"Okay. The first thing you need to know is how to hold a fiddle properly." Seri said.
Seira watched her intently as Seri demonstrated how to do just that. She paid special attention to the way her sister's hands were positioned; one held the narrow part of the fiddle while the other held the bow.
"Now you try it."
Seira carefully took the fiddle and bow that Seri was offering and tried to mimic what Seri had done. After the first few attempts, Seri corrected her by moving her hands to where they should be. At first, the fiddle felt strange and awkward in her hands.
But after several attempts to position the fiddle, it began to feel right.
Seira obeyed her sister's instructions as Seri told her to practice holding the fiddle again and again. She didn't feel annoyed or impatient because she knew that Seri was a perfectionist when it came to things that she loved. That, and Seira wanted to get this right. It was her hope that she and Seri could both play the fiddle in one of their concerts some trial in the future. Playing the fiddle together would be one more thing they could share.
"That's not bad for a first attempt, Seira. But holding the fiddle is one thing. Being able to play it is very much another."
At Seri's request, Seira handed the fiddle and bow back to her.
"I'm going to play the basic notes now. As a singer, I know you will recognize what they are, so I want you to focus on what I do to make each sound."
With that, Seri began to play each of the basic notes slowly. Seira did recognize the individual notes by their sounds, and she took a trill to savor the beauty of them. In Seri's hands, the fiddle played beautiful music. But she also paid very close attention to how Seri played each note. She watched how her sister's hands moved so that she might be able to attempt to copy those movements when it was her turn to try.
Seira had learned the basic notes once before when thy had been challenged by a would be fiddler at the last busker festival they had attended. But hearing Seri play the notes was a far different thing than hearing their challenger play them had been. Likewise, seeing how her sister played each note made it easier to see how she should play them than it had been back when their challenger had played them.
"Are you ready to try it?" Seri asked after she had played each note many times.
Seira nodded. When her sister handed her the bow and fiddle once more, she carefully positioned it as she had been taught. The screeching wail that was produced as Seira began playing the first note made her freeze and stare at the fiddle with wide eyed dismay.
Seri didn't laugh at her, and Seira was grateful for that.
"What did I do wrong?" she asked her twin.
"Nothing really. Everyone sounds like that when they first start out. I certainly did. Don't you remember?"
Seira thought back to when they were much younger and Seri began learning how to play the fiddle. She had sounded awful at first, but Seira had forgotten how bad it had sounded. They had far more important things to worry about back then.
"I do." Seira said slowly.
"You will get better as you practice, but it's going to take time." Seri told her.
Seira figured that Seri's words were meant to be encouragement even if they didn't sound all that reassuring.
"Now try it again."
Seira did as she was told. The notes sounded horrible, but she ignored the sound as much as she could. Instead she focused on getting the movements of her hands right. Seri watched her closely as she did so, correcting her as needed. Only once Seira had run through the series of notes many times did Seri tell her to stop.
"Only practice will help to improve the sound of your playing. And you'll need a lot of practice at that. But it will come as long as you stick with it. For now though, I'd like to teach you how to do something else that is very important when it comes to a fiddle."
Seira handed the bow and fiddle back, and looked eager as she waited to see what her sister would say next.
"Fiddles need to be tuned periodically. Every time you replace one or more strings on a fiddle, you will need to tune it once they've had time to stretch and settle. The weather will have an impact as well. Even a small change in the weather will mean that you will need to tune your fiddle. Bumps of any kind will do it as well. If you drop you fiddle accidentally, it will need to be tuned. Likewise if something bumps up against it. Traveling with a fiddle will also most likely mean that it has to be tuned because of the bumps and jolts that it can take while you travel."
Seira paid close attention to Seri as she explained that a fiddle needed to be tuned from time to time and how to tell when it did. She made a mental note of it so she would remember it. And later when she had time, she would write it down. But for now, Seri was continuing to speak, and Seira wanted to hear what she had to say.
"Knowing when a fiddle needs to be tuned doesn't mean that you know how to tune it, so that's what I'll teach you next."
Seira watched carefully as Seri demonstrated how to tune a fiddle. Her sister talked as she worked, telling Seira how to do what she was doing as well as showing her what to do. She also worked slowly so that Seira could see how to do what she was doing. Through all of this, Seira watched closely and made mental notes so that she wouldn't forget what she was learning.
When she was done, she bumped the fiddle against the floor carefully so that it would need to be tuned again. Then she handed it over to Seira. Seira did her best to copy what she had seen her sister do. Some of the things she managed to do correctly, but she needed Seri to correct her at other times. Still, she managed to get it done to Seri's approval.
"Practice at tuning a fiddle will make it easier for you to do it. Eventually you will be able to do it quickly, and without making any mistakes as you do it. For now, practice what I've taught you so far, and once you are able to play the notes consistently so that they sound like musical notes, I'll give you another lesson."
Seira nodded, and thanked her twin for the lesson. She also promised that she would practice a lot so that she'd be ready for another lesson as soon as possible. Seri smiled at her. Then she hesitated.
"How did I do? With the lesson, I mean." she asked anxiously.
Seira was quick to reassure her.
"I loved the lesson, Seri. And I learned a lot." she said with a smile.
"Thanks."
After a moment, Seri hugged Seira briefly, and Seira hugged her back, realizing that her twin needed the extra encouragement.
"It's about time to walk Taeirin. You know how she gets when we're late for her walks." Seira said after a while.
Seira saw her sister grin as she nodded.
"You're right. I'll get the leash while you feed the others. Maybe we could take Taerin to the market. We'll need to pick up a few things within the next trial or two." Seri said.
Seira watched Seri put her fiddle away before they both split up to do their respective tasks.
