"1-2-3, 4-5-6." Petra counted and the ensemble started playing. 
Their journeyman teach Jullyo kept an eye and an ear out but he had to admit that the group was starting to sound and look good. The 5 youngsters were completely different and he was certain that them becoming friends was certainly due to the mandatory assignments. At first Jullyo hadn't been convinced that it was a good thing to force youngsters together, but in hindsight it did make for some interesting results. 
Jullyo's eye took in the experimental but shy Winny. She was the youngest of the group but truly talented. Normally she would be overpowered by the worldly Petra who played percussion and the confident base player Ronny. Jullyo had been worried those two leader-type youths might war with each other but that hadn't happened. Maybe because of the other two members in the group. Lester and Lyra hailed from less than traditional homes. Where Lester was a worry-wart, Lyra was scatter-brained. The two were almost complete opposites but they both seem to honestly like Winny and in turn, the two stronger personalities in the group had confirmed to the majority. 
Even with the relatively harmonious group structure, Jullyo had expected some problems to arise. But either luck had smiled on them or the random pairings weren't so random. Sometimes Jullyo suspected the latter. Maybe one of the masters had a hand in forming the groups by some mysterious design. Whatever the case may be, Jullyo saw this ensemble going far. They had a good grasp of what drew people to listen and they had the charisma to swap opinions in their favour. 
"Wait." Lester called.
The others complied though not all as swift. When everyone had stopped playing, Lester continued:
"I'm not certain about the bindings in my part. Aren't they different from the ones in the base?"
"Didn't that sound cool?" Ronny asked.
"And how should I play to match that?" Petra asked, "Do I follow the base?"
"If you can manage it, you could bind the 3rd and 4th." Winny proposed.
Petra whistled but then smiled.
"That would be a challenge."
"Too much of this might confuse the listeners." Lyra warned. 
She was playing chords and figured she could either emphasize the 1st and 4th or start playing triplets in the measure. Challenging and fun as that could be, if done wrong it would end up a complete fuzzy failure. 
"The differences are only meant to go on for a 8 measures, after which all parts will play the same but will alternate between the different ways of playing." Winke explained.
"Wouldn't it be better to let people hear the different parts first before we mesh them up?" Lyra asked, "That way they'll know what's going on."
"You might have a point." 
The five students discussed the possibilities and finally found a common ground where they would gradually implement different styles of playing, merging them then adding in a new motif until finally they would play every possible way, altering, sometimes having one motif pop up to drown out the others until the piece would culminate into a grand finale that would leave the audience satisfied and wanting more. Jullyo was impressed. Even if they still had a couple of weeks left to fine-tune it, he knew they were going to succeed early. 

A couple of days later, the five students were busy practicing. The piece they'd composed together around an old folk melody was starting to really come together. 
Ronny let the deep notes of the baseline vibrate through his body. His green eyes shone and his red hair was gelled to stand in short peaks. There was something magic about how the deep notes worked. Even among the loudest melodies and biggest chaos, they could be felt. And that was how he aspired himself to be. Even if maybe not everyone would know him personally, Ronny wanted his legacy to remain. A small part of him wanted his mother to realise it was him when she ever heard his music. But would she even remember the son she'd left behind? At the start of their mandatory group session his distrust of women had caused some problems with Lester who had been raised by not one but two mothers. Ronny had quickly realised jealousy might have swayed his opinion down. He might be missing a mother, but he did have a wonderful father who had done his best to raise him and was giving him the freedom to study music.
Lester meanwhile was focusing on his playing. His violin was the loudest melody instrument and the one that most carried the tune. He very much wanted his playing to be good. He knew he shouldn't worry so but he just couldn't help it. His entire life he'd been to the point of neurotic. Even now he stll carried a bunch of stuff with him just in case. His mothers had joked that he had become like that because they'd left him with his grandmother who was the most friendly but nosy person either of them knew. And maybe that was true. Lester only had good memories of his grandmother. His playing softened without conscious effort and the melody became more joyous as he relived the memories of his childhood.
Winny noticed the change and effortlessly adjusted her own counterpoint notes and thrills to match Lester's playing. Though the song was meant to be lively the current mood was still playful and she didn't want to stop the song to point out that the notes needed to be shorter. She was the youngest student in this group and one of the youngest in the hall. She'd known early that she wanted to play music and she felt a bit uncertain among all the people who were older than her. Especially in this group as they so clearly listened to her ideas. Winny vowed to give the best performance she could give when the time came for them to present their piece. Her brown ponytail bounced in time with the music as she gave her mind over to the rhythm. 
Petra banged on the drums, occasionally slipping in an extra beat when she felt comfortably that she could pull it off. Though percussion was often seen as something less than the melody instruments, just a simple beat could lift a piece to greater heights. But Petra wanted more. She just knew that drums, bells and basically anything that she could hit, could star. At least that was how it'd always seemed when her extended family gathered. Rhythm came naturally to her family and as a young child she'd loved to watch the adults talk, observing how they tapped, snapped and did all sort of little things that made sounds. All those converging rhythms had been so soothing that she'd never thought of playing something else. Here in the hall it'd been a fight to convince people of the wonder of percussion. She'd nearly been punished for refusing to take up a melody instrument but the headmistress had intervened and had indulged Petra's whims. She had been given additional work though. 
Lyra beat her chords. Her long fingers dancing across the frets as she switched between a bunch of different positions. She loved the stringed instruments for the freedom they possessed as being both a solo and accompaniment instrument. At some times she could sit back and listen to the song that was forming. At other times she'd need to scramble to keep up. This song was definitely belonging more in that latter category, but having a challenge was fun. Lyra wasn't superstitious but she was getting slightly nervous and was seriously considering getting some crystals from her parents' shops just in case. One day she'd probably laugh about it, but that day would probably only come after the show. 

Their rehearsal was cut short as someone knocked on the door. Head Mistress Amasia entered and the tension went up. No doubt all the students were wondering if someone had broken a rule. Jullyo got up to greet his boss and he could tell that the head mistress was in a good mood. 
"Welcome, are you here to get a sneak preview?" he asked, smiling with his natural charm.
"That is an extra perk." Amasia gracefully answered, "But I'm here on official business. As you all should know, our Hall works closely with local and not so local Weyrs. Several clutches are looking for candidates and I'm going around to ask people if they want to attempt to bond a dragon. As you know this will not jeopardise your places here. You're free to impress, train and later return to finish your studies while keeping up with any duties you have acquired."
Everyone knew that a lot of the Remyndal students bonded dragons. In fact it was a running joke that was why so many of the people graduating were older than in other places. Most students were quietly hoping to be searched to stand. But of course, not all students wanted that. So when the opportunity arose, one of the teachers would offer the possibility and the student could accept or refuse. Although the teachers clearly knew who to ask since no-one seemed to refuse. At least no-one had in the recent past. 
After the five students had given their consent, Jullyo escorted the head mistress out.
"I'm happy for them but I'm a bit conflicted. they would have a great future as harpers too."
"Which is why I'm tasking you to keep an eye on them and to make certain they don't forget about their future here. I feel it is time you spread your wings too Jullyo. You're definitely meant for more than just being a teacher in some backwater hall."
Jullyo smiled, no way did the head mistress think of her operation here as a "backwater hall", but harpers were renowned for being crafty. And apparently he too had needed a push.
"I'll make certain that they return to graduate." he promised. 

Lantessama Isle