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Tweak says, "hands off the tender loin."

Nell Silverberg-Brecker (brokenbows) wrote in light_of_may,
@ 2010-01-07 22:33:00

Entry tags:

2009-06-29

Violin playing is a physical art with great traditions behind it.
Who: Nell and Open to Anyone
When: Afternoon-ish
Where: Park

It had been a total of five days she'd spent inside, no more then a glance out the window before rolling back into bed. There were periods when she felt almost normal, the hole on her chest momentarily covered so she could breath and move without any pain. It wasn't physical, hadn't been for a while but the echoes of it still existed and when she felt like that, which she had the past week, she didn't like moving. With an almost determined edge, she sat up in bed that morning, intending on pulling herself out of her emotional hole. Nell forced a smile on her face that she didn't feel, picked up her violin and acquainted herself with the strings and the movement, smiling again. This time it as real, she felt it this time, even if it was small twinge.

Showering, eating and dressing herself, Nell packed up her violin and walked purposefully toward the park. The day was hot, the sky grey and with a wry smile she thought it fit her current mood. Parking herself behind a few trees, Nell sawed away at the strings, testing them and warming up before transitioning smoothly into Caprice No. 5. Her fingers only fumbled a few times and she restarted every time, only getting slightly annoyed. After all, it had been five days since she'd last played.

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seewhatyoudont
2010-01-08 07:38 am UTC (link)

It had been another busy day at the station so far, something that Hap was never going to complain about so long as his people did not complain too loudly or seriously. One of the rookies, some young woman who thought she knew it all, had scrubbed the fire truck no less than ten times in three weeks because she did not seem to understand the value of not talking out of place. Hap did not enjoy making her do that, but it was the best punishment he had to offer. Rookies had to learn somehow.

Usually for lunch, he ate at the fire station or somewhere near by, but that day he decided that a walk to the park and a sandwich bought on the way would be such a better idea. The station felt a little cramped with the new recruits and Hap was not in a mood to listen to any bragging or whining. That would just end in him putting someone down and, well, he was not in the mood. The day was too nice. It was when he was walking past a few trees, munching away on his turkey sandwich, that he heard the sounds of... was that a violin? He came to a stop and tilted his head, listening for a few moments before deciding that it was a real noise. Now where was it...

Hap peeked around behind the tree, a little surprised still to find that there was a woman back there just going at her violin. "You playing for donations?" he asked, unable to help himself. "Because, girl, that's beautiful." He knew how to appreciate good music if only because Tanya had played it all of the time.

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brokenbows
2010-01-08 08:34 pm UTC (link)

When she played, which was often if she wasn't laying in bed, Nell was in her own world largely oblivious to what was happening around her. Instead she blocked it the world and chaos out, focused on the music, the feel of it as the vibrations permeated her body, going to her chest and thrumming with her heart. The corresponding notes and the movements of her body all creating music that she would lose herself in further.

Jumping slightly as someone spoke, shattering her world of music and returning her quite abruptly to the greenery around her, Nell turned toward the source of the voice. The smile she gave him was small and slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't disturb you," she said quietly, lowering her violin and bow. Nell had taken on a quiet, low voice since Carter's disappearance. "Thank you, it was nothing, really. Just a warm up."

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seewhatyoudont
2010-01-08 10:34 pm UTC (link)

Hap did not move when the woman jumped, far too used to people reacting like that or worse, and gave an apologetic smile for startling her. "Disturb me? Nah, it's beautiful to hear when walking through the park. I was just eating and walking and stopped because it's nice to listen to." He leaned a little more comfortably against the tree, studying the violin more than her. It was quite the instrument, even to someone who did not have the best eye for things like that.

His eyes did widen at the statement that she was just warming up. "Seriously? Well I'll be damned. You going to play something even better? 'cause if you are I'd love to hear it." String music was just soothing enough to make all of the tension that had built up over the day vanish like it had never been. Maybe he would have to get a CD or something and blast it back at the station, see what that did to them.

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brokenbows
2010-01-09 01:50 am UTC (link)

Holding her violin in front of her, Nell looked at the ground. She wasn't used to people watching her, even if she'd done it for a living once upon a time. It made her feel nervous, until she actually started playing and was too lost in the music to really care. "Thank you, it's nice to hear something like that. Appreciation for the music I play is a dying tradition I think," There were a few people who still appreciated it, but most were more interested in Top 40 and other things she couldn't stand the sound of. Which is why Nell loved that she taught children. It was keeping what she loved dearly alive.

