A Piano Lesson
1866
Tap.
Tap tap.
Taptaptap.
Tap.
It didn't rain often in Canterlot, especially not during the autumn months. Yet, here came the rain, falling as though it belonged there in the middle of October. The weather was dreadful, and the dreariness of it all seemed to effect everypony in the grand city.
Almond Butter was certain she was the most miserable, however, and pondered this idea consistently as she mindlessly tapped away at the white piano keys in her parents' music room. This music room was one of three in the family's massive estate, but the only one that had a piano in it. It also had a large window allowing Almond Butter a full view of the rain pouring down onto the green lawn outside.
Lucky her.
The sound of the door knob turning and opening pulled the young earth pony out of her thoughts as she turned to the door. In the doorway stood a pale blue unicorn mare with a small yellow bird sitting perched behind one of her ears, a sight so sudden and peculiar it took everything in Almond Butter not to laugh. A few drops of water from the mare's short white curls dripped onto the floor, but she either didn't notice or didn't care.
"Almond Butter?" The mare asked.
Almond nodded.
"My name is Lapis Lyre, your new piano teacher for the time being. I briefly met with your mother in the lobby. She informed me of your previous teacher leaving due to your... 'lack of focus'?"
Almond Butter held back an eyeroll. Her previous teacher had likely been one of the most dreadful old mares she'd ever met, constantly droning on and on about posture and hoof placement, critisizing her on just about every little mistake she made and going on about how things were "back in her day". How was she supposed to remain focused like that?
Honestly, Almond Butter had been expecting somepony like that to replace her previous teacher. Seeing a mare like Lapis, who couldn't have possibly been more than five years older than herself, was a pleasant surprise.
Lapis Lyre didn't seem to mind the silence of her student, taking a seat in the chair beside hers. "I hope you won't mind Eris' presence. Leaving her alone would have been quite a poor decision." She said, referring to the canary on her head. She then turned to her student. "Now then, I assume it would be best to pick up where you left off. What were you learning most recently?"
"'Raindrop Prelude' I think it's called." Almond Butter silently replied.
"Frédéric Chopony, yes?"
"I s'pose so."
Lapis nodded to the keyboard. "Show me."
The cold bluntness of Lapis' tone shocked Almond Butter, and she quickly, albeit clumsily, shuffled to gather the necessary sheet music. Taking a deep breath, Almond began playing, hitting almost every correct note, reminding herself of her posture and her postitioning, even making sure her eyes didn't wander off to the window in the middle of the song, as they so often had a habit of doing.
Lapis quietly sat and listened, a practiced neutral expression on her face. When the song was complete, and the final few notes were being tapped away, she commented.
"Shockingly enough, you didn't mess up the song too much; only about eight missed notes during the climax. Your posture was excellent, and your focus hardly waned. Overall a nearly perfect display."
"Thank you, ma'am-" Almond Butter started, before being promptly cut off.
"However," Lapis continued, sweeping a few of her curls out of her face, "you didn't put any feeling into it whatsoever."
"I- excuse me?"
Without another word, Lapis repositioned herself in front of the keyboard, beginning to play the song perfectly without even taking a glance at the sheet music. Her performance, however, had a good deal of emotion put into every note played, and it showed. Eris especially seemed to enjoy it, chirping along ecstatically.
When Lapis finished, she moved back to her original position and turned to Almond Butter. "Emotions. Feelings."
Tap
Tap tap taptap
Tap tap
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"When you hear this song, how does it make you feel?"
Almond Butter hesitated before responding, staring at the floor. In all honesty, she couldn't think of any emotion spawned from this music. She could hardly stand just having to play it.
"I... I'm not sure, ma'am." She replied, her voice barely audible. "I just play what's on the pages, ma'am. That's all there is to it."
"I see." Lapis responded, her tone just as low.
Tap tap tap
Tap tap
"Well, come on, then." Lapis Lyre said, standing and heading towards the door. When Almond Butter didn't immediately follow, she snapped, "Well? No lollygagging, we all have places we'd rather be."
Tap tap
Taptaptap
This was how Almond Butter found herself standing outside, in the rain that made her so miserable. Granted, she was standing beneath a garish yellow umbrella held up by her teacher's magic, but if anything the color just fueled her distaste for the atmosphere even more.
The two of them walked down the soaked garden paths, although Almond Butter seemed to be hobbling more than walking. In all her misery, she at least had the sense to look around at her surroundings. Even she had to admit, the autumn flowers were quite pretty, even moreso with the water droplets speckling their petals. She would miss them when winter hit, and all these flowers would be gone.
