brock on Apr 14, 2014 23:28:06 GMT -8
"That was lovely!" Jon exclaimed, "Almost as good as I can play."
"Oh come on, you can't even play a full beat of that song without being overwhelmed with the sheer complexity of it."
"I guess your right. But I have to say, that was Really good. I really like the second song that you guys played."
"Yeah," Ben added, "you and your brothers really play well together."
"Do you have anything else for us to listen to, or do you have something else planed for our time here?" Jon asked.
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Post by Anwen on May 7, 2014 14:23:00 GMT -8
"No, not really. I mean, unless you four want to go to the gym downstairs and get to know each other. I just realized how out of practice I am with my harmonizing chords on the piano, and need to practice." She smiled. "If one of you guys can beat Matthias in a boxing fight, or Chris in chess, I'll take you to see my dad's personal museum of guitar history." winking, she added,I'm sure you'll be able to name everything in there!"
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Post by Brock on May 9, 2014 20:00:39 GMT -8
As soon as she said this he bolted for the door, and a few seconds later he came back panting into the room and asked, "Where's the stairs for the basement?"
Realizing what Ben was up to and noticing the basement stairs as they walked in he too bolted for the basement with Ben right on his heels. "I bet I can beat Chris in Chess." Jon said over his shoulder to Ben.
"I bet I can easily beat Matthias in a boxing match." They got to the basement and were stunned with all the equipment that was there. Ben saw the boxing gloves and rink and headed right towards that to get warmed up, but Johnathan had to go around and look at everything that was there before he finally sat down at the chess table to wait for Chris.
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(I fully expect this to not be replied to until at least a month from now) 