An Expert Is actually By My Side - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Hello, I Am So-and-so Who Has Practiced For Three And A Half Years

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Just as Cloud Hao uploaded the newly-recorded song, in a high-end apartment in Shangjing, a handsome and suave young man of about twenty-five years old was practicing on the piano.
If there were loyal viewers of the “Who is the King of Music” program here, they would instantly recognize him.
This person was none other than Ling Yanchuan, a popular contestant in “Who is the King of Music”!
To be honest, this guy’s piano skills were indeed good.
However, no matter how good he was at the piano and how dazzling his halo was, it was all useless.
Just three days ago, Huazhong TV’s “Who is the King of Music” competition had come to an end. His opponent, Chen Yang, won over the audience and judges with a piano-accompaniment of an original Chinese-style pop song, obtaining the championship title.
Many people thought he would win, but he ended up narrowly missing the championship title in an unexpected turn of events. He indignantly left the stage as the runner-up.
According to rumors, outside the stadium that day, his fans had broken down into tears at the gate.
Ling Yanchuan was the same as well.
Without a doubt, he definitely felt the most aggrieved.
As an all-round singer proficient in nearly ten instruments, including piano, guitar, and guzheng, et cetera, he permitted himself to lose in terms of singing skills and lyrics, but he would never allow himself to lose in the music aspect.
For this competition, he had prepared an exquisitely composed piece of music, incorporating the characteristics of Guzheng into the piano. He expounded the beauty of Chinese classical music in a pop music fashion.
As a well-known superpower in technology and the winner of the People’s Alliance era, although Country Xia’s entertainment industry had started off late and its pop culture was slightly behind other countries, its national strength and the self-confidence of the people were there for all to see. In recent years, it vaguely seemed to be on the road to surpassing the others.
Especially in the area of music. Increasingly more original Chinese-style music pieces and albums made it onto the top international billboard hits charts. Chinese-style music was gradually growing from a niche group of supporters to becoming popularized. The judges of music competitions organized by various satellite TVs were also extremely willing to present awards for such music pieces.
After Ling Yanchuan finished composing this music piece, he felt that he was pretty much guaranteed a win.
Yet, who would have thought that the final result was completely unexpected for him?
Not only did he lose the competition, but he also lost in the area he was best in.
He still remembered the judges’ comments on his music in the finals during the feedback segment.
“There’s nothing much to say about the lyrics, so let’s just talk about the music. I can hear your use of the traditional Chinese five-tone pentatonic scale, ‘gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu’, in your composition. You barely used the two notes, 4 and 7. Objectively speaking, this is the most prim and proper way of composing music. However, I must point out that champions should not be prim and proper.”
The other judge also nodded in agreement.
“I agree with Teacher Yang Jie. Although you tried to use the piano to expound the Chinese traditional instruments and it does create the kind of mountain and river ambiance, I still have to say… isn’t it too dogmatic?”
The comments from the third judge were even more straightforward.
To the extent of not concealing anything at all.
“Compared to the other contestant, you still need to strengthen your composing ability.”
The judge impatiently spun the pen in his hand as he smacked the light in his hand.
Three lights were switched off!
He lost the finals with a huge gap!
Actually, if it was because he lacked in abilities, it would have been fine. He wasn’t a sore loser like that.
However, the problem lay in the fact that his opponent’s song was not that great either.
Ling Yanchuan admitted what the judges said was the truth. While composing, he did avoid 4 and 7 notes, which were harder to combine with the Chinese style using the piano. However, this was not a heinous crime.
Besides, in Chen Yang’s music, didn’t he also avoid 4 and 7 in the same way?
Why was there no problem with him?
Is it because he is a signed artist with Mango Media?
In short, the judges seemed to turn a blind eye to Chen Yang’s issues. They kept silent about the major problems while acknowledging the trivial ones and lauding the points that weren’t considered merits.
Under the circumstances where there wasn’t a huge disparity in the music’s feel, the audience obviously couldn’t pinpoint all the professional issues. They simply nodded along with the crowd, giving their approval even though they didn’t understand it.
Occasionally, one or two fans who understood music wanted to speak up for him and condemn the injustice of the program. However, they were also suppressed by the powerful PR of Mango Media behind Chen Yang.
Obviously, what the production team wanted was exactly this kind of unexpected turn-of-events effect.
This made him feel like a clown at the mercy of others while he worked hard to prepare for the contest.
Seeing Ling Yanchuan’s hand moving away from the piano, his manager immediately stepped forward and handed him a bottle of mineral water.
“Here. Drink some water.”
Ling Yanchuan didn’t say anything and just took the water bottle from him.
Looking at his quiet partner, the manager sighed and said with an awkward expression, “The contest… I’m really sorry. We have communicated with the production team on our side, but the influence behind the opponent is just too strong. For you to win the runner-up position is already pretty good.”
“I know. Also, there’s no need for you to feel sorry. I’ve never blamed you.” Ling Yanchuan drank the water and laughed wryly. “After all, it’s also partially my fault for losing the contest.”
If only his singing could win over the entire audience.
