The first rehearsal

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Amelia stood behind the piano while the singers chose their places. She had practised the accompaniment alone, where a mistake disturbed nobody but herself. Here, the first page trembled as she set it on the stand. She played the opening chord too softly. The conductor asked her to begin again.

This time she watched his hand instead of her own. The voices entered above the notes, giving the tune a shape she had never heard in the empty sitting room. When a singer lost the line, she held the chord until he found it. At the end, nobody asked her to repeat the beginning. She turned the page before the conductor told her to do so.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to present Amelia’s growing confidence. Support your answer with references to the passage.