_{Source: Pexels, modified}

I was back on this Metro train to go to Wittgenstein Street. It was still morning and the air was clear. I hope the sky continues to be friendly until this afternoon. The skies were clear these days. Only last Saturday the rain came suddenly.

I was sitting in the same carriage as yesterday. Of course I wished to see the girl in black bucket hat again. However, when the carriage started moving, the girl didn't appear either. Isn't she leaving today? Or is she sitting in a different carriage? I cursed myself who climbed straight into this carriage. I should have gotten into the first car and walked to Car 5 in the middle so I could have a look at the other cars. Who knew he was there. I grumbled to myself but couldn't do anything about it.

Today I was going to Santana Studio. Kurt Vonnegut, owner of the studio, promised to give me guitar lessons. In the Rising Star game, when your fans had reached 1,000 or you were already at level 15, you would face your ego. The ego made you arrogant and would reduce the number of Starbits on a mission. To control your big ego, you needed practice, like singing and playing guitar. That's why I went to Kurt.

Santana Studio was located just off Wittgenstein Street. When I walked into the studio, Kurt was playing songs by Trenton Lundy (Hive account@tlundy47), a funk artist from Lima, Ohio. Some of his songs that were played were Don't Ever Don't Stop, Funky Face, Gettin_Kooky, and A Voyage Of Funk. The songs were cheerful as if inviting people to dance. Without realizing it, I started dancing to the rhythm of Lundy's songs.

Kurt laughed at my behavior. "You'll learn Trenton Lundy later," he said. "For now, let's put off your guitar playing."

For today's practice, Kurt taught bass and acoustic guitar playing. For this Guitar Lesson, you might have at least 10 fans, had reached level 10, had at least 40% energy, and had a duration of 60 minutes.

Kurt was not a "soft" teacher. He was a very disciplined person. You're late coming, he was gone. You were told to play the same chord hundreds of times until the chord sound was really nice to hear. He did not tolerate mistaking. Once you were wrong, he wpuld nag you all day long. Weakhearted people couldn't stand it. In reality, his pupils were few. Most of his students stopped practicing after taking the second exercise. But he was a legendary teacher. All the famous musicians in this city first learned music from him. Call it Eric Clapton, Yngwie Malmsteen, Slash, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie van Hallen, or Steve Vai. Asked them if they had ever been scolded by Kurt and everyone would answer that they had.

I thought I met the right teacher and was on the right path to become a mega star. Did I?

_{Source: 42 North from Pexels}

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Mimpi Menjadi Bintang (Bagian 7): Shall We Dance

Aku kembali naik kereta Metro ini untuk menuju Wittgenstein Street. Hari masih pagi dan udara cerah. Aku berharap langit terus bersahabat sampai sore nanti. Beberapa hari ini langit cerah terus. Hanya Sabtu lalu hujan datang mendadak.

Aku duduk di gerbong yang sama dengan kemarin. Tentu saja aku berharap bertemu gadis bertopi hitam itu lagi. Namun, ketika kereta mulai bergerak, gadis itu belum tampak juga. Apakah dia tidak pergi hari ini? Atau dia duduk di gerbong yang berbeda? Aku mengutuk diriku sendiri yang langsung naik ke gerbong ini. Seharusnya aku tadi masuk gerbong pertama dan berjalan ke gerbong 5 yang ada di tengah ini sehingga bisa melihat-lihat dulu gerbong lain. Siapa tahu dia ada di sana. Aku menggerutu dalam hati tapi tak dapat berbuat apa-apa.

Hari ini aku akan ke Santana Studio. Kurt Vonnegut, pemilik studio itu, berjanji untuk memberikan pelajaran gitar kepadaku. Di Rising Star game, ketika penggemarmu sudah mencapai 1.000 atau kamu sudah di level 15, kamu akan berhadapan dengan egomu. Ego membuatmu sombong dan akan mengurangi perolehan starbits di suatu misi. Untuk mengontrol egomu yang besar, kamu perlu latihan, seperi bernyanyi dan bermain gitar. Itu sebabnya mengapa aku mendatangi Kurt.

Santana Studio terletak tak jauh dari Wittgenstein Street. Ketika aku masuk ke dalam studio itu, Kurt sedang memainkan lagu-lagu Trenton Lundy (Hive account@tlundy47), artis funk dari Lima Ohio. Beberapa lagunya yang dimainkan adalah Don't Ever Don't Stop, Funky Face, Gettin_Kooky, dan A Voyage Of Funk. Lagu-lagunya riang seakan mengajak orang berdansa. Tanpa sadar aku mulai menari-nari mengikuti irama lagu Lundy.

Kurt tertawa melihat tingkahku. "Nanti kau akan mempelajari lagu Trenton Lundy," katanya. "Untuk saat ini, mari kita matangkan permainan gitarmu."

Untuk latihan hari ini, Kurt mengajar permainan gitar bass dan akustik. Untuk Guitar Lesson ini, kamu harus memiliki setidaknya 10 penggemar, sudah mencapai level 10, punya energi minimal 40%, dan durasi 60 menit.

Kurt bukanlah guru yang "lembut". Dia orang yang sangat disiplin. Kau terlambat datang, dia sudah pergi. Kau disuruh memainkan satu chord yang sama ratusan kali sampai suara chord itu benar-benar enak didengar. Dia tak mentolerir kesalahan. Sekali kamu salah, dia akan mengomelimu sepanjang hari. Orang berhati lemah tak akan tahan menghadapinya. Pada kenyataannya, muridnya sedikit. Kebanyakan muridnya berhenti latihan setelah mengikuti latihan kedua. Tapi dia adalah guru legendaris. Semua musisi terkenal di kota ini pertama kali belajar musik darinya. Sebut saja Eric Clapton, Yngwie Malmsteen, Slash, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie van Hallen, atau Steve Vai. Tanyakan kepada mereka apakah mereka pernah diomeli oleh Kurt dan semua pasti akan menjawab pernah.

Aku kira aku bertemu guru yang tepat dan berada di jalur yang tepat untuk menjadi musisi kawakan.

_{Source: David Bartus from Pexels}

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