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Rosc did not like the idea of trying to play this thing. But if he worked at it, eventually he would be able to get to something that really mattered to him, right?
Eventually was a rough word.

It was a little smaller than a full-sized harp from what he could tell. In theory it should have been about as tall as he was, but it wasn't. Mind, it was still tall enough to rest against his shoulder when he was sitting down if he tilted it back, but it wasn't much taller than that.
With a frown, he flexed his left hand and plucked lightly at the strings like one plucks the strings on a cello or a bass, testing the notes.

It wasn't exactly the right form, but at least he sort of got an idea of where the the notes were. He plucked a little tune from them, missing the deep, and sometimes guttural (depending on the bow) sound of his cello and bracing himself for the cacophony of bad sounds that would begin to rise in the classroom.

"It's not about it being interesting," he drawled out to his friend before scowling at the instrument, "It's about knowing how to use it. Even the most uninteresting instruments can sound well if you know what you're doing," he winced when his friend created another horrible sound, and then leaned over his own to give it another try. Unfortunately, he too failed, "And we obviously do not."

He eyed the gryphon before him and then slid his hand over, "I'm pretty sure that's where it starts, and that's where it ends, Ren. I just don't know the correct preasure you're meant to apply to the bag, or the holes that need to be covered for it not to sound like a squealing, dieing phoenix," he leaned back and inspected the thing, "We're obviously doing something wrong."

"Obviously your skills at being a musician do not necessarily apply to all instruments," Ren said, eying Gabrian with a musing expression. Whatever the reason, both he and the nix were having major difficulties playing this...instrument...thing. The bagpipes were not really a choice thing. All they were getting out of them were horrible, screechy, gurgling noises, rather than the melodious strains of music.

Ren twisted the bagpipes around. "It seems as if maybe this side...or maybe this...okay what if I blow into here, maybe that'll work - "

EeeeEEEEeeaAAAAaaaaEErrrggghhhhh...

"Or maybe not."

"Right, an affinity," Ren said absently, twisting one of the tubes in a attempt to see if it would make a difference in his playing. "That means you're good at what you do, doesn't it?" He gave a shrug, casting a sideways glance at the other, a smirk on his face as he lowered his voice to say "If you have magical powers over ghouls, why not musical instruments too?"

He was probably going to get smacked for teasing Gabrian, but oh well. Ren turned back to the bagpipes, an expression of despair rapidly growing as he tried blowing again - and failed again. Glancing around the room, his eyes fell on Calder, the kelpie sitting a few rows away.

"Oy, Calder," he called to him. "You wouldn't maybe, er...know how to play this...thing...would you?"

He figured it was a long shot, but the kelpie did wear a kilt, after all.

Calder wanted to play the bagpipes. He even had his bagpipes with him and wanted to present them proudly to the class. Of the few things he knew how to do well, this instrument was one. It showed pride, it showed skill, and it showed that he had spent time learning it. He did not, however, get the bagpipes despite being his first choice (and probably was the only student who got it was his first pick). He got a …..

……..a……..

……..harm-onlica?

What was a harmonica? It sounded painful, which was good, but he didn't trust anything that didn't have 'bag' or 'pipes' in it's name. Frowning, he moved when his name was called and was handed a…tiny, itty, bitty, little sliver of silver thing. Calder blinked, turning with the instrument in his hand, and while it wasn't as massive as say, Barth's or Christof's instrument, it wasn't impressive either. First off, there were no bags. There were no pipes to blow on. There were no strings or keys or anything of that nature. It looked like a funky rock for all he could care. Did this come from some plumbing?

Sitting down, he glanced at Yaya and Junko before turning the instrument about. Usually he would have argued. Usually, he would have gone up to the teacher, thrown down this abomination of a instrument, and demanded he play the instrument that reflected who he was. He was sure his bagpipes, settled in his bag, were feeling he was betraying them with some slender, tiny floozy of an instrument. Ugh. He didn't even know what he did with this.

For a second he just shook it like a maraca, and then he noticed holes like teeth on the side. Strange. He brought it up and blew and it gave a eerie sound, making him jerk it back. Sticking a finger in his ear, he wiggled it about to get the sound out and then popped it back out. Ugh. That wasn't even close to the wondrous noises a bagpipe could produce. Such a small, tiny, worthless thing to blow on. He wanted massive pipes , plaid, and a big bag to squeeze. This was lame.

Utterly disapproving of his weapon, he considered asking for something else. At least Christof and Barth, despite having bulky instruments, had big instruments. His was dwarfed in comparison.

It was the fact he couldn't get in trouble with teachers or anyone else because of his already poor marks with the faculty that he didn't get up and make a fuss. Oh, how he would have liked to make a commotion.

When it was then demanded they play, he looked downright miserable and confused. Play? THIS?! He still wanted to know if this thing was considered an instrument and what strange culture decided that ripping metal into a square made sense. "My bagpipes are so much better." He huffed, either to himself or those around him.

Sighing, he brought the instrument back to his lips, wondering if this was even HOW you played it, and blew. What came out was some high-pitched yowl and he stopped. Okay, that hurt.

Frowning, he looked across and noticed the two boys playing the bagpipes. The bagpipes HE wanted to play. "Ohhhh! They're not even PLAYING them right!" He whined, looking over at the pair. "They have the blow up the bag first. What is wrong with them?" He leaned and looked at his stupid harmonica. Stupid nothing of an instrument.

Even Amrita had to flinch at that noise. Just...Ouch!

Maybe...maybe she was holding it up to high? Maybe she wasn't even holding it right. Hrm. What to try next. Frowning in pure concentration, the girl fumbled and fidgeted until she was practically hugging the instrument with one arm, a backwards hand laying spread and flat on the wooden surface.

Then, sticking her tongue out in the same determined concentration, she put the bow a little higher, and drew them across the strings again.

Bul dragged the drum set out piece by piece and worked on putting it together, tightening each piece with the drum key and making sure the snare bands weren't too loose. He had fiddled around with a lot of instruments before but only when shopping around. Ultimately he settled on a guitar but now was as good of time as ever for him to start practicing.

Perhaps it wasn't too hard to play the drums in the first place but as soon as Bul lowered the chair and scooted back enough for his lanky legs to reach the bass petal, he lifted his tail and two dusty drumsticks and started to test each drum. His tail acted as a double bass so he was able to get a couple consecutive taps in. At first it sounded like a jumble of bashing but before too long he had started testing a few beats.

Albeit they weren't spectacular, Bul still managed to get a good feel for the sound each surface made. Now to try out the hi-hat that came with it. With his other foot, now completely occupied by the set, he tapped on the hi-hat petal and got a rather annoying crash noise going like an endless barrage of "diisssssssh"es ((LOL)) shattering.

Eventually the noise got the best of him and he grunted when he realized he'd be leaving this class with ringing ears once everyone started playing. "Okay well.. gotta learn how to read the sheet music and stuff..." he muttered to himself and went back to playing the non-brass pieces of the kit. Knowing that the other students were trying to practice as well, Bul made an effort not to whack the snare too hard. Oh how he wanted to learn to drumroll... it would make a good taps.