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]

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.

[masukukunai]

Huh.

[He knew what sharps and flats were, but he couldn't say he ever used them.]

So they're notes in-between the regular ones?

[eatsyourscience]

Yeah. There's one in the E chord. And the A chord.

[masukukunai]

Where?

[He fingers an E chord and shows Souji.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji leans over to touch where Yousuke's first finger is pressing down the fourth string.]

This is G-sharp or A-flat.

[He looks back at his notes.]

...I should say that there isn't an E-sharp or a B-sharp. Or an F-flat or a C-flat.

[masukukunai]

Oh, okay.

[He thinks he gets it...]

So... a D-sharp and an E-flat are the same thing?

[eatsyourscience]

That's right.

[masukukunai]

Cool. Got it.

[He continues to do scales out of habit.]

Do you have anything I could practice on?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods and flips to another page. Scales! There's a labeled copy and an unlabeled copy. In the stack are also pages of chord exercises.]

[masukukunai]

Man, you're prepared. [He examines the sheet music, already trying to make sense of it in his head.] I wasn't expecting full-blown lessons.

[eatsyourscience]

You'll be able to play better if you can do this part.

[masukukunai]

Yeah, but you didn't have to pull out all the stops. It's just me.

[eatsyourscience]

["Just" Yousuke is some kind of oxymoron.]

It's an excuse to hang out.

[masukukunai]

[His eyes wander the room, obviously trying to look at anything but Souji.]

You don't need an excuse...

[eatsyourscience]

[That makes Souji smile.]

Okay.