Helen is trying to teach Martha to play a trumpet, but it doesn't work, then when Danny comes in (revealing the trumpet to be his), Helen says that Martha is looking for an instrument to play in a community orchestra. Helen tries teaching her to play the synthesiser, but she can't do that either.
Meanwhile, Pablum is playing the piano, and Weaselgraft is berating him for not thinking of an evil scheme to make up for the money they lost last time. However, Pablum reveals that he does have an evil scheme; the reason he's playing piano is to practice a symphony he heard that makes people freeze in place until either three days have passed or a gong has been struck. Weaselgraft suggests using it to freeze Martha, but Pablum reveals it only works on humans, so he wants to use it on the orchestra and steal their jewelry instead.
While Danny practices the trumpet, he reveals that the concert is tomorrow, so Helen and Martha rush to find an instrument the latter can play. She can't play the clarinet, xylophone, uke, or violin, and on the night of the concert there's still nothing she can play. Mariella suggests going to the concert just to see if there's a playable instrument there, and she agrees.
At the concert hall, Helen meets the janitor from school (whose name is revealed to be Mr. Stern) who is working as an usher. He bans Martha from the concert hall, and Helen says that if Martha can't listen to the concert, she won't either, but Mr. Stern says that Martha can listen at the window.
At the window, Martha sees Weaselgraft and Pablum's van, then hears a woman calling for help. She looks inside to find the conductor, frozen. Meanwhile, Weaselgraft and Pablum come onstage, with Weaselgraft disguised as a German guy named Luther von Schwingler. He says he's the conductor and hands sheet music out, while the real conductor explains about the freezing symphony.
Martha tries to break in, but is intercepted by Mr. Stern, who won't let her in even when she explains. Meanwhile, Weaselgraft is trying, and failing, to conduct the orchestra. She pretends she saw a cat to trick him into searching for it, then breaks in. She runs up to Weaselgraft and reveals who he is. He admits that he's Otis Weaselgraft, but claims he's given up crime.
He makes up a story, claiming that when he was a kid he played a "tubolin" (a cross between a tuba and a violin), but his classmates laughed at him for it so he threw it away. He tells everyone to let him conduct, but Martha says that he plans to freeze everyone and Helen and Mariella think they should listen to her. However, Mr. Stern kicks out Helen, Mariella, and Martha. Danny says that if Mr. Stern wants to throw the Lorraine ladies out, they'll have to throw him out too, which he does.
Then, Martha takes Helen and the Lorraine parents to the conductor, who explains about the symphony and how the cure is a gong and it only works on humans. Helen and her parents distract Mr. Stern by having him check for gum in Danny's trumpet, while Martha sneaks in, but another usher sees her and signals to Mr. Stern that there's an intruder. The two ushers chase after Martha, and she's too late to stop the music and everyone freezes except Weaselgraft and Pablum (who were wearing headphones). Martha tries hitting the percussion instruments to see if they unfreeze the humans, but they don't work, and Weaselgraft and Pablum start stealing the jewelry. Then, she ends up knocking over some instruments that land on a gong, unfreezing everybody.
Martha explains that the villains froze everyone, but Mrs. Oatley says that she can't believe the two "nitwits" could do something so clever. Pablum starts playing it again to prove it, but Martha has the crowd cover their ears. Thus, Weaselgraft and Pablum freeze themselves and are arrested, and the conductor makes Martha the orchestra's gong player.
This episode provides examples of
- Alliterative Title: Maestro Martha.
- Bait-and-Switch: Mr. Stern apologises for banning Martha from the school... but he still doesn't allow dogs in the concert hall.
- Batman Gambit: Martha gets Mr. Stern to leave by pretending a cat is in the concert hall, knowing that there are no pets allowed in there.'
- Big "NO!": Martha yells, "NO!" when the ushers are about to catch her.
- Brown Note: The symphony Pablum learnt makes any human who hears it freeze for three days unless a gong is struck.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Weaselgraft describes his and Pablum's schemes as evil.
- Facepalm: Helen facepalms when Martha fails to play the xylophone.
- Failure Montage: The instruments Martha fails to play are set to a montage.
- Hand Wave: The conductor says that there is a reason she can talk while frozen, but it's too complicated for a layperson to understand.
- Hidden Depths: Danny, Janice Kennelly, and the local vet are revealed to be in the orchestra.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Otis Weaselgraft and Dr. Pablum are tricked into freezing themselves with the evil music.
- Kids Are Cruel: In Weaselgraft's fake flashback, his childhood classmates laugh at him for playing his "tubolin".
- Magic Music: There exists a symphony that freezes any human to hear it for either three days or until a gong is struck, and sometimes the afflicted people can still talk. Apparently, there is some physics to it, but it's too hard to understand.
- Monochrome Past: Weaselgraft's fake flashback is in sepia.
- No Animals Allowed: Mr. Stern doesn't let Martha into the concert hall for being a dog, and he states that cats aren't allowed in there either.
- No-Sell: The freezing symphony only works on humans, so animals are immune.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When the conductor is late, it means that she's been frozen.
- Pet the Dog: Mr. Stern apologises for disallowing Martha into the school and concert hall and lets her listen at the window even though she's not allowed inside.
- Walk Like an Egyptian: Weaselgraft dances like an Egyptian when trying to conduct the orchestra.
- You No Take Candle: When pretending to be "Luther von Schwingler", Weaeselgraft tells the orchestra, "No rehearse, just play".
