Bardic College - Jygust 30th, late MT

[Rhoddin]

On the same square as the Temple of Pan, The Bardic College stood, as it had for many yahren. A small doorway off the street led into a brightly lit antechamber dominated by a dark wooden desk. Behind the desk several doors opened into other parts of the college. The air of the chamber was scented with the fragrance of lavender, and something a bit sweeter, a light citrus smell of sorts. The walls were hung with a variety of tapestries, most depicting bards in various poses, but some showed battles of the past and other glorious events. The sound of the feet of those entering was muffled by the deep pile of the rug throw over the cold flagstone floor.

Sitting behind the desk was small birdlike young man, busily scribbling in a ledger opened before him. Behind the desk the young man looked up from his scratchings, a look of mild surprise on his face. It seemed that he was not expecting visitors, or perhaps he had just been so engrossed in his work that he had forgotten where he was.

"Hello Master Rhoddin, it's good to see you again. How may I help you today?" he asked, clearly the young bard was no stranger to the College.

As Rhoddin looked around the now familiar entrance to the Bardic College, he smiled at the young man behind the desk. "Oh just the usual I guess. Instruction in the lute, and the Voice. Yes I know, nobody does that here, but if one doesn't ask, well one will never find out, will one?" It seemed to be an old ritual, partaken by two people who had gotten to know each other rather well over the preceding months.

"I hear my friend Motley has a gig teaching Pan Pipes, maybe I could see if he could teach this old dog a new trick or two," rhoddin gave a quiet shudder at the thought of learning the Pan Pipes, although the idea of his friend teaching them too him did raise a bit of a smile.

"So, what say today my friend, is it a ya, or as usual, a nay?"

[Meridiuz]

The young man looked at Rhoddin with a big smile. "But Master Rhoddin! What is there left for you to learn! Soon everyone here will come to you to ask for classes!" He grinned, getting the gist of their usual conversations. "There are actually two classes today, if you hurry up you can just catch the Lute class. We have a class to train your voice almost right after that. Seems you are in luck!"

"I've seen Motley once last month, the man certainly gives away quite a show! He isn't teaching here however, so I don't really know about that."


OOC: You can either play out the classes or use the new class system. An example of that can be found here. Let me know what you want to do and I'll write up a short description of both classes. One class takes two marks, so you will be busy until late TT.

[Rhoddin]

Rhoddin smiled at the young clerk, as per usual there was instruction in the more mundane of the bardic arts, but it would appear he would need to continue to search for a master of the Bardic Voice.

Still, he did enjoy his lute lessons, and being at loose end for a few marks the opportunity to hone his skills, and maybe learn a new tune or two seemed a pleasant way to pass a few marks.

With a smile crinkling his broad face Rhoddin provided his answer. "Well, a further lute lesson might be in order. I have some time on my hands and I do enjoy the idea of some musical interaction on this fine day.

"To which room, and with whom am I playing today?"

OOC: The summary idea seems a good one. I'll be away for a few weeks, but if you can write up a short description I'll write a summary upon my return. Thanks Meri

[Meridiuz]

OOC: With the classes you can't advance a skill beyond apprentice, and your lute is beyond that, so this lesson is leaned in a different direction to give you a new angle in music.

IC:
"Down the hall and to the right, you can't miss it, it's a fairly large group today, I'm sure they're making all sorts of noise getting in tune. There isn't a real teacher for the class, but there is a leader - Miles de Simon. He's young, but he's fine."

Once Rhoddin's feet were moving the sound of the ensemble became louder - both with the sounds of their voices and in the plucking of their instruments. In the room there was a circle of chairs, with a young man of 18 yahren sitting comfortably at the "head", or at least that's how it'd look thanks to everyone looking toward him. There were still several seats open, but as he came through the door someone slipped past him and plopped down on one of the few available spaces.

The room was large and a fantastic acoustic space. Chords bounced off the walls and returned to the ear with clarity. Miles started the class with a sort of game in which he told the person to his right a snippet of a story which had to be passed secretly from one to the next. A lithe blonde leaned close to Rhoddin and said: "The Caesar's pajamas are made of fine silk and embroidered, but it's what's under them that makes the ladies wild." There was a giggle in her melodic voice. By the time it reached the end the story was quite different, and it was fairly obvious where it happened. A young man a bit beyond Rhoddin spent a much longer time giving details and embellishing.

De Simon concluded the game by saying: "As bards we are prone to blowing the story out of proportion - making the hero much more than he could be, making the maiden more beautiful - but there is an honesty to the story that can never be lost when it's told from one to the next," here he looked to the young man blamed for the distorted story, but he just smirked.

It was swiftly that they moved into the music. De Simon had a great affinity toward canons. In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g. quarter rest, one measure, etc.). The initial melody is called the leader, while the imitative melody is called the follower which is played in a different voice. The follower must be created from the leader by being either an exact replication of the rhythms and intervals of the leader, or a transformation. He taught the group a few easy canons and rounds that they could then pass along to those they performed with, including a piece from King's Court meant to be evocative of the Summer Solstice.

Summer has come in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
The ewe bleats after the lamb
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock stirs, the stag farts,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;
Don't you ever stop now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!

[Rhoddin]

OOC: Sorry for not replying earlier.

I've actullay been quite ill, see banter for what it was.
Should be back with the thread in today or maybe tomorrow.

[Meridiuz]

OOC: No problem! We've missed you man, I was starting to get worried. Take your time!

[Rhoddin]

Rhoddin slipped into one of the few remaining seats, next to a rather lithe blonde, who seemed to find strange rhymes about the Caesar rather amusing. Rhoddin passed on the comment to the best of his ability, which was rather good by this time. He couldn't help but notice the rather extended time taken by some young pup to pass on his version of the whisper. Rhoddin shook his head, he was disappointed that someone who apparently wished to pursue a calling as a bard would be so shallow as to deliberately distort what he was told. The young mans reaction to de Simon's comments only confirmed Rhoddins opinion of the man.

Still as the lesson progressed Rhoddin participated in the class. Much of what they practiced was by now familiar to the bard, as his recent months in the Citadel had often been spent at the College under the tutelage of various bards and performers.

He smiled to himself at hearing de Simons cannon, committing the tune to his memory for later performance!

The time passed swiftly, as Rhoddin worked on his style, blending his use of the lute to his singing. Although the class did little to enhance his understanding of the Bardic Voice, it allowed him to further refine his accompanied singing style.

[Meridiuz]

OOC: 2 stars earned in Creating Music, bringing that skill to apprentice level!

I did notice that you wrote that youfurther refined his accompanied singing style, but since you already have Singing at Journeyman, I can't give any stars for that with the classes.

[Rhoddin]

ooc: No worries Merri, I understand that, just included it for completeness sake, otherwise there wasn't too much to write about

[Rhoddin]

As the class finished, Rhoddin was more than happy with his progress, he was feeling more comforatable about his ability to create his own songs and poems.

Still the day was relatively young, and the young man decided to pursue a few further goals, and so with a smile and a wave to the young man behind the desk, Rhoddin strode from the Bardic College, ready to pursue a further course of action.