Entertainment: Is this how you play music?!

Chapter 430 "He played too well, so this is bad."

"You mean there's a lot to say about it?"

Charles was stunned for a moment, and inexplicably felt his heart beating faster.

It seems that I lacked some understanding of the nocturne that Li Can presented.

"That's incredible! You really hit the jackpot this time. I can't even imagine how much money you paid to get this piece. It's worth at least four million US dollars."

Davis's voice trembled slightly.

The claim that the single was worth four million dollars made Charles tremble slightly.

Because the complete package was priced at $5.7 million, which, at the current exchange rate of 6.6, is equivalent to 38 million.

Is the musical note made of gold, or is the rest made of gold?

"Ahem, it's a trade secret, brother. You know, Li Can will choose to disclose his income. You can go and see for yourself, but I can't tell you."

Charles coughed a few times, unable to suppress his curiosity.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"nonsense!!"

Davis was extremely anxious.

After stammering for a moment, he suddenly spoke.

Where are you? I'm coming right now!

"Okay, okay."

After getting dressed and stepping out of the room, Charles's mind was filled with Davis's words, "You've hit the jackpot."

It's hard to imagine that two old men would go to a hotel and book a private room late at night just to study a piece of music.

The locust sweepers were stunned when they arrived.

As soon as we met.

Davis then took out the printed sheet music, carefully stroking the paper, and even carelessly rubbing the ink on the paper.

"Look, look at the name, what do you see?"

"I saw tadpoles?"

Charles was somewhat flustered by Davis's excitement and subconsciously answered.

"Kurwa!! You Chuj! I meant the name, the name!!"

Davis's offhand Polish swear word was basically equivalent to "Fuck you, you bastard."

Charles was somewhat flushed.

"The title is 'Nocturne in F minor,' so what?! Don't think I don't understand. 'Nocturne' is just the form, and F minor is the key. What can you possibly deduce from that?!"

"Then let me ask you, what is the tonic of F minor?!"

"Of course, the tonic of F minor is F!"

"Yes! Hahaha! Yes! The tonic of F minor is F!"

Davis suddenly burst into laughter, which made Charles feel even more uneasy.

But the next second, Charles's strangeness vanished; his thoughts exploded, and his mind seemed to be enveloped by a tremendous shock.

"But this piano piece, which is based on the F note, actually revolves around the C note!"

Davis's expression suddenly turned serious.

"Its central axis is not the tonic note F, but the note C! The notes struggle around the note C with a slightly sad and melancholic mood, as if trying to escape, but they will eventually return to the note C."

"Such a strong suggestion of the return of musical notes is almost like a destiny! A destiny that is inescapable and impossible to break free from! This is a concrete manifestation of the music theory that all things must eventually return to their origin!"

Charles's mind went blank.

Looking at the notes on the sheet music in his hand, he heard Davis's excited voice in his ear.

“Think about the design in the game. In her 78 years of life, Hanako was trapped in the Arasaka compound and only left Tokyo five times. She wanted to escape, but no matter what, she could only return to the Arasaka compound and could not escape.”

"What about the protagonist V? He knows that what the people of Night City need is not a legend, but a living legend. He struggles constantly, trying to escape his predetermined fate of death. Even if he survives, he still only has six months to live and cannot escape death!"

"The meeting between the two people, just as described in this work, will ultimately only return to the inescapable fate of the C note, which is the same hint for two different tragedies."

"my God."

Charles was so shocked that his scalp tingled.
Amidst trembling all over, he even offered a more outrageous reading comprehension from his own unique perspective.

The key of the piece is F, but the main note is actually F, so the piece revolves around the note C.

Does this mean that C's fate is not actually her true fate?
And what does C represent? Does it represent C company or Cyber ​​itself?

No matter how.

This coincidence delighted Charles.

Davis's words perfectly captured Charles's feelings at that moment.

"Just from the written notes of the musical score, I could already see the trajectory of Hua Zi and V's destiny!"

"The C note that cannot be escaped!"

"Awesome, awesome!"

Charles blurted out a local accent reminiscent of Night City.

This profound meaning completely exceeded Charles's expectations and even surpassed his imagination regarding music.

