Clarification Needed

Writers: Chelle, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 26th February 2015

Characters: Nokala, A'kua
Description: The show must go on, even if another path has to be taken to get it started.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 16 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Ilyssia

This class was not going well. Another technical aspect of gitar playing
was flying right over his head, and it was showing, no matter how many
times Aluka attempted to do it correctly. Not to mention his heart just
wasn't in it; even after unburdening himself to Lys, he still didn't feel
set to rights, and he had no idea what would help.

Aluka finally stopped mid-chord, set the gitar aside, and braced his elbows
on his knees, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. "I need a
break," he mumbled.

Patient, Nokala nodded and set her own instrument down. "It seems like your
thoughts are elsewhere." Ever the teacher, she gave him the opportunity to
open up if he wanted advice. If he didn't, well then at least he knew she
had noticed. If he wasn't going to pay attention, then there was no point
in continuing the lesson. The harper didn't like to waste time.

"Women problems," Aluka muttered, giving his eyes a rub and sitting up.
Then he realized how that could sound and added "Not ya. You're lesson
problems." Wait, that was bad too. "I'm not really understandin' half the
stuff you're teachin' me, or how it relates to what I'm doin'," he said,
even though he hadn't wanted to admit that. "And it's not your fault. I
just have too many bad habits."

"Like what?" Maybe she needed to use different methods then. Ignoring the
part about women for the moment, she focused on the part about his crafting
education. Grabbing a glass of water nearby, she sipped as she watched him.

"Like bein' allowed to just play as I liked for Turns on end," Aluka
sighed. "And then I become your student and suddenly there's mentions of
deceptive cadence, etude, glissando, ligature, and other things that I just
don' get. It's hard to even see why it matters when I've always understood
what I meant when I was composin' without all that. And in tryin' to
understand and do what you're tellin' me, sometimes I wonder if my music is
changin' too much."

"Part of being a harper-and a good one mind-is to always be learning and
changing. Because music changes. What was popular in the third pass is not
popular now. So we are always trying new things, different things. However,
without the proper tools, how can we work to the best of our ability? I am
trying to give you tools that can help you. What you do with them is up to
you. I compose both classical and popular music. You may not ever decide
that classical is your forte. That's allright. But if someone else gave you
classical music to play or edit, you could." It was hard to explain to
someone that had such a small world what it would mean to be a part of
something larger. "There's nothing wrong with your music. But now you
know-what you've been doing instinctively in some cases-the techniques
involved in it. Or maybe I've given you a few ideas you never thought of."
She wiped her hands on her trousers and looked him directly in the eye.
"Change is part of growing. Everyone and everything changes. Especially as
you gain more experiences."

"What if those changes start makin' my music into somethin' I don' like?
Has that ever happened?" Aluka asked slowly, trying to process everything
his teacher was saying.

"What you do with the knowledge is up to you so your music will only be
what you want it to be. So if your music is something you don't like, then
it's because you made it that way." She hoped he understood the point she
was trying to make.

That was reassuring, for the most part. The Candidate hugged himself around
the middle. "Did ya have trouble with all this when ya decided to become a
harper?"

"Some of the things took more time to learn, but not real trouble. I think
the most trouble I had was when my father realized I wasn't going to
Impress. He's okay with it now, and he has my brother so it's not all a
loss." She shrugged, dark eyes moving slowly over Aluka as she stretched
her limbs. "I think maybe it's something else bothering you and you just
think it's this."

Damn it. It wasn't nice of him, but he'd been hoping his teacher had
experienced the same difficulties, or at least something similar, so he
wouldn't be the only one with the problem. "There's a lot botherin' me," he
said, seeing no reason to lie to his trustworthy teacher, "but this is the
primary problem at the moment. I don' know how to make myself understand
all the things ya insist are so important." Teachers had no use for
students who couldn't learn, after all. He didn't want his lessons to be
cut short.

"You don't have to understand everything right away. Tell me what makes
more sense to you and we'll focus on those areas first. I'm just throwing
everything at you now to see what piques your interest. We can always go
back to things more in depth later. And remember, not everyone is quick and
not everyone is the best at everything. I'm not the world's greatest
singer. I'm better at playing and writing than I am at that. So we all have
our areas of improvement." Nokala wished she could soothe his worries but
Aluka had failed at things before and she was sure he would always be
afraid of failing because of it. Someone had picked at his
vulnerability-she could see that too. "Tell me what you need and we'll do
whatever it is."

"What I need is a way to think of these things like the stuff you're tryin'
to break me of," Aluka said glumly, but he felt a little better despite how
he sounded. He thought Nokala sang fine, so hearing her admit without
embarrassment that it wasn't her best point was heartening, but not in a
mean way. "'Brightly, but not too fast,' 'sing lower,' 'sing faster,' 'play
as though you're happy'; the way I'd write about it in my book before I
became your student. Is there a way to make the technical parts translate
as somethin' simpler?" So he wouldn't feel as though the hold harper had
set him up to struggle instead of being ignorant as well.

"So you want to work more on your understanding of the terms before you
start to use them?" She just wanted to be sure before she switched gears.

"If that'll help me use 'em, then yes, I do," Aluka said simply.

"Allright then. Let's take a break and then start up again in a few
minutes." Getting up, she brushed off her pants and went to her notebooks.
She was going to have to design completely new lesson plans. It was a
challenge, though, and she was determined to see this boy through. If he
didn't Impress, he would be useful-just like her.

"Thanks," the Candidate told her, and hoped his teacher would hear
everything he meant in the word. The fact she kept taking chances on him
was worth the world to him.

Last updated on the March 3rd 2015

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Clarification Needed