Keep the Beat
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 21st March 2014
Characters: L'pin, Alina
Description: L'pin shows Alina the basics of percussion playing.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 5, day 12 of Turn 7
Alina hurried down the corridor until she reached the room she'd begun to think of as the 'music room' - where she had met L'pin. Her chat with Ikalis had eased her lingering worries and now she was just nervous. To learn music... the days that the Harpers were at Nadol Cothold to teach had been the days she'd looked forward to the most, and it was an unexpected pleasure to be allowed more music. And new music! And maybe L'pin would teach her to play an instrument! She knocked on the door and entered, a little out of breath. L'pin was already there and she beamed when she saw him. "Hello, sir!"
"Greetings, Alina," he said. He'd hoped she would show up, and had brought some things for her. There was a gitar, small drum, and wooden pipes lying on a chair. Next to them were some hides with music. "I'm pleased you came."
"I said that I would," she said primly, already eyeing up the hides and instruments. "I hope you weren't waiting long."
"Not at all. I wanted to re-learn some of these before trying to show you, so I don't teach any bad habits. What would you like to start with?"
Her fingers itched for the gitar, having seen them so often in skillful Harper hands. The pipes and drum were tempting too, and somehow less intimidating. But the promise of new songs... "I'm happy to start wherever you think is best," Alina said. "You have far more expertise in these matters."
"Have you played pipes before?" he asked. They were apprentice-made, perfect for a starter. "The fingerings are relatively simple."
Alina shook her head as she sat down across from the dragonrider. "I've never played any instrument, ever. We didn't have any at Nadol Cothold, and the Harpers didn't come by that often."
What a pity. He wondered, if one had come by more frequently, if she'd have been given a chance to learn a Craft, once the Harpers started taking women. Well, here she could. "Why don't I show you a little bit of each? Drums are easy enough, anyone can figure out the basics." He tapped on the table in a rhythmic beat. "And percussion is fun. You could tap in time with me, or start making a counter-point."
"I would love that," she said with a sigh. A chance to try everything! At that moment, stuck at the Weyr or not, Alina felt like the luckiest girl in all of Pern.
"Here you go, then." He passed the small drum across to her. "Tap something. Anything."
She held it awkwardly, then ran her fingers along its edge as if she was impatiently tapping a table. It sounded weak and messy and not like anything. Helplessly she looked up at L'pin. "I don't know what to do with it."
"Tap in the center." He leaned over, careful to not get too close, and tapped out a simple beat. One, two, three-four fast, one, two, three-four.
That, she could do. Alina adjusted her grip on the drum and did as L'pin showed her.
"See?" He tapped the same rhythm against the table. "I like percussion because of how easy it is. You can accompany any teaching song, or start a drumming war with another person." His lips quirked at a past memory.
"What's a drumming war?" Alina asked.
"Something very silly apprentices do. Hold a steady beat, would you?" He began to improvise around the pattern she had, playing a little more dramatically, energetically, like a light-footed dancer high-stepping around a fixed point. "We would start trying to one-up each other's beats on these big drums until the masters went mad."
It sounded more like fun than madness to her. "Like the big drums for messages?"
"Not quite that big. The ones that are tall and stand on their sides and you pound in the big serious performances."
A real performance, with multiple Harpers and not just one with a chorus of whoever he could round up... Alina decided that she would see a real performance one day. Just once. "Did you perform a lot?"
"As a formal Harper, not really. But I've always enjoyed performing in the evenings at a Weyr. It's spontaneous and energizing, in a way a formal performance is not."
"Do you still perform, then?"
"At the big celebrations." But no longer did he just go up and solo. He hadn't since - and now his mind shied back. "Did you want to try varying the beat a bit?"
Vary the beat? "Sure," she said, and waited for L'pin to take the lead.
He tapped out a slightly different rhythm from the one she'd been doing, hoping she'd pick it up. "Fun, isn't it?"
"You were very lucky to have spent so much time doing this-- darn!" Alina frowned as she lost the beat she'd copied. Speaking and drumming at the same time were apparently beyond her. For now.
"You're doing well," he encouraged. He wasn't thinking about it anymore as he casually kept a beat with one hand.
She smiled, but knew her limitations. Still, drumming was something. And then he'd teach her the pipes, and maybe even the gitar. Alina looked forward to that,
Last updated on the March 25th 2014