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 Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:21 pm
JoJo ran until he spotted hints of a clearing just to his right. He slowed to a walk and strolled right into it. It was pretty quiet, with no birds and nothing but the gentle hum of various insects going along their merry ways. The occasional sunbeam broke through the thick tree branches and lit up the ground like spotlights, with dust motes dancing in and out. It seemed the perfect place to be alone.
No longer, he thought to himself as he sat, waiting for Tolfitken. Normally he would have sought a place like this out and brooded here, maybe even sing a little until the weak hurting feeling inside of him went away. But now he had a breach in his wall of solitude, one that he knew would not be so quick to close. He wasn't even sure if he wanted it to close. He wasn't sure if he liked Tolfitken. He wasn't sure about anything at the moment; his world had become a snowglobe that someone had shaken.
He sighed and lowered his head. He would have to find time to sort this all out later. Right now, he owed someone a singing lesson.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:44 pm
Tolfitken came into the clearing slowly, turning to look around and enjoy the sound of the peace and quiet. She knew she was there for something about a singing lesson, and was quite excited about it. But she was also excited to be alone with JoJo, well, having him willing to be alone with her. Other than their little bantering game, she didn't really know what to think of him until now, and now, she was curious to know more. She was more than a little curious as to if he had taken an interest in her as well, seeing that he had agreed to give her a singing lesson, something she didn't think he would have offered to anyone on a good day.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:39 pm
JoJo saw her enter the clearing, and relief and disappointment fought for a dominant position inside of him. Keeping his voice completely free of emotion, he said "You're here." He shifted his front paws until he was sitting up straight as a tree.
"Practice posture first," he said. "If you bend over when you're singing, you squish your insides and the sound comes out funny. Sitting straighter helps the music come out better. Try."
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:02 pm
Tolfitken did as he instructed, trying not to show her own disappointment that he treated her still so coldly. Straightening her back, she kept her paws set carefully in front of her, not really knowing what to do with her tail. In the end she decided to hold it straight up like a squirrel's tail behind her back, hoping it didn't make her look silly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:15 am
JoJo nodded his approval as Tolfitken assumed the position as he had instructed. "Good. Now move your tongue around until the tip touches the back of your bottom teeth. It helps clear a way for the sound to escape better. Oh, and don't warm up by clearing your throat; it doesn't work." He cleared his own throat, wishing he could do a better job at this instructing thing. "Try singing now; you should notice a difference."
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:26 am
She did as he said again, waiting until she thought she had it right before opening her mouth to sing. "Ah, what should I sing?" she asked, trying to resist the urge to clear her throat as he had done. So far she thought she was learning a lot; she hoped it could continue to be so productive. She just hoped she didn't wind up saying the wrong thing again and make her singing teacher mad. Well, their past meetings with eachother usually wound up as banter, but she hoped they could stick to singing.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:14 am
JoJo's look softened slightly as he shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. How about something you like singing? That way you'll be more likely to notice the improvement." He sighed a little, letting the sigh echo inside of him until it was a big sigh; what he had felt like doing. He knew though that if he sighed like that, Tolfitken would be sure to think it was some fault of hers, she'd probably run off in tears and despite his general core of uncaring, he would feel like a heel for the rest of the day. And who needs that? he thought to himself. He focused his gaze on Tolfitken and waited paitently for her to begin.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:25 pm
"Hmmm," she thought for a while before saying, "Well, there's this one song that Neko always listened to as an orchestral piece; she let me listen to the singing version later and I liked trying to sing with it..." Resuming her posture, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to center herself so she could get into the music, once again starting with a hum. Once she'd built it up she opened her mouth and sarted to sing, slowly and sweetly at first and letting it build as she went. She crescendoed and trilled when the violin piece would have, having only heard the vocal once and only knowing the lyrics because she made Neko write them down.
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.
Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.
chorus
I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.
chorus
If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.
chorus
My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
chorus
Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
but still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
chorus
Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.
chorus
Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still thy lover true,
Come once again and love me.
She stayed silent when she finished, waiting for her ears to stop ringing with the music; it had sounded so beautiful in her head. She only hoped it had sounded at least somewhat pleasant coming from her own voice. Curious to know what JoJo thought of it, she took another deep breath and let her eyes finally slip open.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:20 pm
JoJo blinked as the song started and went on. Tolfitken had chosen a long one it seemed, which was good at testing how long she could sing before her voice showed signs of tiring. And it was one unknown to him, which was always fun. Seeing that she had gone ahead and closed her eyes as she sang, he did likewise and tried to immerse himself in the song, letting his own body sway back and forth like a tree in the wind, letting his mind attempt to picture this Lady Greensleeves, who would not be swayed by all the singer's attempts to court her.
When he sensed to song ending, he opened his eyes and resumed his posture, looking as though he had been that way the entire time. He saw Tolfitken's eyes open, seeking him out. He nodded shortly. "Did you hear and feel the difference? Singing like that constantly will help strengthen your voice and make it clearer." He stopped and looked down, feeling as though he ought to say something more. Pushing through the thoughts and feelings that swirled inside of him like a tornado full of debris, he managed a "Nice song."