Laughing lightly at the look on his face, she could feel her face go pink at his words. It was always hard for Nell to actually start playing and forget about the people around her, especially when she was asked. The fact that he was a stranger made it all the more hard, but she loved playing and he seemed to actually enjoy it. Laughing nervously she brought the violin back up to her chin and smiled at him tightly. "This is called Caprice No.24 in A Minor," Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and started to play a little hesitantly at first. It only took her a few seconds to get wrapped up in the piece though, it was one of her favourites, before she was quite oblivious to the man leaning against the tree watching her.

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seewhatyoudont
2010-01-09 03:03 am UTC (link)

Dying tradition... yeah maybe. Hap knew that the music that kids listened to these days - oh yeah, he was starting to think of things as 'these days' and 'the good ol' days' though he would never admit to it outside of his own head - had a lot less of the beauty than the things that he had grown up with... okay, maybe rock was not 'beautiful' but classical music had surely been more appreciated. Or maybe he was only thinking that because of his wife's love for it. "Know what you mean, my son would rather stick his head in the fridge than listen to a violin. But my daughter, she'll be so jealous when she hears about this."

The laugh was nervous and the smile tight, and Hap relaxed his stance instantly, able to read the signs of someone unused to others. He was not very used to making people nervous because of his natural friendly approach, but some things could not be helped. Though he forgot about that and ended up sitting down, sandwich forgotten in one hand as he listened to what the woman was playing. Caprice something? The rest of the name had been lost on the not-very-musically-inclined man, but he knew that the soothing sounds were even nicer out here in the park. His eyes drifted closed and he smiled as he listened. Now this is the sort of thing I should go around hearing all the time.

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brokenbows
2010-01-10 07:39 am UTC (link)

Although she'd feigned interest in popular music when she was younger, Nell had always loved classical. It was the only thing she truly enjoyed listening too. Her favourite, of course, being violin and even the occasional duet with piano, but mostly it was her beloved instrument. She loved the raw and almost oval sound of the notes when they came from the violin, just the violin. When it was alone it could still sound like there was two, or even three playing at the same time. Versatile and elegant, it had appealed to her the moment her grandmother pulled it from the case. She smiled when he mentioned his son, which promptly fell into a small frown when he continued, only to return once more. "Does she play? I teach, if she's interested." Nell was more then willing to take on another student, she only had a few. Not enough to keep her mind busy.

The fact that she didn't know this mans name made it easier for her to start. It's not that Nell was shy or nervous in nature, it was simply that she had just pulled herself from oblivion and was currently playing for a complete stranger. Playing always made her nervous, until she started of course but this was harder then an auditorium of people she couldn't see past the spot light. This was one man, standing in front of her watching. Nell relaxed as soon at the notes hit her, the ones after it flowing easily and then she was in the place she could stay forever. The piece she was playing had been one she mastered at 9, it was her favourite and the one she always ended up playing. The best, in her opinion, of Paganini's Caprices and the only one she never broke a bow playing.

It was a relatively short piece a little over five minutes and she played it to the end almost tempted to skip into another Caprice to stay in her world. Nell had just decided to when she remember the strange man, opening her eye she seen him sitting on the ground and she laughed a little awkwardly. She liked him, he appreciated the music she loved and he was nice. "My name is Nell, by the way," she decided to leave her last name off. It hurt too much.

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seewhatyoudont
2010-01-11 12:12 am UTC (link)

Denise playing a violin... she would probably love it, but Hap knew that she would never admit it. She already was engaged in enough activities. Supposedly. "Ah, nah she doesn't play, never showed an interest in actually learning. Just likes listening I think." He could always actually ask her the next time he saw her... now there was a thought. "I'll actually ask her when I see her." Maybe she was. Hap did not think for a moment that he knew everything his kids wanted to do. Or hell, what they didn't want to.

The music though... he would have to get some of that for his iPod. He was almost sad when it came to a stop because that jolted him back to everything else. "Nice to meet you, Nell," Hap replied, brushing the crumbs off his hand before offering it towards her like he always did when he met new people. "My name's Hap and thanks for letting me listen to you play."

