Tenney in the Key of Friendship

Nashville, TN – 2017
Author Kellen Hertz
Cover Illustrator Juliana Kolesova
Originally Published © 2017 American Girl
ISBN 9781338117561
 

Studio Time

Tenney and her mom are visiting Shake Rag Studios, where Tenney’s friend, Portia Burns, will be recording her new album; her latest album since she had a stroke. While there, Tenney is surprised that even after a successful recording, they may go back and record once, twice, or even several more times to change little things here and there. Zane Cale, the owner of Mockingbird Records and Tenney’s mentor oftentimes has a hand in making those small changes that, given fifteen iterations, can completely change the feel of the song.

On Tenney’s way to the restroom, she stops to gape at the artwork on the walls. There are gold records, album covers, photos of famous musicians, and signed guitars. Suddenly, Tenney realizes she’s lost, and all the doors look the same.

After glancing at each doorway, she finally finds one that looks familiar. She opens it up, but it isn’t Portia’s recording studio. Inside, a teenage boy is playing the drums. He looks up and asks who Tenney is. She answers, and asks him the same question. His name is Logan, and he curtly asks what she’s doing in his rehearsal space. Tenney mentions she’s looking for her friend, Portia, who’s recording, and he curtly replies that she’s not there.

And suddenly, Tenney’s mom saves her! Mom comes and grabs Tenney away. Logan doesn’t even properly say goodbye.

 

Cousin Mina

Later that afternoon, Tenney is hanging out with her friend Jaya at Jaya’s house. They plan to have a movie night, cook breakfast for dinner, and listen to music.

Suddenly, Jaya’s mom gets a video call from her sister, Aisha, in Bangladesh. Jaya’s mom is talking to Aisha in Bengali when suddenly, her face gets serious. Jaya, who understands the Bengali her mother is speaking, explains that there was a bad tropical storm that flew through their town. Her family is all right, but many homes and buildings were destroyed.

After Aisha and Jaya’s mom are finished talking, she hands the phone to Jaya to talk to her Cousin Mina. Tenney met Mina last summer when Aisha and Mina visited Nashville. Mina explains that one of the buildings that was badly damaged was her school. And without sufficient funding to repair the school, the teachers will have to find somewhere else to work. And that means that her school would be closed indefinitely.

Mina is concerned that she and her friends will fall behind in their schoolwork. To make herself feel better, Mina shows Tenney and Jaya a song she was practicing for a school concert. She uses an esraj to play the music.

After they’re done with the phone call, Tenney and Jaya wonder if there’s anything they can do to help. And then, Jaya has a great idea! She and Tenney can raise the money to help repair Mina’s school. Jaya’s mother warns that it may be more money than they think, but the girls are confident they can do it together.

 

New Ideas

It’s almost time for a big math test, but although Tenney tries to study, the only thing rolling around her head is a new melody for a song. She writes down the chord progressions in her notebook just as Jaya comes in.

She tells Tenney that the head of Mina’s school told her the estimated costs to fix the school: $3,000. The two girls know it will be a challenge for them to earn that much money in a fundraiser. They are discussing potential fundraising ideas when Holliday Hayes walks in. Holliday says she’d love to help, and Jaya offers to let her know when she and Tenney figure out what to do. The good vibes from Holliday are short-lived though, when she says that she hopes they don’t crash and burn just because they don’t have enough help.

After school, Tenney and Mason, her older brother, head back to their dad’s music shop, Grant’s Music and Collectibles. Tenney grabs her guitar and heads to the back to start working on the lyrics for her new song. As Tenney reflects on how Holliday’s comments that day made her feel, the perfect lyrics start coming to her.

 

A Big Opportunity

The next day, Tenney goes downtown to play some of her latest songs for Zane, Portia, and Zane’s niece, Ellie. She plans to play some music, and then get feedback from the three artists. She starts with two slow ballads. Zane, Ellie, and Portia give some little suggestions… nothing too major.

But when Tenney performs her newest song, Zane stops her after the first chorus. All three of them agree this song needs to be changed up. Tenney played it as a ballad, but they think it should move faster. The lyrics are feistier, and the song needs to reflect that.

