Not for love, not for a lost ring, but for a single sheet of music: Bobby van Jaarsveld’s “Net Vir Jou” for piano. It was the song her late grandfather used to hum while fixing his old tractor on their farm outside Stellenbosch. He never played an instrument, but he knew every word, every swell of the chorus. “Net vir jou, Lena,” he’d whisper, tapping her nose. “Everything I do, net vir jou.”
The first notes were simple—a G major chord, then a descending bass line. But as she reached the chorus, something shifted. The left hand grew fuller, the right hand adding harmonies that weren’t in the original recording. At the key change—from G to A-flat—a small annotation in the margin read: Hierdie noot is vir hulle wat weg is. (This note is for those who are gone.)
Net vir jou, Oupa. Net vir jou.
When Mrs. Visser returned, she held a single, coffee-stained sheet. No glossy cover. No barcode. Just handwritten notation in blue ink, with the title at the top in careful cursive: Net Vir Jou – arr. B. van Jaarsveld, transcr. P. Visser, 2011.
Here’s a short story inspired by the search for the sheet music of “Net Vir Jou” by Bobby van Jaarsveld for piano. sheet music bobby van jaarsveld net vir jou piano
One rain-soaked Saturday, she found herself in an old music shop in Pretoria, a dusty place called Bladsy en Noot (Page and Note). The owner, a retired concert pianist named Mrs. Visser, watched Lena shuffle through piles of second-hand scores.
She gestured to an upright piano in the corner, its wood scarred but its keys clean. Lena sat down, placed the sheet on the stand, and began. Not for love, not for a lost ring,
“Jy’t dit gevind,” she whispered.
Mrs.isser smiled slowly, then disappeared into a back room crammed with yellowing manuscripts. Lena heard boxes shifting, a muffled sneeze, then silence. “Net vir jou, Lena,” he’d whisper, tapping her nose
Lena played that note—a single A-flat above middle C—and held it. And for a moment, she swore she heard her grandfather hum along.
Lena’s fingers trembled as she reached out. “How much?”