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tenminutesaday2022-05-15 11:38 pm
shivver) wrote in tenminutesaday2022-05-15 11:38 pm
Entry tags:
Challenge #54 (DW AU Blue Rain)
I ended the last (in-universe chronologically) story with Jon's parents inviting Donna, Sylvia, and Wilf for the Christmas holidays. I'm not sure that I'll ever actually write that event, but if I do, this or something similar will be in it. Being all musicians, one of the Smith family traditions is to play music during the holidays, with Dad on piano, Mum on flute/oboe, and Brax on drums. Jon usually joins them but won't this time - he's technically skilled but lacks the aesthetic sense the rest of them have, and with Donna's family as audience, he's too embarrassed to join (he doesn't realize no one would notice). He "forgot to pack my violin, sorry Mum".
Next to the upright piano, Brax had set up a snare drum and a small bass drum, obviously individual parts of a full kit. He knelt on the floor, his arms around Anna, showing her how to strike the bass drum with a mallet.
"Now, on the beat, go." As he counted repeating groups of four, the girl struck the drum at each number, her inexpert blows thudding through the room. He patted her arm to coax her to stop.
"Good. Now, I'm going to just say 'tah', and you hit it on each 'tah', but I want you to concentrate on two things. First, don't beat the mallet into the drum. Let me show you." She gave him the mallet and he copied the way she had played. "See how dead the drum sounds? I'm driving the mallet into the drum head and that's what happens. Now try this." Donna couldn't see a difference in what he was doing, but the drum rang clear. "Just tap the head with the mallet and pull away, like you're writing a checkmark."
"Okay," she replied, nodding. "Let me try." She took the mallet and hit the drum a few times, the beats still sounding a bit dampened but much more vibrant.
"Brilliant," Brax breathed, and Anna grinned with pride.
"Now, the second thing to do is anticipate the beat." Anna frowned at the unfamiliar word, and Brax nodded. "You know how the beat goes, tah tah tah tah," he explained, indicating the time with his hand like a conductor. "It's the same interval and you know when each beat will happen, so try to hit the drum a tiny bit before. Just the tiniest bit."
"Okaaaaay," Anna drawled, obviously not quite comprehending.
"It's all right, dear, just try your best," he urged, giving her a little squeeze. "If you can do it, it'll give the music just a bit more pep, but if you can't, it'll be fine just the same. Are you ready?"
They played a number of measures of beats, and Donna couldn't truthfully say that she heard any difference, but Brax seemed pleased, and she left them to their music lesson.
Next to the upright piano, Brax had set up a snare drum and a small bass drum, obviously individual parts of a full kit. He knelt on the floor, his arms around Anna, showing her how to strike the bass drum with a mallet.
"Now, on the beat, go." As he counted repeating groups of four, the girl struck the drum at each number, her inexpert blows thudding through the room. He patted her arm to coax her to stop.
"Good. Now, I'm going to just say 'tah', and you hit it on each 'tah', but I want you to concentrate on two things. First, don't beat the mallet into the drum. Let me show you." She gave him the mallet and he copied the way she had played. "See how dead the drum sounds? I'm driving the mallet into the drum head and that's what happens. Now try this." Donna couldn't see a difference in what he was doing, but the drum rang clear. "Just tap the head with the mallet and pull away, like you're writing a checkmark."
"Okay," she replied, nodding. "Let me try." She took the mallet and hit the drum a few times, the beats still sounding a bit dampened but much more vibrant.
"Brilliant," Brax breathed, and Anna grinned with pride.
"Now, the second thing to do is anticipate the beat." Anna frowned at the unfamiliar word, and Brax nodded. "You know how the beat goes, tah tah tah tah," he explained, indicating the time with his hand like a conductor. "It's the same interval and you know when each beat will happen, so try to hit the drum a tiny bit before. Just the tiniest bit."
"Okaaaaay," Anna drawled, obviously not quite comprehending.
"It's all right, dear, just try your best," he urged, giving her a little squeeze. "If you can do it, it'll give the music just a bit more pep, but if you can't, it'll be fine just the same. Are you ready?"
They played a number of measures of beats, and Donna couldn't truthfully say that she heard any difference, but Brax seemed pleased, and she left them to their music lesson.