As Davis stated.

This one piece alone is enough to recoup the cost.

It's important to understand that gamers are a very demanding group, but also a very meticulous one; they play with a magnifying glass in mind.

The flaws will be magnified, while the truly ingenious Easter eggs will also be analyzed under a magnifying glass.

Just thinking about how players could discover the deeper meaning of the music after playing it made Charles's mind irresistibly swell with excitement.

"This may be the wisest decision I have ever made. Sure enough, the myths in the industry are based on something. Li Can will never let the client who is betting everything lose. On the contrary, he is likely to make a fortune."

Charles murmured to himself.

The price was high enough to drive the industry crazy, but in return, it achieved a level that was difficult for industry insiders to reach.

When cyberpunk is mentioned, everyone thinks of "sharp synthesizers," "powerful heavy drums," "exciting musical textures with a high-tech feel," and "rebellion, coldness."
But the tragedy lurking beneath cyberpunk is rarely mentioned.

The shared framework of representational and profound music often allows a work to go beyond mere appearances.

If it's just explosive electronic music and colorful neon lights, but lacks a punk story, it's just empty talk.

It is no exaggeration to say that a single nocturne can elevate a game's narrative.

Davis sighed.

Although Charles didn't say anything, and Li Can hasn't disclosed his income yet, Davis could glean some information from Charles's expression.

The price will definitely not be low, and may even be outrageous.

But this is the absolute value.

Not all games can be called works of art. Looking at the market, for games that can be called works of art, music is absolutely the most important element. It is the abstract expression of the story and art, which can echo the story and bring the most "feeling" to the player.

"I really want to hear how Li Can plans to style his work next. How about we discuss the copyright and make an Easter egg for the DP band?"

Charles was itching to get his hands on it.

The decision to "hire" Li Can was made immediately.

Unlike other bands, DP is a new band, and the commercial rights for some of their songs require them to communicate directly with Li Can, rather than through second- or third-tier authorized platforms.

Despite having this thought, Charles did not bother Li Can in the following period, nor did he inquire about any of Li Can's work progress.

They simply kept allocating funds to assistant Finn, increasing the proportion of the budget allocated to activities.

It seemed as if she was afraid of making Li Can thirsty or tired.

Even if Li Can and Winnie were slacking off early in the morning, Charles would treat it as if they were working, or at least adjusting their state for work.

Nine in the morning.

Li Can then got up.

After a quick wash, I opened the curtains.

"Good morning, Night City!"

"You son of a bitch, Night City idiot." Winnie, still half asleep, sat up, her blonde hair a mess.

They sent out classic good morning greetings from Night City.

It's obvious at a glance that this person is completely immersed in the role.

After all, in Night City, only gods can refrain from cursing.

"Today we're going to record 'Nocturne,' which is going to be a tough battle."

Li Can stretched out his body with a smile, sat down in front of the grand piano, and began to play a melody on the spot.

The melody was performed terribly, but in a very stiff way.

Winnie's eyelids twitched slightly, and she yawned, somewhat speechless.

For Li Can, recording "Nocturne" for a game was indeed a very difficult and challenging task.

It's not that we're demanding perfection; quite the opposite, in fact.

Because, in the game, Hanako Arakawa's piano playing is not very good.

Thus, the bug loop begins.

Finding a beginner to play the game, or having a player with only average skills to play it, won't bring out the spirit and flavor that the game wants.

However, for an internationally renowned pianist like Li Can, given the game's setting and Hua Zi's level, Li Can only needs to casually give a perfunctory performance to easily surpass Hua Zi's eight Night Cities.

Here comes the part that international masters dread most – pretending to be a novice.

He's not just a newbie.

Hua Zi's skills are certainly excellent for ordinary people, after all, she is the daughter of a wealthy man from a giant company.

Even if one cannot reach the level of a master, one still needs to express Hua Zi's inner thoughts and personality through the music.

While pretending to be a newbie, you also need to demonstrate the ability to understand the character's inner thoughts, something only a master can do.

This is a huge challenge.

Finally, it was 10 a.m.

Lee Chan-jae and Winnie left the hotel and arrived at the recording studio prepared by the company.

