::Music Studies Lesson Number One:Performing::

[Deleted]

It was to be the student's first day in his class, and Erik was still in the process of arranging the room in the way he wanted it to be. Sharp green eyes quickly ran across the room searching carefully for any imperfections.

The room was very clean, and clear with the only pieces of furniture being a few shelves that were completely filled with music sheets, and pieces, chairs for the students that were taking the class to sit in, A large black locker sat in the back of the room, holding a various array of instruments locked safely inside, and a large and beautiful piano which sat in the middle of the room. A small smile made it's way on his face. It really had been kind of the headmistress to provide him with all of the instruments that he had asked for. He would have to give her a nice gift for Christmas to show his appreciation.

The floors were made up of a very dark wood, and the walls were all painted a pale cream color except for the one in the very back. That one was painted to appear as if it was a stage that had parting red curtains pulled off to the side. That piece of the wall had four different posters that were each dedicated to a certain musical. Small decorations were hung up along the sides of the posters, the most noticeable one being a small white half mask that the professor had once worn on Broadway.

In the very front of the room, there was a very large whiteboard that had various notes, and staffs drawn on it's surface. However the most noticable thing that was written on the board was an announcement and a set of instructions.

Music Lesson Number One: The Test.

To my students.

Firstly, I would like to welcome you to my class. As you may recall from the syllabi that I have sent each of you, my name is Professor Daae.

Normally, I would have something a lot more challenging in store for you all but since today is your very first day in my class, I thought that I would be kind and would do something rather simple instead. I want you all to come up with a song from the very top of your head. It can be about anything you would like, as long as it is kept appropriate. You will be expected to either sing your song to me or play it for me on the instrument of your choosing. You will have a half an hour starting from when you come and sit down to complete the song. The student that has written the best song shall be rewarded with fifteen points to their house.

For those of you who are interested in private tutoring, I shall be making that announcement after the winner of the song writing contest is announced. Please be patient, I assure you that that information will be given to you when I am ready. Any questions asked before I am ready to make that announcement shall be ignored.

Reading over the last bit very quickly, he smirked with sastifaction and took his seat at his piano, staying there until he heard the very first pair of footsteps head inside of the classroom. His head turned ever so slightly, and he nodded at the person.

" Welcome to Music Studies. Feel free to look around before you take your seat if you like; Once you take your seat please read what I have written on the whiteboard, and get started immediately."

[shava44444]

There was little doubt that Cern enjoyed the music class and music in general, though he preferred to keep his music performance to himself more then to others. Though his family had heard his singing voice before, Cern was not a performance type of person; he enjoyed it for how it made him feel, not to entertain others. So coming to class he always felt excited for the class itself, but on edge because it always meant he might be asked to do something in front of others, something he intensely felt was an invasion of his privacy really.

From one class to another, today felt like a never-ending set of lectures about how classes would be getting tougher the closer their OWL year approached. Why did Professor's feel the need to elaborate on the same theme constantly? Anyway, he arrived at the music classroom in a mix of relief and annoyance, giving his teacher a head nod in greeting and a "Afternoon, sir," before he choose a seat near the front, but not on the front. Reading the board, he became thoughtful about the challenge.

A song off the top of his head? Well he wasn't going to sing anything that's for sure!

Pulling out a piece of parchment, Cern began thinking of songs he had played for the lamas at the farm off his whistle. He had always carried one around since he was small on the farm, mostly because the animals got quieter when you had some kind of music playing even something simple. A glance around the room and he did see a long whistle, a little different from the one he had at home which was oval. Standing he walked over and picked it up, trying a few notes to see if he could play it near the same.

With a glance at the Professor, he set it back down and went to his paper and began trying to piece together notes on the paper as the song began to form slowly, a slight struggle...

[Deleted]

Xayden walked into the music class, a bored expression in his face. His dark blue eyes lazily glanced around at his surroundings. It was a fairly nice, yet empty classroom that was almost completely empty with the exception of some chairs, a piano, a large locker, and a few other pieces of furniture.