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 3:06 pm
"Yes," she said, starting a little and looking down when he did, thinking her voice probably hurt his ears and he didn't want to continue the lesson. She looked up a little at his comment about the song, but noticed it was about the song and not her voice, "Urm, thank you!" She never really heard herself sing, only felt the vibrations in her throat, so she didn't really know how she sounded. The music usually took her into herself so that the world around her disappeared and all that was left was the feel of the music. It wasn't even like she was hearing the music, her sensitive ears rendered useless. She didn't know how to explain it, but it was more like a reverbration deep inside of herself. She wondered how JoJo felt the music, knowing by the way she first saw him sing that he more than just heard it, and wondering a lot more, too.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 3:49 pm
Thinking Tolfitken probably wanted more than a 'nice song', he fought to keep the dialogue going before one of them gave up on the other. "You seemed like you were bringing the sound up from your chest, which is the way you want to do it; if you don't then it tends to come out your nose, which obviously doesn't sound as good." He took a deep breath before speaking again. "Although it does at times seem like you have trouble hearing the notes you sing. Not flat exactly, just a little off. Do you...that is, are you......having any trouble.....you know.....hearing?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 4:06 pm
"Thank you," she said, almost visibly perking up. When he mentioned the notes she looked a little sheepish, "I usually hear the music the way I originally heard the song; I've never actually heard myself singing... I work more with matching the vibration I get from the song to the vibration that comes from my throat..." She wondered if that was the wrong way to do it, waiting curiously to hear what JoJo said of it.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 4:47 pm
"Hmm...." JoJo thought for a moment, glad at least that Tolfitken hadn't taken any offense to his ill-asked question. "I've heard of others reading music different ways, so I don't really think there's an absolute right way-" He paused for a moment, letting those last three words ring in his mind. Something about them......He shrugged it off and focused on Tolfitken. "I would still try to listen to the way the notes are coming out." He leaned down and scraped a chunk of moss off of the ground and brought it over to Tolfitken. "Put this in one of your ears, and sing another song. With this, you'll be able to hear yourself better."
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:33 pm
"Okay," she said, sticking the moss in good and tight, "Um, there may not be an "absolute right way", but would there be one you recommended?" Waiting to hear his answer she rocked her head side to side, wondering how the moss was supposed to help her hear her voice exactly. She decided to try a little song, falling back into her posture which she thought was getting down pretty well and launching into a quieter song, eager to hear her voice. It probably wasn't the best choice, and she only meant to sing the first verse, but somehow she wound up going farther as she listened to herself sing, actually singing, and singing opera.
Quand je vous aimerai?
Ma foi, je ne sais pas,
Peut-être jamais, peut-être demain.
Mais pas aujourd'hui, c'est certain.
L'amour est un oiseau rebelle
que nul ne peut apprivoiser,
et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle,
s'il lui convient de refuser.
Rien n'y fait, menace ou prière,
l'un parle bien, l'autre se tait:
Et c'est l'autre que je préfère,
Il n'a rien dit mais il me plaît.
L'amour! L'amour! L'amour! L'amour!
L'amour est enfant de Bohème,
il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi;
si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime:
si je t'aime, prends garde à toi!
Si tu ne m’aime pas,
Si tu ne m’aime pas, je t’aime!
Mais, si je t’aime,
Si je t’aime, prend garde à toi!
Si tu ne m’aime pas,
Si tu ne m’aime pas, je t’aime!
Mais, si je t’aime,
Si je t’aime, prend garde à toi!
L'oiseau que tu croyais surprendre
battit de l'aile et s'envola ...
l'amour est loin, tu peux l'attendre;
tu ne l'attends plus, il est là!
Tout autour de toi, vite, vite,
il vient, s'en va, puis il revient ...
tu crois le tenir, il t'évite,
tu crois l'éviter, il te tient.
L'amour! L'amour! L'amour! L'amour!
L'amour est enfant de Bohème,
il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi;
si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime:
si je t'aime, prends garde à toi!
She wondered if JoJo recognized the song, though she didn't know if JoJo understood French or not. The reason she had heard it before was because it was French, for Neko's French class. She found she loved the feel of the resonation of notes in her sensitive ears almost more than when she fell prey to the music and into herself. When some of the notes seemed off to her she could hear it, she could change it. Her voice had a sweeter quality to it, not exactly right for the song, but she didn't think it hurt the song, only made it into a different version than the one she had heard. In truth, it felt like honey flowing softly down her throat, making her want to sing loud and soft and full all at the same time.
(Oh, if you don't recognize it in word form, the song is Habanera from Carmen)
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:54 pm
((*Feels like such a silly for having never seen Carmen* sweatdrop ))
JoJo shook his head. "One way can be as good as another. Like painting; lots of different styles." He listened patiently, his eyebrows going up until he couldn't keep the astonishment out of his face. Not so much because the singing had noticably improved, but because of the song itself. French! He usually didn't touch French; it sounded strange in his mouth, and when he tried to sing it and made a mistake, it sounded more ridiculous to him than if it was any other language. Imagine him giving lessons to a namir that knew how to sing in French!
He found himself daring to hope for an instant that if he and Tolfitken ever consented to bury the proverbial hatchet, they might be able to sing together sometime. Then what? a voice in his head said. Until the next time you're forced to predict a natural disaster? You know what'll happen then; she'll chase you away like all the rest. Why are you hurting youself with such thoughts?
He sighed and for the first time in what seemed like centuries, he had to swallow the beginnings of tears. He forced himself to look as though no inner conversation had just happened and managed a bit of genuine enthusiasm in his nod. "That was loads better. I tihnk that really made a difference. And.......nice job with the song. Not many can sing Frence."
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