Tenney is stubborn. She likes her song the way it is and doesn’t want to change it or herself to make the label happy. Zane reminds Tenney that great songwriters don’t limit their imaginations to only one type of song, but they let different music influence them.

Then, Zane tells her about a new potential opportunity to play some music at the annual City Music Festival brunch. Zane says that everyone who’s anyone in the Nashville music scene will be there, and this will be an amazing opportunity to connect and get people excited to work with her.

That evening, Tenney is reworking her song to be a little punchier and uptempo when she gets a phone call from Jaya. Jaya tells her that she had an amazing idea to do a bookselling fundraiser at the annual Magnolia Hills Spring Clean. Ms. Carter, their teacher, said that all proceeds from book sales can be diverted to helping Mina’s school.

Tenney only half-listens, and is frustrated that Jaya already asked Ms. Carter without talking it through with Tenney first. She excuses herself from the conversation.

 

Two Surprises

The next morning, whenever Tenney tries to get Jaya’s attention, she ignores her politely. Tenney thinks to herself that Jaya is in a funny mood. But when Holliday prances over, Jaya lights up. Apparently, after Tenney curtly cut off the conversation the previous night, Jaya called Holliday. Holliday had some great ideas to go along with the bookselling fundraiser, and they already planned to put out boxes, make morning announcements at school, and print posters.

Tenney feels left out. When they mention getting together another night to discuss, the only nights Jaya and Holliday can meet together is also a night Tenney is busy. It looks like Jaya and Holliday are moving forward on their plans without Tenney.

That afternoon, Tenney heads back to Shake Rag Records to play the changes to her song for Zane and Portia. Unfortunately, Portia thinks the song didn’t really change that much, except having a few notes moved around and being faster.

And then Tenney is thrown for a loop when Zane brings in Logan! Apparently, he thinks this could be a great time for them to jam together, and if all goes well, Logan could play with Tenney at the City Music Festival brunch.

Tenney certainly doesn’t want to play music with Logan, but it seems like for now, there’s no way around it.

 

In a Jam

Logan and Tenney begin their jam session. Tenney starts playing her song for Logan, but by the end of the first chorus, he basically calls it a snooze fest. Tenney’s offended. Zane and Portia recommend Tenney just keep playing, and Logan joins in when he feels like he can enhance it.

As they begin, Tenney continues to get distracted by Logan’s drums. He tries to bring the tempo up, and even tries experimenting with triplets and other rhythms and cymbals. While the first few run-throughs are rough, after Portia and Zane remind them to listen to each other and try to follow each other, by the end, they don’t sound too terrible.

Of course, Tenney disagrees. She likes her song the way it started. But she’s reminded to remain open.

On the drive home, Tenney complains to her mom about Logan’s taste in music (or just musical accidents), them playing together, and that she may have to play with Logan at the brunch. Mom reminds her that nobody is trying to change her, or her sound, but they’re just trying to get her to branch out as a songwriter, and that this situation with Logan isn’t forever. Tenney has to give Logan and his music a chance.

 

Really Listen

The next day, Jaya, Holliday, and Tenney are putting flyers up around school to advertise for people bringing in their old books. While they work, she tells them about what a mess Logan is making of her song. To Tenney’s disappointment, neither Holliday nor Jaya stick up for Tenney; they both think Tenney should give Logan a shot. Tenney feels a little pushed out, but she tries to push those feelings away.

Before dinner time, Logan sends Tenney a text. It’s a recording of her own song, but with a new tempo, new beats, and new feelings. Tenney’s upset—she feels like Logan is ruining her music. She calls Portia to complain, but Portia urges her to take a step back, open her ears, and really listen to what he’s bringing to the table.

Tenney sits down with the recording and tries to play along. She tries with her guitar, and then with vocals. And as she plays, she realizes that this version of the song feels rougher, edgier, and angrier. And surprisingly, Tenney likes it.

