Whole Notes by Ed Ayres

Author:Ed Ayres [Ayres, Ed]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2021-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

If I had to wager, I would bet my life that Rosie will never give up the cello. When she plays, her eyes gaze into the absent present and she lives beyond herself, yet completely inside herself. Rosie is grace in music.

We have come to the middle of the year, so it’s time to have a concert. Some students hate performing and I need to bring them very gently to the performance space, but Rosie only needs a little persuasion. Since Covid is still trailing its tentacles, we need to limit the audience to a select group: her family and her teddy bears. I use the term ‘teddy bear’ loosely, as the group includes the world’s largest pink unicorn and what looks like a giant snail, but then I wonder, who would have a snail as a toy? Still, the good thing about toys with fixed eyes is that they are always, always paying attention. No coughing, no rustling of lolly wrappers, just settled and waiting and listening. Admittedly, their applause is a little quiet, but the human beings, as opposed to the stuffed beings, can make up for them in that regard.

I, as the teacher, am the back-up band. I encourage Rosie to introduce the music in her clearest reading-out-loud voice – no mumbling! smile, make the audience feel comfortable, thank them for coming and bow deeply at the applause. And say ‘hippopotamus’ at the bottom of the bow for perfect bow timing.

The audience stares back a little blankly as Rosie introduces each piece: Back to Baroque; Long, Long Ago; Twinkle, Twinkle; and, a personal favourite, Stew Pot Hop. Rosie settles herself before each piece, makes sure her feet are firmly on the ground and her bow hold is soft, her left hand settled and rounded, and her core strong and engaged. She sings the first few notes in her head to make sure she’s going in the right direction then she’s off, as committed as an arrow to its target. Some people naturally hold an audience’s attention and Rosie is one of them. And look, I don’t want to speak for the unicorn, but I think the teddy bears were really into it.

After the concert, as the audience is taken away back to their beds and shelves, there’s a slight tinge left of the music – the carefully positioned chair, the music stand still up, and a feeling from Rosie that now, after her first ever concert, now she is really a musician.

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