[he finishes his coffee and sets the mug down, then goes and gets the guitar. he sits to the leftmost side of the couch, forcing isaac to sit to his right.]
[Isaac takes a few seconds to adjust himself then, pulling his feet out and putting them flat on the ground as he tries to hold the guitar like he's seen Peter do it.]
You've seen me hold a guitar about a hundred times. And you can leave your feet up, might make it easier at first.
[he shifts the instrument around a little, getting off the couch to nudge isaac's other arm around.]
Okay, first thing, strumming. It sounds like shit hitting all the open strings, but whatever.
[once he gets isaac's arm in the right place he shows him how to hold his hand, strums a few times himself (at a slightly awkward angle) to let him see what it looks like from the player perspective.]
Your turn.
[he sits back down, twisted toward isaac so that he can bring his left hand up to the frets to hit chords while isaac strums.]
[Isaac slowly gets into position, watches as Peter moves his fingers along the guitar with a hidden little smile. After a few moments, Isaac nods, slowly dragging his fingers down the strings, strumming- not terribly, but he's definitely new to this.]
You can. But I kept losing the damn things, so I just started using my fingers instead. You can do other fancy shit with your fingers you can't with a pick, but that's not lesson one material.
[he nudges isaac with his shoulder.]
Just play around with it, won't bite you. I'll only hit chords that make you sound good.
They'd probably work well. As long as you don't snap my strings, I've only got one extra set.
[isaac's not strumming in the right rhythm at all, but the chords probably sound familiar, because peter's playing some certain song he might've written for isaac.]
[while isaac's fingers are on his, peter changes chords, moving their hands together so isaac can see how it feels. his hands are only just bigger than peter's, so this little maneuver works better than it otherwise might, although it's good that isaac is strumming slow because moving two hands is slower than moving one.]
[But Isaac nods and he bites his lip before trying to strum out the rhythm. He manages... aright, but it's clear that they're going to have to take a lot of pacing liberties with this song.]
Probably. I turn all red when I hold my breath too much.
[in the end peter ends up changing chords at a speed that means isaac only has to do about half as much strumming as peter would to play the song, which means they can do it at the correct tempo. this isn't one he's sung for isaac before, although it's obvious from the adjusting that it's not new.]
[He still doesn't really have it down, but it's fun to let Peter direct and just sort of go with the flow. Isaac leans back against him after awhile, smiling at the sound that isn't actually awful.]
Yeah, Yellow was one of the first pop songs I learned by ear. It was old but Dee really liked it, had it on a mixtape she used to play all the damn time, and it was pretty simple. I know a couple others too.
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freezerburned) wrote2012-08-21 10:00 pm
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[He rolls his eyes.]
Go on, get your guitar.
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Couch.
[he finishes his coffee and sets the mug down, then goes and gets the guitar. he sits to the leftmost side of the couch, forcing isaac to sit to his right.]
You ever tried to play before?
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[Isaac sits where Peter leaves him a spot, folding his legs under him with a little murmur of contentment.]
It doesn't look too complicated
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[he passes the guitar onto isaac's lap.]
Here, hold it how it seems comfortable.
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[Isaac takes a few seconds to adjust himself then, pulling his feet out and putting them flat on the ground as he tries to hold the guitar like he's seen Peter do it.]
-I thought you were going to show me?
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[he shifts the instrument around a little, getting off the couch to nudge isaac's other arm around.]
Okay, first thing, strumming. It sounds like shit hitting all the open strings, but whatever.
[once he gets isaac's arm in the right place he shows him how to hold his hand, strums a few times himself (at a slightly awkward angle) to let him see what it looks like from the player perspective.]
Your turn.
[he sits back down, twisted toward isaac so that he can bring his left hand up to the frets to hit chords while isaac strums.]
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Aren't you supposed to use a pick?
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[he nudges isaac with his shoulder.]
Just play around with it, won't bite you. I'll only hit chords that make you sound good.
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[He's laughing at the thought, how silly that would look, before making himself comfortable and slowly strumming along the guitar.]
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They'd probably work well. As long as you don't snap my strings, I've only got one extra set.
[isaac's not strumming in the right rhythm at all, but the chords probably sound familiar, because peter's playing some certain song he might've written for isaac.]
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[But he keeps his claws out of the equation for now, leaning back and trying to go a little faster once he gets the hang of it.]
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You're getting the hang of it. And you can change the rhythm, too, like...
[he 'strums' a different rhythm on isaac's shoulder, because that's where his hand is.]
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Kinda hurts your fingers after awhile.
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[he tilts his head toward his own fingers up on the frets.]
All stringed instruments kinda have a no pain, no gain thing going.
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[Isaac tilts his head to look down at the chords, curious, slowly reaching his own hand out to press his fingers over Peter's own.]
Like that?
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[while isaac's fingers are on his, peter changes chords, moving their hands together so isaac can see how it feels. his hands are only just bigger than peter's, so this little maneuver works better than it otherwise might, although it's good that isaac is strumming slow because moving two hands is slower than moving one.]
See?
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[Isaac says it softly, like a little private joke as he tries to focus, moving his hand alongside Peter's own.]
I know how guitars work.
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Which isn't a damn thing like actually playing one. I mean, I know how a trumpet works, but no thanks.
Here, strum like this and we'll play an actual song.
[he strums the rhythm on isaac's shoulder. it won't be exactly right, but it'll be close enough.]
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[But Isaac nods and he bites his lip before trying to strum out the rhythm. He manages... aright, but it's clear that they're going to have to take a lot of pacing liberties with this song.]
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[in the end peter ends up changing chords at a speed that means isaac only has to do about half as much strumming as peter would to play the song, which means they can do it at the correct tempo. this isn't one he's sung for isaac before, although it's obvious from the adjusting that it's not new.]
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This is fun.
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Yeah, it is. Wanna try another? You can pick, see if we can find one I know.
i am ashamed of how much supplemental canon i read
[He laughs, strumming at the chords idly.]
Do you know anything by Coldplay?
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Yeah, Yellow was one of the first pop songs I learned by ear. It was old but Dee really liked it, had it on a mixtape she used to play all the damn time, and it was pretty simple. I know a couple others too.
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[Isaac laughs, feeling really sort of stupid, but hey- it's just Peter.]
Is it really hard?
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