Entranced
A quick scene I did this morning to see how well I could portray it. It's /very/ brief, though, as I said it's just a single scene. Comments are most appreciated!
Nathan could see the Kazani musician was using a foot pedal similarly to how a bass drum back home was played. At first Nathan thought it weird that these people would have what Nathan thought of as a human technology, but then he realized that it was entirely possible his race and these ones had come to the same construction through convergent evolution, a concept he remembered learning about in school. The idea was that two separate species could evolve similar structures because those structures were simply the best optimized for what they were meant for. It wasn't a stretch to think the same could be applied to technologies and instruments.
The beat started out with bass, a pervasive, throbbing heartbeat of sound. Then the drummer began playing the other instruments in his set. With one drumstick he introduced a regular beat on what sounded to Nathan like a snare drum. The other stick was in constant motion, rapidly playing the chimes and bells that were hung all around his kit. The combination of throbbing bass, military snare, and the ethereal sound of the chimes and bells was entrancing, and not just because of the music itself. Nathan was amazed that the Kazani had such good coordination to be able to play the bass, as well as a complex rhythm on the snare drum while at the same time having to move the other stick through a complex pattern as he played the chimes and bells. And the Kazani did all this without missing a strike.
The melody slowly wound down, until the 'heartbeat' of the bass was only beating every few moments, the snare was silent and the Kazani was using both paws to play a rather haunting melody with the chimes. However, in bits and pieces the song picked back up again, the heartbeat slowly becoming strong again and the other drums making their voices heard again. But the haunting melody with the chimes continued, giving Nathan the feel that the music hadn't quite 'recovered' yet.
It was amazing how quickly Nathan came to think of the music as alive, with the bass portraying the heartbeat of its life, the snare speaking of the "creature's" actions and motion, and the chimes giving voice to the hidden inner emotions that were within every living thing.
The music reached a plateau and evened out for a while. But then, very suddenly, the 'heart' began to beat rapidly, like a jackhammer, and the snare tapped out a rapid noise of panic and fear. Soon the sound had morphed again, giving Nathan the sense of one creature running from another, more dangerous one. The chimes were all but silent as the Kazani drummer focused all of his concentration on 'running'.
The skill of the musician to portray the scene was amazing. Through subtle changes in the speed and force of the sounds, the Kazani was able to portray the fear-laden chase and the escape and the elation that came with it. The melody turned toward a more happy, industrious sound, and at this point Nathan could see the sweat matting the musician's fur. The 'running scene' had tired him out just like a real run would.
Again the music morphed and this time it was different, giving Nathan the feel of a different 'creature'. It was very similar to the old creature, so maybe...it was the old creature's child? The melody was very upbeat and playful, and was slowly building up to a crescendo. Soon, the beat was undeniable, the steady rhythm making Nathan want to move. He couldn't help but tap his foot to the beat. The melody captured very well the simple unbridled joy of being a child and playing for hours on end, running and hiding through the forest until there was no more light.
As the sound grew up into something very much like its 'father', there was a hint of worry in the melody. All wasn't quite right, but unlike a spoken or written story, the music couldn't quite give hints to what was wrong, only that there was something wrong.
As the music's life played on, the worrying sound was still there, hiding in the background. Slowly it grew, however, and suddenly the chimes could again be heard playing out that same mournful tune from nearly half an hour earlier.
Music being what it was, the 'scene' portrayed was up to each individual's interpretation, but Nathan's impression was of a funeral, probably for the father of the current 'creature' portrayed by the music. The music slowly died down and then the song was over. The Kazani, sweating profusely, and a little out of breath, set his sticks down and stood, bowing. It was when the theater erupted in thunderous applause that Nathan remembered he was even in a theater, so enraptured by the melody had he been.