✏️ Under One Roof

39. Two Boys

Ness and Pete stood nervously in front of Tegan's chair, eyes cast down to the ground as if they were afraid to meet her gaze. They were really treating her as a teacher rather than a friend or sibling here. And as much as she relished having some perceived authority over her brother, the situation felt kind of weird. It didn't help that the two boys were sitting on her bed, while she was at the desk so that she could put a little distance between them. Still, she had promised to teach Ness a few of the basics, and she couldn't exactly turn Pete down for the same thing. It would have immediately driven a wedge between the two of them, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Tegan was probably as nervous as the two boys, but she was doing a better job of hiding it. Now that she had her chance, she had to project authority and hope that Ness would get used to doing what she said. As for Pete, well, the thought of him obeying her commands conjured up images in her mind that she wasn't ready to admit to herself just yet. She took another deep breath, wondering how long it would be before she embarrassed herself. But then, they both knew that she wasn't particularly good at singing. She couldn't quite stabilise the high notes even to perform a full mezzo part, which would be truly humiliating if she had to take voice lessons at college, but she reassured herself that she at least knew all the theory.

"Okay, so let's start with some simple warm-ups," she began, trying to project a sense of confidence and hoping that they wouldn't notice that she wasn't singing herself. "We'll begin with lip trills, to warm you up a bit before we start paying attention to ranges. Just relax your lips and blow air through them, like this." She demonstrated, her lips vibrating as she exhaled. Ness and Pete exchanged an amused glance before attempting to imitate her.

Ness's lip trill was a bit too forceful at first, resulting in a sputtering sound. Pete, on the other hand, seemed to get the hang of it quickly. "Like this?" he asked, producing a steady trill.

"Yeah, that's great, Pete!" Tegan praised. Ness watched Pete's lips closely before he tried again, this time with better results. It seemed that a minute of observation was all he needed to master the technique. Like their dads had said, he really was a quick learner when he was motivated. "Good job, Ness. Remember, it's all about relaxation and steady airflow."

They moved on to humming exercises, focusing on maintaining a consistent tone and proper breath support. That was something neither of the boys had past experience of. Tegan knew that sooner or later she would have to teach them the basics of circular breathing at least, and probably how to use their breath more efficiently. It wasn't such a problem for Pete, because his experience playing the pipes had given him truly incredible lung capacity. But she decided that he should still learn to use it well. Power didn't excuse a lack of finesse. As they progressed to vowel sounds, Tegan couldn't help but be impressed by the natural quality of both Ness and Pete's voices. With a little training, they could really be something special.

"Okay," she said. "Next, we're going to see what your range is. Now, you might not be able to give a stable performance across your full range. That will come with practice. But it'll be easier to learn if you have a good idea of what a high note and a low note means for you. So we can judge which ones are worth reaching for, and which just aren't within range for your physiology."

"Does that mean there's going to be parts we can't do right?" Pete asked. It would have been so easy to give a scathing, sarcastic answer, but Tegan held herself back.

"Maybe. But that's why everybody sings. When you watch Franklin's Muse on video, you see they all sing different parts. Gattac has an incredible range, yes, but he leaves the higher parts to either Johanssen or Kriegheimer. Like you wouldn't use a bass guitar to play the high notes, you choose the right instrument for each part. So... one at a time. Pete first, see if you can follow my notes. Can you hum this?"