A/N So I don't remember if I promised to put the schedules in this chapter or not, but due to some time complications on my part it won't happen for a bit. Anyhow, these next few chapters are going to be snapshots of their classes over the next four-ish months, with one snapshot of one class per chapter. Oh, and the snapshots won't necessarily be in order. DISCLAIMER: Don't own the series. Wish I did, but no.
Lessons (Part 1)
"Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mists in a land called Honalee
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff
And brought him strings and silly wax and—"
"Stop!" Harmony interrupted, signaling for Kymberlie the Piano Fairy to stop playing. She then turned a shrewd eye on the little Rainbow Fairies. "It's 'sealing wax', not 'silly wax'!" Harmony paused thoughtfully, then asked, "How did you girls come up with that, anyway? Because I know I told you the right words yesterday."
The sisters lowered their music and exchanged guilty glances. Then Sky said quietly, "I huhd it fwom Sunny."
"Buh Inky toh' me dat ih was 'siwwy'!" Sunny quickly countered.
Everyone looked at Inky expectantly. Drawing herself up to her full height, Inky confidently stated, "I changed it to 'silly', 'cuz I liked it better."
Amused, Harmony raised an eyebrow. "But that's not how the song goes. Sing it the right way, please."
Inky huffed and stamped her foot. "But I don't like it! I wanna sing it my way, 'cuz it's funner!"
Harmony sighed in exasperation. "Inky, you're being very ornery. Do you want me to get Madame Grey and have her sort this out?"
The Indigo Fairy glowered at Harmony, but said nothing, knowing she had already lost this argument.
"Good. Now let's sing this the right way. From the top, girls!" She motioned to Kymberlie, who began playing a lively accompaniment on her piano.
Fortunately, the girls made it through the rest of the song without any more trouble. After the last chord was sung, Harmony applauded happily. "Wonderful! You girls sounded great!" Then she turned to Kymberlie. "Do you think they're ready, Kym?"
Kymberlie grinned and nodded, her caramel-colored ponytail bobbing up and down. "Yup, I think they are," she agreed.
"Alright, then!" Harmony said, clapping her hands in delight. "Girls, today we're going to figure out what your ranges are. This means we'll determine whether you sing the high notes best or the low notes best, otherwise known as the Soprano and Alto ranges."
"Why do you wanna do that?" Amber wondered.
"So you girls can sing harmonies," the Music Fairy answered. "Kymberlie and I will show you. Listen—" That said, the two senior fairies launched into a two-part a cappella arrangement of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", with Harmony on the soprano part and Kymberlie on the alto part. "Like that," Harmony explained once they had finished.
"That sounded very pretty," Heather complimented.
"Why, thank you, Heather. Now, let's get started!" Harmony pointed to Ruby. "We'll start with you, Ruby, and just go down the rainbow. Here, come on up to the piano," she added, beckoning.
Ruby hopped down from the carpeted risers and hurried over to stand by Kymberlie.
"Actually," muttered Harmony, "Why don't we have you stand here . . . ." She put her hands on Ruby's shoulders and steered the little girl over to the other side of the piano. "There! That way I can hear you better." Harmony motioned to Kymberlie, who played the middle C, then turned back to Ruby. "Now sing that on a 'mah', and hold it."
"Maaahhhhhhh!" sang Ruby.
"Good, now up to the F." Kymberlie played the note, and Ruby sang it. Then Harmony had her sing the high C, followed by the high F, then back down to the middle C, and finally the low F.
"Hmm," said Harmony when Ruby was done. "You have pretty good range, but I think you're best with the high notes. I'll make you a First Soprano."
"Does that mean I get to sing up high?" Ruby asked.
Harmony smiled. "Yes, it most certainly does. Now, stay down here by the piano until we figure out what your sisters' ranges are. In fact," she added, turning to the other little girls, "why don't you all come down here, so we get through with this quicker."
There was a series of thumps as the rest of the Rainbow Fairies hurried down the risers to the piano.
"Great! Now, let's keep going. Your turn, Amber."
Five minutes later, Harmony had the girls grouped on the risers as follows: Ruby was the lone First Soprano, Sky and Sunny were Mezzo-Sopranos, and Heather, Amber, and Fern were Altos. The only one Harmony had trouble figuring out was Inky.
"Well, I'm just not sure where to put you, Inky," Harmony finally confessed after several minutes of having her sing up and down the octaves. "I mean, your high range is just as good as Ruby's, but your low range surpasses that of all your other sisters, even Heather's."
"Maybe I could choose my section?" Inky asked hopefully.
Harmony sighed and shook her head, smiling. "Let me guess. You want to be a First Soprano?"
Inky eagerly nodded.
"Oh, alright. But on one condition: if the Mezzos or the Altos sound too weak in a certain song or section of a song, you have to sing that part. Got it?"
"Yup!" Inky said happily. Then, without waiting to be told, she skipped up the risers to stand between Ruby and Sky.
"So," Harmony went on, addressing the whole group, "now we're going to sing through Puff the Magic Dragon again, except this time, I'm going to teach you girls how to sing the harmonies."
By the end of the class period, the little girls had learned their parts by ear fairly well, and were able to sing the whole song without too many stumbles. When Red came to take the girls to Art Class, she clapped her hands, impressed.
"You've done a really good job, Harmony," Red told the Music Fairy.
"Thanks!" Harmony replied, then turned back to the little girls. "Now before you go, I want to remind you girls that we'll be going over music theory again tomorrow."
The girls, who were busy putting away their sheet music, acknowledged this with a nod. Except for Inky, who let out a low moan.
Red laughed. "Sounds like somebody's not too happy with you!"
Harmony cocked her head. "I've been wondering about Inky," she mused. "She always learns new music really quickly, and gets the pitch right every time. Also, she knows the answer to every question I ever ask."
"Sounds like she's very talented musically," Red put in. "Which is a relief, since she hasn't been doing too well with some of her other subjects."
"I can believe that! But Inky really is a bright girl, and she's so confident with everything about the music..." Harmony snapped her fingers, and whirled to face Red. "Do you think she has absolute pitch?"
Red's brow furrowed. "Absolute pitch? But I thought that only the Music Fairy could have that."
Harmony shrugged. "It's just a hunch. But don't forget, this is a different generation than ours. Anyhow, I'll test her tomorrow, and find out for sure."
"Yeah, let me know if she has it or not." At this point, the little girls had finished cleaning up, and Red waved them over. "Come on, girls! We don't want to keep Blueberry waiting!"
The little girls said their goodbyes to Harmony and Kymberlie, and ducked out of the room. But Inky and Sunny lingered for just a moment longer. Inky whispered something to Sunny, who grinned and nodded vigorously. Then the two girls skipped out of the room, singing:
"Black socks
They never get dirty
The longer you wear 'em
The blacker they get!
Sometimes
I think I should wash 'em
But something keeps telling me
No, no, not yet
Not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet...!"
A/N The "Black Socks" song was put in on request from my sister. Doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, she just wanted Inky to sing it.