Glancing around some more; his eyes landed on the other two people that currently resided in the room. One of them was a Hufflepuff male that he couldn't recall ever seeing before, and the other person was the professor. Xayden's eyes briefly glanced at the much older male. He was a handsome man, that much was pretty obvious to anybody with eyes. Though he had very sharp and masculine features, it was his eyes that were the most noticeable feature on him.

He nodded in greeting to his professor who had glanced at him from the very corner of his eye, and began looking around the classroom at everything. His eyes were drawn to the back of the room, specifically to a white half mask that hung on the wall.

After a while of looking around Xayden finally took his seat, and glanced up at the board with a curious glance. A smirk passed his lips, and he took out a piece of parchment, and a quill and began to write.

This was going to be far too easy.

[shava4]

``Genevieve Slade Burke

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THE SOUND OF ROLLIN' DICE TO ME
is music in the air, although I don't play fair,
IT'S MUCH MORE FUN WITH LIVES ON THE LINE

She had not been late to class, oh no. Genevieve had been hanging out down the hallway in another door frame looking at the door to the class. Ever since the private lesson she had felt a bit of butterflies in the stomach when he looked at her or was near, enough to be purely distracting. Very. Distracting. The last thing she wanted was anyone to realize something was up with her so she had planted herself here and counted off as students arrived. When Xayden arrived she felt safer; no one would wonder about her being there early as she actually was in the hall first. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself as best she could and when her breathing was steady, walked to the classroom door.

Entering quickly and flashing him the briefest of smiles, Genevieve hurried to a seat mid way deep in the class and on the wall side. Sitting down she looked at the desk top for a second and slowed down her breathing again taking slow breaths in an attempt to slow down her heart beat as well. When she felt better, she pulled out her book and then looked up purposefully looking straight on at the board, not at the hunk professor who was speaking. The board was enough however to catch her attention and she felt a bit petrified about what it said! 'Aw sh!t...' she thought as her mind scrambled. She had no music skills really beyond chopsticks and there was no way she was singing. There was no way to win at this assignment!

For the first few moments she panicked, and then a frown came up as an idea occurred to her. A glance around the room and she noted what she wanted was not here; could she fake it somehow? In the corner was a pair of bongo drums, though not the sound she was looking for exactly. Grabbing a piece of parchment from her bag, she began to write thoughtfully, trying to capture an idea of what she might pull off that wouldn't be so monotone as to be boring. A glance back up at his board showed he had not restricted it to the instruments found only in this room. With that she smiled and took a small piece of paper writing 'Permission to go get the instrument I need sir?" and stood, carrying it over to him without exactly meeting his eyes...

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words||

[/font]More then enough.[/size][/font]
notes|| [/font] [/size][/font]
lyrics|| [/font]The Oogie Boogie's Song.[/size][/font]
credit|| [/font]katierockskthanx.[/size][/font][/left]
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[kayla]

"By Kayla" B waved. Kayla stood there on the stairs and looked up at her friends and sighed, but waved right back before heading down to the third floor for the music class she signed up for again. She was facing music class alone this year and now, this ray of sunshine, was starting to regret that decision. Everyone knew why she was so down, the loss of her dad just weighed to heavy on her shoulders. There was just no shaking it. Still,. she did what she could to muster through the difficult times just to survive the school year.

With books held tightly to her chest she perked her head inside the music classroom just to see who all was there. It was quieter now than normal, but people would start filing in soon enough. Before going inside she squinted her eyes to glance at the board from where she was standing. "A song" she whispered to herself. "Hmm" not what she had expected for their first day, but she'd roll with it.

Instead of walking inside she turned and placed her back against the wall then slid to the floor, books in her lap. She had to create a song in less than thirty minutes and present it to the class. She knew the exact one for this class. It was slow and beautiful but filled with so much sadness. It was one she wrote for her father's funeral and it would be the one she presented to the class on the piano.

