Rising Star Read Online Free

didn’t know whether she would need a drink or not.
    â€œI tell you what,” Mr. Player said, seeing her uncertainty. “Why don’t you go and get some anyway? It won’t matter if you don’t drink it.” So Chloe went over to the watercooler and filled a paper cup.
    â€œThere’s a coaster here.” He showed her. “Don’t put it straight onto the piano or Mrs. Jones will yell at us!” Mrs. Jones smiled at Chloe again, and Chloe smiled nervously back.
    â€œLet’s do some humming,” said Mr. Player. “It’s important to warm up your voice before you use it, and humming is a good exercise to start with.” He nodded to Mrs. Jones and she played a chord on the piano. “I’ll hum with you.”
    Together they hummed up and down, a few notes at a time. Chloe started enjoying herself. It was fun. Every now and then she carried on alone while Mr. Player gave her advice. “Relax. Keep your shoulders down. That’s good.”
    By the time they stopped humming, Chloe’s lips were buzzing. She took a sip of water, feeling very grown up and professional.
    â€œOkay. Now let’s do some scales so I can remind myself of your range. No pressure, just sing each note as Mrs. Jones plays it. Don’t strain your voice. If there are any notes you can’t reach, just leave them out.”
    Well, that didn’t sound too difficult. Chloe had done it before. She la-la’d her way up the scales as Mrs. Jones played them on the piano. She went quite a long way but eventually she had to stop.
    Mr. Player picked up a pen and marked the notes in her folder where it lay on top of the piano.
    â€œWell done!” he said. “You’re singing well up the scale. Now let’s try going down.”
    So they did, and Mr. Player was even more pleased. “Yes,” he said, marking her notes again. “Most impressive. You do have a remarkable range, and you’re hitting the notes quite accurately. Can you read music?”
    Chloe shook her head worriedly. “No.”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter,” he assured her. “I only wondered. Let’s see how accurate you are when we play random notes...Yes, good. That’s very good,” he went on as the notes came in any order for her to sing.
    Chloe smiled. This was proving easier than she’d thought, but Mr. Player wasn’t smiling anymore. In fact, he looked a bit concerned.
    â€œThere’s just one thing,” he said. “Why are you only using your throat to sing?”
    Chloe frowned. Didn’t everyone use their throat? What else was she supposed to use?
    But it wasn’t a joke. From the expression on his face, it was obvious that Mr. Player thought she was doing something very wrong indeed!

5.
    Chloe Has a Problem
    â€œMaybe you’re singing from your throat because you’re nervous,” Mr. Player suggested to Chloe. “But you can’t get enough power singing this way. You need to be able to sing much more loudly for me. Are you feeling nervous?”
    â€œA bit,” she admitted. But she hadn’t been while she’d been singing. She’d gotten over her nervousness and had been enjoying the humming and scales. She was nervous now only because Mr. Player was unhappy with how she was singing.
    â€œLet’s try a nursery rhyme,” he suggested. “Maybe you’ve been worrying too much about getting the pitch right. Do you know ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’? Let’s hear it good and loud. Pretend you’re singing it to a little boy all the way down there by the mirror.”
    Chloe looked at the mirror. She tried to imagine singing to Ben, but if he were there he’d come racing up the room and throw his arms round her knees. Now she was nervous and homesick!
    Mr. Player smiled encouragingly. “Come on, Chloe. Don’t worry about being in tune. Just give me some volume.”
    Now, volume