To Perform without Talent

Plink–

The first note rang through the music hall. Aito held down the pedal, letting the sound permeate for as long as possible.

A-plink.

Then came the second. It sounded like an orchestra tuning their instruments just before a performance began. I felt a subtle suspense hang in the air as she repeated those two notes slowly. After a few repetitions, Aito lifted her hand above the keyboard. The notes resounded, then stopped as she released the pedal. The music hall went completely silent; Aito’s hand remained floating in the air. A few seconds later, Aito gracefully brought her hand down, moved it back onto the piano, and lined up her finger on the next key to play.

Plink-a-plink-a-plink.

A familiar melody danced across on the keys: “Heart and Soul.” As she continued, I noticed there were a few things different from the version I remembered. First, Aito was currently only playing the melody of the song without the accompanying chord progression. Second, the song was played at a much slower tempo. The song held my attention as each note released a bit of the suspense and slowly built it back up with each key press. There was also a heavy emphasis on the pedal, imbuing the notes with as much of Aito’s heart as possible. Additionally, and I wasn’t sure if I was wrong, but the song sounded…weird. It was like the pitch was slightly lower than usual. Regardless, this interpretation was put together well. The style covered up Aito’s lack of talent while still making her sound like a professional.

“...fell…you” I turned towards Mona; I thought I heard her muttering something. However, her mouth wasn’t moving at all. I don’t think there’s lyrics to this song, so I probably just imagined it. I turned back towards Aito.

When Aito began the second repeat of the song, the bass notes came into play. The harmony wasn’t all that impressive: only four notes without any chords or embellishments. However, due to the slow speed, the four notes added a layer of depth to the performance without detracting from the melody.

Lego’s really impressive for coming up with this, I thought. He told us he had only played for two hours everyday for the past seven years. Though, if you did the math, that was still over five thousand hours of practice. More surprisingly, Lego apparently had even less talent than Aito when he started. I smiled slightly at how far they both had come. I turned to look at Lego on my right.

But Lego wasn’t there.

I looked around the area for a bit before turning towards Mona.

“Do you know where Lego is?” Mona remained motionless for a few moments. Then, without looking away from the stage, she pointed at Aito.

“What does that even mean?”

“Just watch,” Mona responded quietly. I’m even more confused now. It took me a second to realize what she meant.

The music hall was soundless.

Aito had stopped playing. She sat on the bench with her hands still hovering above the keys; her head was tilted downwards. I couldn’t see the expression on her face. I was about to rush over to Aito, but Mona grabbed my arm, keeping me in my seat. She gave me a stern look; the words she said previously floated through my head. Concerned, I looked back towards the stage.

Lego came out from behind the curtains wearing a tuxedo. Where did he get a tuxedo from?!? He made his way over to Aito. He looked at her for a brief moment before sitting on the bench, positioning himself in front of the bass keys. He put his hands on the keys and took a deep breath.

Then, Lego began to play.

PlinkPlinkPlink-a-PlinkPlinkPlink-a-PlinkPlinkPlink?

Lego played a few chord progressions, matching the same pitch Aito produced before. Aito continued to look down. Why aren’t you asking her what’s wrong? I started to scream in my head. Before I could voice it though, Aito played a short melody. Huh? Lego played a different chord progression, and Aito responded with another short melody. The chords and melody sounded like a conversation between two people: asking questions and giving answers. Wait…is this a skit?!? I noticed Mona staring at me. The look in her eyes said, I told you so. The chords and melody gradually became synchronized until…

PLINK! PLINKPLINKPLINK!

Lego and Aito both played the synchronized notes as loud as possible. Then another! And another! Each combination grew even louder; the anticipation grew in tandem. Just before the tension was released, they both stopped, holding the sound by pressing down on the pedal. As the sound faded away, the audience gave a large round of applause. Aito and Lego turned to each other and smirked. They brought their hands to the keyboard.

Plink-a-plink-a-plink! PlinkPlinkPlink-a-PlinkPlinkPlink-a-PlinkPlinkPlink!

Lego and Aito both began playing “Heart and Soul”. It was now a proper duet. Grr…very clever, but grr. Lego playing the bass line was a great surprise; it hid the few mistakes Aito made in the melody. Still, I was genuinely worried about Aito when she looked so despondent. It was annoying that they hadn’t clued me in. I looked up; Lego was grinning directly at me. You did this on purpose… I frowned and crossed my arms, slumping back into my chair. However, regardless of how I felt towards Lego, I was enjoying the performance.

As the song looped over and over again, it slowly started to evolve into something new. Lego made the chord progression more complex, converting the tone of the piece into more of a swing. Aito also experimented by creating a new melody. Sometimes it wasn’t good, but her expressive playing covered up the mistakes.

Soon, the music hall grew lively. The audience began clapping. Some of them were bobbing their heads to the beat of the music. A few were even dancing while seated.

After a few more loops, Aito stopped playing. She stood up and rushed off stage, leaving Lego alone to continue the performance. He quickly transitioned the piece into elevator music, making the audience laugh. I had a sneaking suspicion as to why Aito left the stage. Am I about to get bamboozled again? I looked over at Mona. She looked directly at me, giving me a nod. Then, I saw Aito reemerge from the stage door, motioning for us to come over. Yep, definitely getting bamboozled here. Resigning to my fate, Mona and I rushed over to the stage door, following Aito inside.

As soon as we entered, two stagehands hurried over to us. One carried a microphone and a crimson, one-shoulder dress. The other carried a case and a tuxedo similar to Lego’s.