After a while, they stopped, seemingly out of nowhere, as there was nothing particularly special or interesting about the one patch of grass Lapis had brought them to. Almond Butter wobbled a little as she tried to keep herself from falling out of the protection of the umbrella and into the rain.
"Is... Is this it...?" She asked carefully.
Lapis was silent for a moment, as though she were contemplating a very deep and confusing question. "What do you feel?" She asked, suddenly.
Almond Butter frowned. "I feel damp. And cold."
"Perhaps physically. But what do you feel inside? What are you thinking?"
She was thinking she was better off inside than out here where everything seemed to be absolutely horrible and wet. "I'm miserable."
"Why?"
"Because of the rain, obviously!" The filly snapped with a little more force than she had intended. "My apologies, Miss Lapis Lyre. It's just so cold and dreary out here. I don't like the rain."
Lapis gave the tiniest ghost of a smile, so small and fleeting it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. "You told me earlier that you just play music as you see it on the pages, yes?"
"That's right, ma'am."
"I doubt the composer felt the same way. Everything on those pages was written there with the most intense emotions in mind. Just playing what you see will not do."
Almond Butter remained quiet as she tried to piece together what her teacher was saying.
"I don't think I understand... obviously I cannot feel the same things he did, if that's what you are suggesting...?"
"Perhaps not." Lapis said. "But you can feel something, yes?"
Before Almond Butter could respond, the umbrella closed suddenly, dousing the two ponies in a sudden onslaught of water. One look at Lapis' calm expression made it clear this action was intentional. Whatever words Almond Butter had before immediately died on her tongue, replaced by quite a few more unsavory ones. Had she not been taught proper manners, Lapis Lyre would be recieving quite an earful.
Almond's fury was only fed by Lapis as she had the audacity to ask, "How do you feel?"
"Annoyed!" Almond Butter snapped. "Very, very annoyed! What was the meaning of pulling a stunt like that?!"
Lapis wordlessly opened the umbrella up again, once again shielding herself and her student from the rain, although it was rather pointless by now. Her canary seemed to have shared Almond Butter's irritation, as she angrily shook herself in an attempt to clear the water from her tiny yellow form.
"Emotion is a very important part of music." Lapis started, turning to walk back down the path. "In fact, it's an important part of any art form. Anyone can look at a bunch of notes and read them. A musician can bring them to life. Understood?"
Almond Butter nodded, shaking water droplets from her bangs.
"It's quite clear to me playing the piano isn't an activity you enjoy taking part in. However, for as long as I am being payed to teach, and you are being told to learn, I should hope that you give it your all." Lapis said, her tone much softer than it had been this whole time. "This means taking all your emotions, all your experiences, and putting them into everything you play. Bring it to life."
The tapping of rain against the window had stopped, and the fading rumble of thunder could be heard far off on the distance. Neither of the ponies in the music room seemed to notice, however, as the sound of music filled the room. It had a somewhat different tone to it than it did earlier, however.
As Almond Butter played, she recalled the awe she felt in looking at the flowers in the garden, the sadness at remembering they would be gone dreadfully soon, the irritation with the weather, and the straightforward anger with Lapis Lyre for closing the umbrella so suddenly like she did. That last feeling seemed quite prominent as the song began to crescendo into the climax.
When she finished, she turned to her teacher, her hooves nervously fiddling with the bow in her hair.
Lapis nodded in approval. "Very good. I can see some improvement." When she saw her student's smile, she put one of her hooves up to cut her off. "But, you're still not putting a satisfactory level of emotion into it. Don't be upset. It's only the first day. Absolutely nothing will be accomplished on day one."
The sound of the door knob turning directed both ponies' attention to the doorway, where Almond Butter's mother, Rose Quartz, was now standing.
"Almond Butter, dear. It's time for Miss Lapis Lyre to get going now." Then, turning to Lapis, she said, "I certainly hope she didn't cause you too much trouble?"
"None at all." Came Lapis' silent reply. "I expect I will be returning here next week."
"Excellent!" Rose Quartz grinned.
Lapis then turned to her student, her usual neutral expression on her face. "Be sure to practice those emotions, yes? I'll be listening for those before anything else."
With a sharp whistle, Lapis called her bird, who was sitting atop the piano previously, back to her, and promptly left. After showing Lapis Lyre to the door, Rose Quartz returned to see her daughter still playing at the piano.
"What's this? Usually you're in such a hurry to rush back outside or to your room after a lesson. I take it that mare has changed your mind about the piano then?"
"N-No..." Almond Butter stammered. "I just want to be at my best next week... to impress her."
"You like her that much then, after the first day?"
"Perhaps." The filly smiled, looking down at the keyboard. "At least, I think we're going to get along just fine."