She nodded her head before standing with her books and entering the classroom. She made for an empty seat near the back of the room and sat. When asked, she'd offer to go first as to get the whole thing out of the way, then when finished, she'd slip out and be done with music for the day. Such a song, weighed heavily upon her heart. It wasn't something to take so lightly. For now, she waited until the time was up and everyone else had completed what needed to be done.

[rayvne]

Never late, Rayvne moved to the side of the classroom. Song writing? She supposed it must do for a beginning work in a music class. For the last 6 years of schooling in Hogwarts, there had never been an interest among the staff to introduce the finer things of life to these...students. Even Lucias Malfoy would have agreed to have some culture brought to the school.

Music had been part of her daily life at home in the Chateau, and pleasantly enough, she could see a working, beautiful grand piano in the classroom with the wood aglow with a most inspiring warmth. She was not for Muggles, but the piano may have been the closest to love that she'd ever been.

The quill met paper for only but a moment before she did not write words, but create a staff with a key signature of E Flat, and begin to write a sleu of musical notes across the bars. She would not sing just yet, but she would play endlessly.

Music required passion, an emotion that most Slytherin opted to not show unless in forms of hurting people. However, Rayvne was a touch more civilized. Fear of a bunch of brutish bullies seemed childish in the world anymore. However, it did not mean she wasn't above a little mental abuse if the occasion called for it. All of her passion, all of her love, resided in music. There was no room for anything else in her heart and her mind was solely focused on Divination.

All work and no play.

Her face remained set in stone with only her eyes, which were down turned to the parchment, shining most euphorically. Fingers upon the free hand would tuck stray crimson hair behind the pale shell of an ear. Tones and melodies ran rampant through her mind as harmonies followed. But the information was processed and sent to her vacant heart to truly hear before the quill wrote further.

We all have a vice. Hers was song.

[Deleted]

Luna slowly made her way to class, an almost uneasy look present on her pretty features. This would be the first time in their six years of attending Hogwarts that she and Artemis would not share a class. She had opted to take a music class while her brother had opted to take an Ancient Runes class. She had refused to leave his side all morning even going as far as to walk him to his Ancient Runes class, and hesitating to leave him after.

Her twin had noticed her hesitation and giving her both a heartwarming smile, and a tight hug he promised that he would be okay without her for the time being.

Convinced by her brother she had gone off to her class, which is where she stood now. Her cold blue eyes swept over the people that were in the room cooly analyzing them all for a moment before making her way to a corner of room and taking a seat in a vacant chair that was far away from the others.

Her eyes quickly glanced up at the professor as he spoke, listening intently at the words he had to say before doing as he ordered and glancing at the whiteboard, reading the instructions.

"Write a song and perform it." The words were quiet, mummured so that one would have had to have been very close to the female in order to hear them.

The corners of her lips tilted up in what appeared to be a very small smile before dissappearing just as quickly as it came, giving anyone who had even seen it the impression that it had never been there to begin with. Reaching into her bag, and grabbing both a piece of parchment and a quill, she immediately began to write.

She knew exactly what she was going to be doing. Hopefully it would be enough to grab her house the win.

[Deleted]

Erik carefully eyed each and every one of the students that walked into his classroom. First there was a young male that came from the Hufflepuff house who had taken the time to give him a greeting before going to his seat to start working on his song. Next had been none other than the notorious Xayden Andrews. The mere sight of the boy caused the older man's lips to tilt upward in what could be called a very devious type of smirk.

He remembered Xayden all too well from the dancing lessons that were being taught in his room by that particularly annoying Spainard. While he wasn't cruel enough to call him out on it yet, he would be sure to keep that in the back of his head should the Burman male annoy him just a little too much.

His eyes were torn away from the Burman yet again, this time to land on someone who he recognized. Genevieve Burke had just entered the classroom, flashing him a very brief smile before rushing to her seat. She was currently being tutored in piano playing by him, and he couldn't help but wonder if the female was going to play the piano for this test.