“Guessing you’re Lucas and Mona?” one of the stagehands asked. We both nodded in response.

“Great, put on these clothes and meet us back here in a minute.” The stagehands handed the dress to Mona and the tuxedo to me.

“Wait a second, what’s going on here?” I was highly confused at this point.

“You’re performing as promised,” Aito stated. I was taken aback. I just made that promise five minutes ago! Can you at least give me a warning next time?!?.

“You can be surprised later, now you have only forty-five seconds. Go get changed!” The stagehands forcefully pushed the clothes into our hands. Well, no time like the present, I thought, making my way to the changing rooms. I entered and quickly threw off my clothes, changing into the tuxedo in thirty seconds. The tuxedo fit perfectly. I wonder how they got my measurements. I promptly left the changing room, walking over to the stagehands. Mona came out a few seconds later. Man, she looks beautiful. The two stagehands handed me the case and Mona the microphone.

“Mona will be up first. Lucas, you can take this time to prepare and do a quick run through.” The stagehand motioned at the box. I unlatched the locks and flipped open the lid. There was a disassembled oboe laying in the case. So, I’m going to play the oboe then. The stagehand then walked over to Aito and handed her a microphone.

“Almost time for you to get back on stage.” Aito nodded; then she quickly turned towards me. She brought her face up close to the side of my head.

“Rhapsody,” Aito whispered. She then pulled away, gave a quick smile, and returned to the stage. I assumed she wanted me to play what I learned in the Music Club: “Rhapsody in Blue.” Wait…wasn’t this the key for that song? So, that’s why “Heart and Soul” sounded weird!

I assembled the oboe as Aito made her way back to the piano. She handed Lego a microphone while smoothly transitioning to take over the elevator music. Aito’s playing was a bit rougher than Lego’s, but it still sounded just as magnificent. Aito slowly lowered the volume of her playing. Then, Lego stood up and brought the microphone right in front of his mouth.

“How’s everybody doing tonight?” The audience cheered in response.

“Well, I’m glad you guys are enjoying it so far!” Lego began slowly pacing across the stage. “Now, usually one of your hosts would announce the next performer on stage. However, there’s a very simple reason why I’m doing it instead.” Lego leaned towards the audience; the audience leaned back towards him. Mona began walking towards the stage.

“This performance ain’t over yet.”

“Wo-oa-oa-oahhhhhh!” Mona can sing?!?!?!? Another spotlight turned on, lighting the opposite side of the stage. Mona stood in the center of the spotlight, singing each note on pitch with the piano.

“Give it up for the Crimson Witch!” Lego ducked as a microphone flew over his head. He glared at Mona. Mona responded with a smirk. She then brought another microphone to her mouth. Guess she threw a different mic.

“Ooooaahhhhhhhh!” The audience went wild.

Lego quickly returned to the piano. Aito and Lego then transitioned into a seemingly popular song. I hadn’t known the song myself, but the audience seemed to as they were singing along. Mona sang the melody of the song, adding her own flourishes when she thought it was necessary. It was insane how adaptable Mona was to any situation while still being spectacular. She was making a few mistakes here and there, but that made sense since I didn’t think she had ever done this before. That was just how she was.

Aito played a counter-melody to supplement Mona’s singing. It had a lot less embellishments and plenty more mistakes. However, she let the audience hear her heart and soul in every note she played. Lego played the chords, adding his own spice of swing into the mix. He made a few slip ups too, but he pressed forward, incorporating each mistake like it was part of the piece. They all started off with no talent and were still making mistakes, but here they all were performing up on stage, smiling.

I guess it’s time for me to get serious too, I thought, smiling to myself. I quickly mimed through the beginning of “Rhapsody in Blue.” There were a few rough parts that I couldn’t remember, but I had no doubt I could just wing it.

A few minutes later, another stagehand notified me it was time to go on stage. I guess Mona is almost done with the pop song. I began walking on stage, playing the opening trill to the rhapsody. Mona and the piano went silent. I heard some members of the audience whistle. Lego looked over at me, giving a slight nod. I nodded back.

It was my turn to play.

Tiooo, Tiooo, Tiooo, –

Tiooo! “Oooaahhhh!” Plink! PlinkPlinkPlink!

The audience roared. I was playing my part from the Music Club, and the others performed the remaining parts: Mona sang the main melody, Aito played the counter-melody, and Lego followed up with the chords. As the rhapsody continued, the song slowly devolved into our own playing styles. Lego transformed the bassline into an off-beat swing once again. Mona added her own flourishes, changing the melody into something unique. Aito drew even more emotion out of her notes, acting as a ground for Lego and Mona’s improvisation. Halfway through, I even started going off script like I was in a jazz band.

Everyone in the audience was clapping along; most of them were even standing and dancing. We were enjoying ourselves too. Mona stepped back and forth to the beat. Lego and Aito were bobbing their heads left and right. I was flailing my oboe around, exaggerating every motion I made.

After what felt like a brief moment, our song came to an end. Of course, we went out with a bang, ending with something so spectacular that trying to describe it with words wouldn’t do it justice. If I had to try, it was like jazz and swing overcame classical after a long, bloody war. The audience gave the loudest cheer they had so far. We all stood up and walked to center stage. Then, we each looked at each other. A warm feeling, more intense than any I felt before, spread throughout me. I gave the most genuine smile I had in a long time. The others all smiled back. We each grabbed each others’ hands and looked back towards the audience.

Our performance had ended, and we took our bow.