 

Unexpected Harmony

It’s the first time Tenney’s rehearsed with Logan since he sent her his recordings. She’s nervous to tell him how she feels, and give back more suggestions. She admits that she likes his version of the soundtrack, but has some further improvements. Logan is surprisingly receptive to her ideas.

Portia comes in, and has some more ideas for how the ending chorus could go. Both Tenney and Logan like Portia’s suggestions, of course! And pretty soon, all three of them are throwing out new ideas and jamming like nobody’s business.

By the time Zane and Ellie join them, the song is completely different than it was at the beginning—but Tenney is loving every minute of it. Working with Logan wasn’t always easy, but they did make a pretty good song together. Tenney is grateful Zane introduced them.

 

Double Booked

After the jam session, as Tenney is packing up, Ellie comes up to them. She wants to let them know they got information back about the City Music Festival brunch. It was to be held on April 8th, to conclude about 1 PM. But the 8th was the same day as the book sale fundraiser, and that would be over at 2 PM.

Tenney couldn’t back down on this opportunity to perform at the brunch. She’d have to let Jaya and Holliday know that she’d be late for the book sale—in fact she’d miss most of the book sale.

The next day, Tenney gets the courage to let Jaya and Holliday know. She explains the performance opportunity, and that she’ll still be there for the end of the book sale. Jaya doesn’t react with understanding; her voice is curt and thin. Holliday lets Tenney know she can take her time; the others have got it covered.

 

Festival Lights

The day of the brunch, Tenney and her dad are driving to a private home in one of Nashville’s fanciest suburbs. Tenney reminds her dad to be ready to pick her up exactly at 1 PM. He assures her he’ll be there.

When Tenney arrives at the house, Ellie escorts her and Logan to a private room in the back to warm up. She manages to name drop the owner of the house: Belle Starr. Tenney is astonished—she and her whole family are huge Belle Starr fans, and the opportunity to play music in her house, potentially with her as an audience member, is so incredible.

As Tenney warms up, she decides she wants to get some air. She steps outside to the garden, and starts singing “Reach the Sky,” the song she wrote a few months back. While playing, she accidentally runs into a young woman walking around the gardens. The woman is Belle Starr herself!

Tenney, stunned, mumbles her way through an introduction. Belle Starr is kind and understanding, and reassures Tenney that if what she performs is anything like the song she overheard, she knows it’s going to be amazing.

And before she knows it, it’s time for Tenney and Logan to perform. They step up to the stage and make last adjustments to the equipment. It’s now or never.

 

Off-Tempo

The first song Logan and Tenney play is the one they worked on together. It starts all right, but in the middle, Logan starts going faster and harder. Tenney fights to keep up to not be drowned out. The next several songs go much better, concluding with “Reach the Sky.” Tenney is upset with Logan for playing so quickly, without listening to her. She implies that Logan wouldn’t be there without her, and that Logan was ruining her music.

At the end of the set, the whole audience loved the performance. As Logan and Tenney make their way offstage, people keep stopping them to congratulate them and ask them about themselves and their music.

Belle catches up with Tenney at the snack table. She mentions how talented Tenney is, and Tenney has the chance to ask Belle some questions, too. Belle reminds Tenney to always keep her friends close—the best successes are better with friends. And that’s when Tenney remembers Jaya’s book sale! She’s running late.

Tenney rushes out to meet her dad, who drives her back to the book sale. Unfortunately, due to the late driving time and traffic, Tenney doesn’t arrive until after 2 PM. All the doors are locked. Tenney completely missed Jaya’s book sale.

 

A Break in the Music

Tenney texts Jaya, but she doesn’t respond. Tenney tries to distract herself with anything else around the house, but Jaya is lingering in the back of her mind. Tenney decides to visit Jaya to talk to her.

When Tenney gets to Jaya’s house, she learns that they only raised $942… not even close to the $3,000 they were hoping to raise. Jaya explains they had too many books and not enough hands to help sell them, since two more people couldn’t make it either.

Tenney explains that she’s sorry she missed the book sale, but the performance was important! Jaya explains that she feels like every performance to Tenney is important, and all Tenney does is rehearse. She prioritizes her music and music career over her friends. Tenney is hurt—Jaya knows how much music means to her. But instead, she walks away with tears forming.