Those thoughts were immediately proved wrong when she carried a note over to him, asking for permission to go get what she needed. Nodding his head, he quickly grabbed a pass, and quickly scribbled an explanation along with his signature, before handing it to her.

" Use this in case the prefects give you a hard time, and please try and be quick."

As she left, another girl came in ironically also from the house of the lion. Erik watched as she headed to the very back of the classroom, sitting far away from the others. Another girl walked in, almost immediately glancing at the piano, something that caught the music professor's sharp eyes almost immediately.

If she could play, and read music that was something that could help the music teacher immensely in the future. So making a mental note, the professor made sure that he would remember her.

The last person to walk in was a girl from Ravenclaw that had the coldest eyes that the professor had even seen. He watched as she glanced at everyone in the room, before making her way to a seat that again was far away from everyone else in the room. It would appear that he would have to break the anti-social streak that the class seemed to have, one way or another.

Glancing down at his roll-sheet for a second, he frowned as he noticed that a few students had still not arrived to class. He could only hope that they would get there in enough time for them to complete the assignment. If not, he would have to come up with another assignment in order for them to make up the missing points. Glancing at the clock, his brow furrowed slightly.

....20 minutes left...

[shava4]

``Genevieve Slade Burke

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THE SOUND OF ROLLIN' DICE TO ME
is music in the air, although I don't play fair,
IT'S MUCH MORE FUN WITH LIVES ON THE LINE

When he gave her permission, she grinned and said "La ringrazio molto, professore,"* and she left quickly, darting down the hall to the stairs and down a flight. Into the broom closet on that floor where she found just what she wanted. The janitor's closets often held supplies for cleaning, but in this case it was one of the larger ones and school supplies also ended up inside. Here, as she had remembered (and would never tell how she had found out) was a variety of buckets from metal to plastic pulled up for use.

Grinning, she grabbed two buckets plastic of the same size and height, then a metal shorter one, a plastic shorter one, and then a dust pan. Turning each over she tried out the sounds, replaced one of the big plastic ones twice, and then fit them in each other and dashed back to the room. Arriving slightly breathless, she felt a kind of secret triumph she had found something that would be different and inventive, she walked back in and gave the Professor a nod. "Thank you, sir," and sat back down in her seat and picked up her quill again as she finished up writing her idea down as best she could.

The tone of the metal and smaller bucket made for a different tune and she quietly hammered out the correct beats in her mind, finger on the desk as she measured out the timing. Some people said percussion wasn't music, but she was willing to bet she could manage something far better then just a rolling beat and it would be music. After all, they had studied about primitive tribal groups using drums as their main instrument; it wasn't elegant, but it wold work and showed creativity so all good.

- - - - - - - - - - -

* Thank you very much, professor.

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words||

[/font]More then enough.[/size][/font]
notes|| [/font] [/size][/font]
lyrics|| [/font]The Oogie Boogie's Song.[/size][/font]
credit|| [/font]katierockskthanx.[/size][/font][/left]
[/center]

[rayvne]

"Terminé." She uttered softly as the last chord was scrolled elegantly upon the page. Finally, quill upon paper, she lifted golden green hues to the board again and glanced about the room. Two Gryffindor, two Ravenclaw, One Hufflepuff, and herself. Splendid. Out numbered, but certainly not outranked. Only one other was a 7th year, if she could remember faces as she should. With music, age held no sway over skill. She had, unwillingly, heard of the muggle musical savat, and after a brief period of research she found herself to be interested. What parts of the mind were stimulated in savats that were not stimulated in a regular person, she wondered as the memory passed through her mind.

Eyes slipped over toward the Professor and a polite incline of her head was given in greeting before she looked over again at the piano, enchanted with ivory keys and silver strings. Perhaps she slipped into a daydream for the time being before she looked back at the parchment. The music would be light, intricate, and contain the whole of her heart.

Mind was always separate.