Standing grouped together a distance apart waiting to take part in an important performance, stood four music stands and a music stool.
‘I am Note, she is Tune, he is Quaver, and that beauty over there is Clarity. Oh I nearly forgot Support, the wooden four-legged guy, he supports the Cello player today, we live together. Important music is settled upon us, at the right page on centre stage.
Without us, the music would lose its haunting beauty and continuity. We carry it’s weight all through the performance.
‘Who have we got today Clarity, anyone we know?’
‘Three Guys, Classical guys but they are all dead, Beethoven, Mozart and some American new Guy.’ She answered.
‘Their music lives on, of course, so we will never be out of a job.’
‘What sort of music did he leave us with?’ Asked Quaver, ‘we are very familiar with the others, carried their music loads of times.’
‘ I know a bit about him, he was like the other two,’ laughed Tune, ‘a child protege. He wrote his first symphony when he was seven, never studied music, it all came from his head.’ She laughed again. ‘Glad our heads are not rounded like his, or we would not be able to hold the scores flat and steady as we do.’
‘Come to think of it, muttered Note, ‘we supported his music here once before. Isn’t he the guy that wrote the TIME MACHINE?’
‘Yeh, that’s him, but he hated it being the one, so many remembered him most for. When he wrote some wonderful music, big film scores, conducted and recorded some big stars, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Count Bassey, Judy Garland, music for quite a few Cowboy, series too so they said.’ Ended Quaver. He was self-effacing and did not put his name on many scores when he should have. Very few do that in the music business, even today.
‘His wife Gina is in the audience tonight, so we will have time to study her, as they said she would be somewhere in the middle, and it makes a change, that she is not dead either. She must be very proud though, don’t you think?’ Replied Clarity.
‘Who is using us tonight?’ Asked Tune.
Three violinists and a cello.’ confirmed Quaver, ‘No flapping about, stand steady, here they come are you ready.’ They sighed yes, in unison.
‘Oh, oh! What is happening here, the second violin does not have any sheet music? She has one of those lPads, oh that is heavy on my back. She has put something on the floor, what next?’ Asked Clarity.
Everyone is ready to quiet now we are off.’ muttered Tune under her breath.
The music reached out into the audience, gathering them up to take them on a journey of amazement and delight. Away from the life, they had been experiencing lately, taking over all their senses, till the final note faded or in some cases abruptly stopped.
‘Hey, guys they liked that selection, judging by all the applause.’ Said Note
‘Clarity why were your pages not being turned, ours were? Inquired Tune
‘Well I told you she put a heavy IPad on my back, and something on the floor. I knew they would want to be going digital soon, so this is the beginning. She tapped the pad on the floor with her foot, when she wanted to change pages, so I did not get touched or rocked at all. Nor did any music fall and float off like they do sometimes.’
‘Hold on they are back again,’ Note called out. ‘Brace yourselves, especially you Clarity, new music now with this Garcia bloke. His wife is looking anxious, it a shame we can’t tell her it will be fine. It is good music and in musical terms it is new, the musicians love it. we could tell that from up here when they were rehearsing.’
‘Wow quite a bit of city effects in that music don’t you think. I thought it had the Big musical feel! Said Tune, ‘and the audience loved it, listen to the applause and everyone is smiling. We see it all from here good and bad, this is good, really good, a bit special. Some of the people here actually met him and knew he was a good all-around guy.
The others rattled in agreement.
‘Interval no rest for you though Clarity, as she has left her IPad on top of you.’ whispered Quaver. ‘Not long as this, the selection is quite a bit shorter, just hang on.’
‘The music will help, as it is fast and jolly, well to me it is.’ Mentioned Clarity.
They stood watching the audience for a while, they are coming, the attention we are off again!’ Said Note, Clarity braced herself.
When the performance was over, we were returned to the store cupboard where we relaxed. And Note remarked solemnly, ‘At least we are not going to be scrapped, just have to take more weight on our backs, and hope to have screws that still work keeping us upright.’
‘We will just have to go to a good Wobbly balancing class, is anyone organising one in the cupboard?’
Giggled Tune.
© 2021 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen
Photo: Pixabay License