 

An Unexpected Ally

At school, Jaya ignores Tenney all through lunch, homeroom, and class. Finally at the end of the day, Tenney realizes what she has to do.

Tenney asks Holliday for help. Holliday says that Jaya is mad, and that if Tenney had been at the book sale, Jaya maybe wouldn’t be so upset about not raising enough money; Jaya’s heart wasn’t in it. Tenney responds that she felt like Holliday and Jaya didn’t need her. Holliday admits she took over the project. But the whole time, Jaya wanted Tenney there.

Then, Tenney gets an amazing idea. What if she threw a benefit concert at her dad’s store? She could try to get some performers, and take donations… it’s possible she could raise the remaining $1,900. Holliday says it’ll be tough, but she’ll help.

 

Making Amends

The first step is to make amends with Jaya. Tenney doesn’t want Jaya to feel like she took over the project. Tenney admits that she was acting selfishly, and she should’ve tried to be a better friend to be there for the book sale. Jaya admits that she wouldn’t have wanted Tenney to give up the performance either way.

When Tenney suggests her idea for a benefit concert, Jaya is all-in! Tenney’s dad and Mason love the idea, too. They figure they’ll need to price tickets at $15 per ticket, which means they need to have several awesome acts. Portia performing will help, but they’ll need more help. They agree Tenney can do a solo act, but without a drummer (Mason will be doing AV), the Tri-Stars won’t be able to perform.

That’s when Tenney gets an idea: Belle Starr. They craft a carefully worded email to Belle, and anxiously press Send.

 

Banding Together

Even with Jaya and Holliday helping, there’s so much to plan out. They three girls spend every waking minute working on planning the benefits concert. Portia agrees to play, but Belle is touring in Australia over the concert time.

That’s when Tenney realizes—in order to play the best set she can, she needs Logan. She rushes to the studio to talk to Logan. She jumps into explaining that Logan makes her music better, and she needs him to help with the benefit concert. He accepts, under the conditions that after they’re done, they go right back to working solo.

 

A Star on the Rise

The day of the benefit concert, Tenney is brimming with excitement. She hurries out the door to start setting up for the concert.

Thirty minutes before the benefit start time, Logan and Zane arrive. They head to the back to warm up. But when Portia comes in. Tenney confesses her worry that they won’t sell enough tickets. Portia tells her not to worry about that.

Apparently Belle Starr made some big social media posts about the benefit concert, and over 300 people were lined up outside the door to come in! But the store’s maximum capacity was 125; how on earth would they be able to accommodate 300 people?

 

Singing to the Sky

Tenney suggests moving the concert to the parking lot, where the whole audience could be accommodated. Everybody works quickly to set up the stage again outside. By the time it’s performance time, Tenney’s a sweaty mess.

Luckily, Aubrey, Tenney’s little sister, and Mom packed an extra outfit for Tenney. They get her ready for the stage.

When Logan and Tenney play their songs, they’re finally able to communicate without words. They listen to each other and react to each other to make the music work together. Tenney even gets a chance to play a new song just for Jaya. And like a pro, Logan is able to follow and join in with perfect soft beats.

As Portia finishes the concert up, Tenney can’t help but feel like the world is getting brighter.

 

Next Steps

The next sleepover, they invite Holliday to join them. And Jaya has a surprise for them. Not only did they raise over $5,000 for Mina’s school, but Mina was able to perform at her school concert, too! Mina emailed a video of her classmates playing the song Tenney wrote for Jaya.

A few days later, Tenney is called into Zane’s office. She was so popular at the benefit show that Zane thinks they should start booking small performances! In addition, he wants to offer her a recording contract! Zane thinks Tenney could be ready to record in a couple years.

The only catch is that the recording contract is for both Tenney and Logan. Going forward, they’d be a duo… permanently.

Tenney is hesitant. But to her surprise, Logan has already signed. And so, with her mom’s approval, Tenney signs on the dotted line.

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