"Yay!!!"
"Awesome!"
Kiara and Ben happily applauded for him when he finished playing another song for them.
"Thank you!" He smiled at them. "Let's start with your lesson now."
"No!" Ben vehemently shook his head. "You haven't played Carol of the Bells yet! It is Christmas time, and Carol of the Bells is a must!"
"Ben's right! I want to listen to Carol of the Bells!" Kiara supported her little cousin and cutely smiled at him.
Keith sighed when he looked at their puppy eyes. They were still at it, and it had been nearly two hours now.
The reason why Kiara and Ben came to his home was for his promised Violin lesson on Sundays.
They dragged him to the Music room, and Venessa and Amelia followed after them. But instead of asking him to teach them how to play, they requested him to play a piece of music for them.
He did not really mind their request as it was a good thing to give them a demonstration. And since Kiara and Amelia had never listened to him play Violin before, he picked up a beautiful but tough piece of music, Meditation by Jules Massenet, to showcase his talent. Now that he reflected on everything that transpired, it was an unwise decision.
He did get the response he was looking for, awe and surpise, but then he was barraged by Kiara to play more, and the other two ladies supported her requests. Nearly two hours and more than a dozen songs later, they were still requesting him to play some more songs.
"You have be back home for dinner, Ben..."
"Just play one last song and then you can start with your lesson." Venessa interjected his words and helped the two youngsters out once again. "You too love Carol of the Bells, so just play it for us."
"You are really enjoying it, aren't you?" He complained at the playfulness in his Mother's eyes, and could not help but sigh when she started giggling.
"I just love watching and listening you play. You can't blame me for how good you are." She smirked at him, earning another sigh from him.
"This is the last song." He seriously said to his little sister and her cousin. "If you still continue to play around after it, I won't teach you how to play Violin."
"We understand!" Kiara nodded her head.
Ben was grinning happily, excited about his favorite piece of music that was about to be played.
Keith placed the Violin back on his collarbone, adjusted the right position, and then took a deep breath before closing his eyes and placing the bow on the strings.
Venessa picked up the tablet and clicked on the background music for Carol of the Bells, and soon a beautiful melody of Triangle, Cello, and Piano started playing inside the Music Room.
The ladies were once more hooked by his serious look as he basked in the music. They looked at him with adoration which he was oblivious of since he had a habit of closing his eyes whilst playing Violin. If he could see them, he would have found a sparkle in their eyes, and even Amelia was looking at him as if she wanted to forever save his profile in the depths of her mind.
When the time arrived, Keith finally started playing. The first note sounded out as perfect as it could be, and then a wonderous tune filled the room and shrouded the senses of the listeners.
Venessa was right. He too loved Carol of the Bells, and it was one of the first songs that he learned after he started playing Violin.
Over the years, he had perfected his performance, but even now, whenever he played it, he put all his focus on it trying to best his last performance. And that was the reason why he was so good at it.
Three minutes passed, the song ended, leaving the listeners yearning for more, but Keith did not give them a chance to put more requests. He took away the tablet from his Mother's hand, switching off the Music System.
"Now, it's time for your lesson." He looked at the pair of cousins and said.
"You are mean!" Kiara pouted and complained but still stood up and walked over to where her new Violin was placed.
"You are awesome, Keith!" Ben happily ran up to him and hugged his waist. "This was the best Carol of the Bells!"
"Thank you, young man. Now go on, get your Violin so we can start with your lesson." He ruffled the boys' hair and ushered him away.
"You guys have fun, I have some work to attend to!" Venessa announced and kissed Keith on the cheek before leaving the Music Room.
"You are staying?" He smiled when he saw Amelia still sitting in her seat.
The green-eyed girl smiled and nodded at him.
"You can learn too." He invited her.
"I will just watch for now." She shook her head at his suggestion.
Keith just shrugged it off and then looked at the pair of cousins who were back with their Violins.
"Take your seat." He pointed at the stools, and the two obediently took their seats. "Now, the first lesson is all about how to hold the Violin and the Bow." He walked over to them and then helped them both put their Violins on their Collarbones, and placed their left hands in the right position to hold onto the instruments. "Are you comfortable?" He inquired.
"Feels weird, but it's fine." Kiara honestly spoke out, and her little cousin simply nodded his head to her words.
"You will get used to it." He chuckled and then picked up his Bow. "The end you hold is called the Frog's end, and if you hold it wrong, you simply can not play Vioin correctly." He proceeded to demonstrate how the bow should be held, and then showed then where it should be placed on the Violin. "Your bow must never leave the second lane, and what you have to work on is keeping it parallel to the Bridge as you draw it."
Keith demonstrated to them what he meant and then asked them to draw the bow like he did.
Both Kiara and Ben winced at the obnoxious sound that came out of their Violins, prompting Keith to chuckle at their expressions.
"Don't worry. You will learn with time about the weight and pressure that you must put through the bow against the strings. It is something that you can only work on through practice." He told them. "Now, try again and again till I ask you to stop."
To the displeasure of his students, he kept making them draw their bow in the right manner for nearly an hour, correcting them whenever they made a mistake.
"One of the reasons why it is recommended that children are taught Violin from a young age is their hold on the Bow. Ben is not feeling the same discomfort as you because his wrists are softer when compared to yours." He informed Kiara who was a little depressed at finding Ben making better progress than her. "But now you know how it's done properly, so we can proceed to the Notes."
He informed them about the Strings, G, D, A, and E. And then he informed them about each Natural Note on the finger board.
"The D note on the G-String will sound exactly the same as the Open-D. The Notes on the D-String are E, F, G, and A. The A note on the D-String will sound exactly the same as the Open-A on the A-String..."
He informed them of the theory first, and then made them play each note on each string over and over again.
Both Kiara and Ben had to work hard to make sure that the last note on each string sounded the same as the open note on the next string. It was because they were still working on catching the right position on the fingerboard when playing he notes.
Keith was really patient with them, guiding them whenever they needed help, but what amused Amelia the most was how strict he was in his lessons. He did not carter to any complains the two youngsters made, and kept making them play over and over again until they got hold of the Natural Notes and their right positions.
"Violin is not fun!" Ben was nearly on the verge of crying when the lesson finished, his little body aching from all the work.
"Is that so?" He chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Did you think that you could just learn it all in one day and start playing like your mother in no time at all?"
"No. But I didn't know it was going to be so hard to learn!" The little boy pouted and folded his arms on his chest.
"You did well in your lesson today, Ben." Keith encouragingly said. "Keep working hard, and you will appreciate your hardwork one day."
"What's the next lesson going to be about?" Kiara asked after she packed her Violin back inside the case.
"We will be revising the Natural Notes next weekend, and if I see that you two have improved, I might teach you about the Sharps and the Flats." He knew that she planned on preparing for their next lesson in advance. "Do not try playing Sharps and Flats yet. You must improve on your Natural Notes first." He seriously advised her.
"We won't!" Kiara promised him with a smile.
"Good." He chuckeld and then checked his watch. "It's too early for dinner, so, how about a light supper? We will eat in the city and then I will drop you back home?" He suggested, much to the pleasure of the two of them.
"Yes!" They both responded in unison, no longer depressed about their first Violin lesson.
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