A black Bechstein grand piano had already been set up in the recording studio, and the recording engineers were in high spirits and fully prepared.

To record for Li Can, no one took leave today; in fact, they all arrived at the studio early to prepare, creating a lively atmosphere.

"OK, I'll play first. Da Ni'er, listen carefully and interrupt me if you see any problems."

Upon hearing this, Winnie nodded and began to observe intently.

During this time, Winnie had already sorted out the various threads of the story concerning Hua Zi, and together with Li Can, they conducted an inner and emotional analysis, which Li Can then applied to the performance techniques.

Having both Hua Zi and Li Can in mind, he was naturally the most suitable person to act as an outsider eavesdropper.

Li Can started playing, but after only about four notes, Winnie interrupted him.

“You can go a little slower. Hua Zi is a very slow starter, so this piano piece should be played for at least six and a half minutes. You played it too smoothly at the beginning, and you tend to make contrasts in emotional tone in the middle, which is something Hua Zi can’t do.”

"Okay, I'll continue."

Li Can is struggling with his basic intuition and muscle memory as a performer.

The contrast in expressing emotional nuances, which is incredibly difficult for ordinary people, is a technique ingrained in the DNA of top performers.

People who don't have hemorrhoids never think about how to relax when they poop.

"Stop, your pauses are a bit too obvious, it sounds a bit artificial. When Hua plays, his thoughts are chaotic, his emotions are numerous, and his heart is complex. He may be lost in thought, but he won't pause so obviously. Hesitate a little, but try to reflect it in the length of the notes and the alignment of the left and right hands."

"The dynamics of the sound have become more flexible, and it can be a little stiffer."

Winnie's repeated emphasis made everyone present somewhat uneasy.

"Hua Zi can't be as strong as you."

".OK."

Winnie wasn't being unreasonable, nor was she nitpicking.

In fact, even other recording engineers would have a similar feeling.

Li Can played so well that it's hard to believe he was deliberately putting on a show.

The whole thing felt like
In a perfectly executed performance, an awkward, overly elaborate section that didn't belong to this level of performance appeared out of nowhere; or rather, in a perfectly executed section of elaborate embellishment, Li Can's subconscious, masterful embellishment suddenly appeared.

"."

During this segment of the recording, Winnie finally remained silent.

Li Can was covered in sweat.

But after listening to the recording carefully, he frowned.

"Something's not right, something feels off."

"Hmm? This was handled brilliantly, that was rubbish."

Winnie didn't quite understand.

But Li Can began to murmur.

"How could someone of this level possibly play without making a mistake?"

Their pupils contracted sharply.

"I am Cao!"

"I am Cao!"

"Yeah, damn it! How could someone so bad not pronounce correctly?!" x2
The young couple stared at each other, wide-eyed and speechless.

My breathing stopped.

In other words, Li Can had a flash of inspiration and realized the problem.

Otherwise, in the performance of classical music, wrong notes would be a distant concept for both of them.

It's unlikely that Hua Zi's pronunciation is good.

However, it's necessary to explain where the mispronunciation occurred.

Ideally, it should give the listener a subtle sense of error, but the overall impression should still be pleasant when the music stops.

"."

The conversation between the two made all the sound engineers around them lose their composure.

That makes so much sense, I'm speechless.

"My bad, it's my fault, I didn't think it through."

Winnie slapped her face, and her lips twitched.

This is a blind spot in our knowledge.

Although Winnie, as a performer, occasionally makes mistakes, those mistakes are completely different from those made by Hua Zi.

By using off-key notes that don't affect the listening experience, Hua Zi's performance is subtly suggested to be filled with worries.

They actually forgot about it, subconsciously believing that there were no mispronunciations in the world.

At that moment, the sound engineer's muted phone screen lit up; the caller was Charles.

Stepping out of the recording studio, after the call connected, Charles launched into a series of probing questions.

"How's the progress? Are there any difficulties?"

"It is a bit difficult, but..."

The sound engineer looked troubled.

"Boss, I'm not sure how to explain this."

"Ok?"

Charles waited for a long time before he heard the silent sound engineer utter words he couldn't understand.

"They played too well, so this is bad."

"what?"

(End of this chapter)