A Classical Guitar Dream

Flamenco Improv

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Part Ten - Flamenco Improv <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Carlotta flew into the room, her sudden entrance a massive shock to Halley, who jumped, and her bow dropped to the floor with a clatter.

"The dancer, she is ready!" Carlotta announced, holding her hands wide open.

Jaleela flounced into the room and struck a dramatic pose. "How do I look?" She asked, smiling.

"Terrific, as usual," Sophie said, grinning, sticking both fingers up.

Jaleela was wearing a full, ruffled black, white and red skirt, with a plain black T-shirt tucked into it, with a red and yellow shawl thrown over her shoulders. Usually, flamenco dancers wore their hair in a bun on the top of their head, with flowers in it.

But, since Jaleela wore a hijab, Carlotta had been very innovative. She was wearing a black scarf on her head, woven tightly into a turban, with flower hairpieces attached to it. In short, she looked great.

"Yeah, you look really nice, Jaleela," Halley said, gulping, despite wanting to tell her how flippin' beautiful she looked.

"Great job with the headdress, Carlotta," Sophie said, smiling. "It looks great."

"It was her idea," Carlotta said. "I did as I was told."

Then, she rubbed her hands together and smiled. "We are now ready!"

(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)

At last, everything was ready. Carlotta had explained everything to everyone, and they were pretty confident they had everything ready.

Jaleela was standing up, waiting. Halley was sitting on the beanbag, violin positioned underneath her chin, the sheet music that Carlotta had found for her. Sophie was on the floor, next to Halley, holding her clapping sticks.

Carlotta was next to Sophie, making a semi-circle facing Jaleela. She was holding her classical guitar, the black one. Carlotta was left-handed, so her guitar was left-handed, luckily for her. She had no sheet music; she didn't need it, after all.

"Everyone?" Carlotta asked. "This song, it is in Spanish. So I am going to sing in Spanish. Is that okay?"

"Sure!" Sophie said enthusiastically. "I'd like to hear you speaking in your mother tongue."

"Mother tongue?"

"Oh, that means, first language."

"Ay, I see." Carlotta nodded and started tuning her guitar. A few moments later, she adjusted her position and struck the first cord.

She continued to play, and Sophie joined in, tapping out the beat. Then, Halley took a deep breath, moved her violin to her chin, and started to play.

Carlotta opened her mouth and began to sing, a deeper, huskier tone than her usual voice. The words unfamiliar yet beautiful, a haunting, ethereal quality. Jaleela took that as a signal, and kicked up her heels, and began to dance her version of Flamenco, stomping in time with the music on the uneven floorboards.

Sophie opened her mouth in wonder; she had never heard a violin and guitar play together, the result was beautiful. The twanging of the guitar, the sweet melody of the violin, the steady clap of the clapping sticks, and Jaleela's feet pounding on the floor as she swirled around, her skirt flaring out with her.

The music reached a crescendo, and amazingly, Carlotta held the note, although two octaves lower than the sheet music, Halley noticed. She stopped singing and launched into the instrumental chorus, her fingers flying over the fingerboard, plucking at the strings so fast, her hand was a blur.

Halley continued to play, trying in vain to keep up. She sang some more, her fingers still flying over the fingerboard, moving her head in time with the music.

Then, she held the note for the last time, and one final chord, it all stopped. Silence inflicted the room, and Carlotta smiled, a look of pure bliss on her face.

(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)

For a few moments, no-one spoke.

Sophie was the first one to break the silence. "Wow, that was incredible!" She said, smiling. "I loved that."

"You did?" Carlotta asked, a smile on her face.

"Yeah!" She cried, grinning. "That was great, especially because I got to be involved, even though I don't play an instrument."

"Yes, it was brilliant, thank you, very much Carlotta," Jaleela said, smiling, flopping down on the floor beside her.

Carlotta studied her face and noticed that the harrowed look on her face from the other day, was gone, and her eyes were bright and happy once again.

She gave an inward sigh of relief, and smiled back at the girl, glad her plan had worked.

(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)(-)-(-)

Sophie grinned and turned to Halley. "So, Hales," Sophie asked. "What are your thoughts?"

Halley looked at her, aghast. "Hales?!" She squeaked. "What? No way am I having that nickname!"

Sophie chuckled and slapped the girl on the back. "Don't worry, Halley; I was only teasing! But seriously, what do you think?"

Halley smiled wanly, relieved. "Well, that's a relief. Yeah, it was incredible. The sound was amazing, and Carla? You're a seriously good singer."

"Thank you," Carlotta said, touched.

"The only bit I found hard was the chorus. Honestly Carla, how do you manage to play that fast? I think my fingers would fall off!" Halley said, shaking her head.

Everyone burst into laughter at this, and Halley joined in, her soft, lilting laugh a pleasure to the ear.

"I can only play fast because I practice lots," Carlotta said, once the laughter had died down. "Though, it is not very good for my fingers."

"Why not?" Jaleela asked.

"Because this is what happens," Carlotta said, holding up her hands. They were rough and worn-looking, and her fingertips had hard bits on them.

She sighed and examined them. "Ay, well, that is what you get when you play guitar. But it is worth it, though."

"Yeah." Everyone agreed, nodding their heads.

"Ay, alright then," Carlotta said, bringing her guitar into a playable position again. "How about another song?"

"Yes please!" Everyone chorused, and Carlotta smiled, adjusting her position.

"Yeah, that'd be great, but this time, I'm going to dance as well," Sophie said, grinning. "Just avert your eyes if it gets too bad."

Carlotta laughed, and adjusted Halley's sheet music for her, and struck a chord, and launched into the next song.