Second Chances: The Return of Gollum

Chapter 9

The next day, Hayley helped me and Sméagol learn some of the music from choir. She taught Sméagol how to read sheet music, how to sight read, all the musical terminologies, such as measures, crescendo, mezzoforte, pianissimo, beats, and so forth. He actually picked up on it very quickly, and could sing and read through a whole song like a pro.

"Wow, Sméagol," Hayley said proudly, "you're a fast learner."

Sméagol smiled. "Sméagol enjoys learning about music, Precious. More, please!"

"Okay, well, how about I help you learn your part in the duet?"

"Oh, yes, Sméagol would love that, Precious!"

Hayley giggled as she flipped through her music book to the song containing the duet. She handed the book to Sméagol to see if he could learn it while she played the accompaniment on the piano. He read and sang it as if he'd been singing it forever.

"Wow, great job, Sméagol," said Hayley, "and you sang that so perfectly."

Sméagol smiled sweetly. "Awwww, thank you, Precious."

"You're welcome, Sweetie."

"Can it teach Sméagol how to play piano, please?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Hayley said enthusiastically. "I'll even teach you how to write music if you want."

Sméagol squealed with excitement.

Hayley laughed. "I'll take that as a big yes."

So, for the next few weeks, Hayley taught Sméagol how to play the piano, starting with basic scales and chords, and very quickly moving on to much more advanced pieces of music, such as Beetovin, Bach, and Mozart. Sméagol found himself really loving and enjoying classical music. Hayley also taught him how to play more contemporary music, Celtic music, and soon, he could learn and play a song all on his own.

Hayley then taught him how to write music, so he could play and record his own accompaniment for the beautiful songs he wrote. He knew how to write lyrics, as he was always very good with words, as demonstrated in the Lord of the Rings movies. He also knew how to make up his own melodies, but he found it very helpful to actually have the melodies and accompaniment written down. Again, he picked up on composition very quickly. Hayley and I were both very impressed and extremely proud of him. Plus, it was a great bonding experience for the three of us, as Hayley and I formed a special bond over music when we were children. Learning with Sméagol, it felt like we were kids again, sitting around the piano with Mom, playing and singing our favorite songs, writing our own music, and enjoying every minute of it. It was a very similar experience as adults, but this time, it allowed Sméagol to form an even stronger bond with Hayley. It even made our relationship stronger, as the two of us were playing, singing, and writing songs together nonstop. However, Sméagol understood that I couldn't read or write sheet music, so he gladly taught me the songs in my usual way. We learned our parts for our choir concert, including the duet, and we learned other songs together. Oh, gosh, it was so much fun!

One afternoon, two weeks away from our fall concert, the three of us were sitting around the piano, going over our music.

"Great job, guys," said Hayley. "I am so proud of you, Sméagol. You've really come a long way, and in such a short amount of time. I'm blown away at how fast you learn."

"So passionate Sméagol is about music, Precious," Sméagol said happily.

"I can tell. Honestly, I could tell music was your passion the first day you moved in with us when I heard you humming in the shower. You know, one thing still confuses me, though."