Even if they wanted to play tricks during the selection process, they would have to consider whether the negative impact would be shooting themselves in the foot.
The key to the problem lay in that he was not that much better than his opponent.
Out of hundred-odd spectators in the audience, perhaps fifty were praising his opponent, while the others cheered for him.
Under such circumstances, the production team of “Who is the King of Music” would have their own considerations, regardless of whether it was for program effects or the influence of Mango Media.
His manager sighed and said, “Rest for a while. You’ve been practicing the whole day.”
Ling Yanchuan nodded and returned the water bottle to his manager.
In actuality, him taking a rest meant not playing the piano.
He didn’t have any other hobbies. Whenever he was free, he would browse through the Yinke website and listen to other musicians’ music pieces, seeking some inspiration.
Refreshing the new-hot-hits chart at least once a day was a basic drill for him.
As usual, he logged into his account, opened the website, and started browsing through the daily chart.
Unfortunately, perhaps today wasn’t a day for harvest. Going down the chart, he listened to several songs but didn’t find anything that impressed him.
When he got to the tenth song and saw the title of the tune, he was slightly stunned.
“The Fleeting Fireworks?”
The name was quite retro. It was probably a piece of Chinese-style music. However, he had never seen the uploader before.
Moreover, it was actually a pure piano instrumental piece!
“Somewhere Deep in the Clouds? Interesting. Then, I will listen to how deep your music is…”
With a faint smile and a tinge of curiosity, Ling Yanchuan clicked on it.
However, as soon as the prelude rang out, he was completely enchanted by the unbelievable melody.
“This is… the melody of a Chinese-style song?”
Ling Yanchuan mumbled under his breath.
“Impossible…
“How can this be possible!”
Indeed, it was unbelievable!
Apart from this term, he couldn’t find a suitable word to describe how he felt at the moment.
In the main melody, there were already two ‘fa’ notes in the first two verses, and a three-beat-long ‘xi’ actually appeared in the third bar!
These two notes were almost contrary to the atmosphere they were expected to create!
However, strangely enough, Ling Yanchuan realized that instead of feeling out of place, he was deeply attracted by the composer’s unfettered carefreeness and how he wasn’t tied down by any fixed frameworks.
Especially the unpredictable melody!
For him, who had deliberately avoided the two 4 and 7 notes in order to create a Chinese atmosphere, it was like a sudden clap of thunder from a clear sky.
Oh no, it was a lightning strike!
He listened to the entire song. As a professional musician, he was intoxicated.
Even though there were no lyrics, he could still hear a tinge of melancholy.
“It’s invincible…”
He couldn’t help but mutter, and his gaze swept across the comments section of the song.
Clearly, he was not the only one with the ability to appreciate.
He was not the only one astonished!
In less than a day after the song was uploaded, it made it to the top ten of independent music producers’ new-song chart. It was already displaying an unprecedented momentum of soaring to the top.
Ling Yanchuan put this tune on loop and played it more than ten times. The more he heard it, the more excited he felt.
It was not only because the piece itself struck him hard but also because of its extremely groundbreaking, or even unorthodox composition style, which opened the door to a new world in his heart.
The two notes F and B in Western music can actually be used like this!
If you think outside the traditional pentatonic scale of “Gong Shang Jiao Zheng Yu”, you can also create such a Chinese-style pop song!
If I participated in the contest with this song, together with my own lyrics…
Ling Yanchuan involuntarily held his breath, hating the creator for not publishing this song a few days earlier. He also hated himself for not listening to this song before.
However…
It wasn’t too late.
Although the competition was over, his music career still had a long way to go.
His intuition told him that this song had the potential to become extremely popular!
As long as he performed steadily when writing lyrics, he was more than 90% sure that he could sing this song and make it popular!
Act on your thoughts.
Without any hesitation, Ling Yanchuan clicked on the creator’s avatar and entered his personal homepage.
Seeing the registration date of three days ago, Ling Yanchuan’s mouth suddenly curled up into a smile.
My God, it’s a newcomer!
He really found a treasure!
No novice music producer would refuse the invitation of a musician, who was somewhat considered a popular singer, especially when the musician was offering to write lyrics for his music for free…
Pondering over his choice of words, Ling Yanchuan politely sent a private message to express his request.
[Hello, I am Ling Yanchuan, a music trainee who has practiced for three and a half years. My personal information verification can be seen on my homepage. Is it possible for you to authorize me to write the lyrics for “The Fleeting Fireworks” you published on the Yinke platform?]
His wording was fairly polite.
However, he waited for a long time but did not receive a reply.
Could it be that he isn’t online yet?
Taking a look at the darkening sky outside the window, Ling Yanchuan receded into thought. He felt that perhaps his message might have been a bit too abrupt. Hence, he typed out another line to add.
[If it’s convenient, we can also chat in person.]
Nodding in satisfaction, he clicked the send button.
No one would reject such an offer.
After all, he could be considered a big celebrity…
[System prompt: Message sending failed.]
[System prompt: You have been blocked by the other party.]
Staring at the screen in a daze, Ling Yanchuan was dumbfounded.