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brokenbows
2010-01-11 10:03 am UTC (link)

Her face fell slightly. Oh well, it was worth a shot. Nell thought to herself with the littlest of shrugs. "Well, if she's interested I'd love to teach her. It's nice to see the younger ones take an interest in the violin," That made her feel old, she was only 30 but she sounded more like she was 300 and sometimes she felt as if she was. Staying in all day, avoiding human interaction and mourning the loss of her loved one. Sometimes it got all a bit much for the admittedly fiery little woman, it wasn't her and she wanted to be herself again. She knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Looking down at his hand, Nell looked around for a suitable place to put down her bow, rolling her eyes at herself when she realized she could just put it in the hand holding the violin. She rubbed her hands on her pants before shaking his larger one (sometimes her hands got sweaty) with a friendly smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you Hap. And really, it's not problem at all. That was my job at one point; playing for people. It's nice meeting someone who enjoys this kind of music."

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seewhatyoudont
2010-01-11 06:06 pm UTC (link)

Hap thought that it would probably depend on whether or not Denise thought she was too old. If nothing else, she would probably love to go and just watch a session or two so that she could feel like she had gotten the exposure. Remember to ask her. Seriously. Remember. Could not go forgetting because of something that happened... oh, right, he could just text her. "I'll actually text her right now so that I don't forget to ask," Hap remarked, pulling his cell out to do exactly that before sliding it back. He hated texting and talking, thought it rude.

"Oh you performed? Pretty cool." Made sense too, Hap realized. People who played that good rarely got that way without being noticed. And if they did then it was a damn shame. He was honestly surprised that he was the only one who had stopped by to listen. Passerby were clearly too busy or just needed their ears cleaned out. If he could appreciate violin music then everyone could. "Are we talking concert halls, making those soothing CDs everyone puts on for their kids to make them smarter or what? Because if you made CDs I need to go get one to play down at the station when they get all rowdy." That would settle hot heads even quicker than the hose. Not that Hap had pulled that one out for a few years. Tempted to, but people got whiny when it happened more often than not.

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brokenbows
2010-01-15 11:45 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, great!" Nell perked up, a more natural and real smile on her face. The prospect of teaching another student cheered her up a great deal, it was fun and exciting watching a student learn from scratch. No matter the age, she'd had older students before. Some even in their late twenties, it was never to late to learn an instrument she'd tell them with a big friendly smile.

Nodding her head she smiled, returning the bow to her free hand. "Yeah, that was me. Sometimes on my own, but most of the time it was with an orchestra," It was very rare that she'd perform just her on stage, that was always the hardest for her but she'd end up losing herself in the piece anyway. Nell laughed, it was small and quiet, but still real and still succeeded in surprising her. "I've only made two, they didn't sell as well as the company had hoped, but they should still be in stores, I hope," She had a few copies back home but they were probably still packed away in some box. "If you don't find any, I think I have a few at home..." she trailed and then added, "Station?"

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seewhatyoudont
2010-01-17 12:45 am UTC (link)

Just that smile, it looked extremely sincere, was enough for Hap to hope that his daughter was interested. The fact that it was more money out of his pocket did not even matter. If Denise wanted to then he would let her. Especially since it looked like students were so important to Nell. His wife's commitment to making the community better had definitely carried over to him on a more individual basis. Kid could always do with more culture.

Hap did perk up at hearing that she had CDs. "That's awesome," he grinned, "You'll have to tell me what they're called so I can pop on buy and pick them up when I'm off work." Seriously, soothing music was one of those things that just could not be underestimated by anyone with a stressful job. It was either that or heavy rock and Hap had to be in the mood for that sort of thing. He almost did not even catch her question about the station. "Yeah, just the fire station." He shrugged his shoulders. "Gets loud there sometimes when it should be quiet so a bit of pretty music would make it better. Rookies need to be kept in line." He laughed quietly. "And it'd shock anyone who came in and heard violin music instead of rock or something."

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brokenbows
2010-02-01 09:49 pm UTC (link)

"I don't have many students, it would be nice to have another," she said, still smiling. "I don't charge much either," Nell had gotten quite a bit of money from Carter's disappearance, but she didn't like thinking about it that way and preferred to think of it as the money she'd gotten from playing the violin. A delusion, but one that helped her support herself with the money that was tainted with his... disappearance.

She breathed a small laugh, a little embarrassed. "It's really not," she said, shaking her head and trying to hide the light pink on her cheeks. "Um, well, the first one is called 'Through the field wonderful', it's from one of my favourite E.E. Cummings poem," she said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "The other is 'In the sunlight' They're nothing special... a few of my own compositions and my favourite pieces to play."

"Oh, you're a firefighter?" she asked, perking up herself. "I don't think I've ever met a firefighter before!" Which Nell thought was kind of a good thing, because generally you tend to meet them when something is burning down and they're trying to put it out.

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