9th side[video]

[masukukunai]

[The camera is pointed up at the ceiling, so you can't really see anything. In the background is the listless bwang bwang of a G chord being played over and over, followed by a dramatic sigh.]

I have been here way too long.

[The G chord switches to an E chord.]

I hate to say it, but there is such a thing as too much free time. When something awful's not happening, nothing's happening. And you know something's wrong when a guy like me starts missing school.

[Bwang bwang bwaaaaaang.]

How's a dude supposed to have fun around here?

Comments

[eatsyourscience]

It's time to learn to read music.

[masukukunai]

Yeah? Should I start calling you sensei?

[eatsyourscience]

...Yes.

[masukukunai]

No.

[eatsyourscience]

Then don't offer.

[masukukunai]

It was supposed to be a joke.

Though with you, I should have known better.

[eatsyourscience]

I'm coming to your room now.

[masukukunai]

The door's open.

[eatsyourscience]

[Hey guess who is swaggering into your room in about five minutes with some papers in one hand and his other hand on his hip.

Your boyfriend.

I mean Souji.]

[masukukunai]

[This is occurring to him, trust me. While it wasn't his room back in Inaba (although it looked very similar) this was the first time someone other than himself had entered it as far as he could remember. There were serious implications! But this was the sort of thing you were supposed to do, right?]

Hey.

[He swallows, trying not to look nervous. He's sitting on his bed with his guitar on his lap, connected to an amp on the floor.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods and comes and sits next to him, totally nonchalant.]

I had to look up guitar chords, but these should help.

[masukukunai]

[Proximity is a weird thing. Normally Yousuke was all up in people's personal space as a general rule, especially Souji's, but now his own bubble felt more solid than ever.]

[He takes the sheets from Souji regardless.]

I know what music looks like, but... This is all gibberish to me.

[eatsyourscience]

Look at the second page.

[Souji's labeled everything on there in neat, tiny hand writing.]

[masukukunai]

[Yousuke re-arranges the papers. He squints at his handwriting... He kind of might need glasses for this sort of thing.]

Did you type this?

[eatsyourscience]

No.

[masukukunai]

No way. you're messing with me.

[eatsyourscience]

You've seen my handwriting before.

[masukukunai]

[He squints at the letters again.]

But every time you write "note" it looks exactly the same!

[eatsyourscience]

You're getting distracted.

[masukukunai]

Fine, fine. [Gosh, you're like an actual teacher.]

So where do I start?

[eatsyourscience]

Do you know the names of the chords you're playing?

[masukukunai]

Yeah.

[He plays a few chords to prove it.]

G, E, C, A...

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods, leaning over to look at Yousuke's fingers.]

Each guitar chord is made up of five or six notes. [He holds out the labeled page to point them out.] Where they are on the staff tells you which note it is. The spaces are F, A, C, and E, and the lines are E, G, B, D, and F. I wrote that here, at the top. [He points to more writing that looks like it was typed.]

[masukukunai]

Okay.

[Memorizing the order of the staff until it was second nature seemed like it would be the hardest part. Yousuke slowly plays all the chords until he's cycled through back to E.]

The spaces spelling "face" I can remember pretty easy-- And it's in alphabetical order, so...

[He plays them all again, repeating the letters under his breath.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji waits while Yousuke familiarizes himself with this before interrupting.]

There's more. These are natural notes, but there are notes between each of these. Those are sharps and flats. The note between C and D is C sharp and D flat. They're the same note, but which name is used depends on the key and the chord.