Entertainment: Is this how you play music?!

In Chapter 450, Gangzi, who scored 68 points, finally understood.

International-level competitions have very high entry requirements.

Some of these are things that even students can't fake, even if a truly gifted student can reach the peak of their skills during their school years.

It's very likely that only a small group of people from each country are competing for a spot in the preliminary selection.

For most professional performers, let alone competing for a spot in the audition, simply having their submission video glanced at by the judges is enough to make them consider themselves a decent young musician.

Therefore.

Despite the lamentations of the crowd, an opportunity is still an opportunity.

I was planning to go home and play games, but then I heard my boss ask me to work overtime. Before I could even say it, he told me that tonight's overtime pay would be a whole month's salary, and that he would give me a promotion on the spot. He added that if I did a good job working overtime, I could get another promotion later.

On the other hand, games are such a pain; they only hinder progress. Tonight's shift has to be worked until we're practically smoking.

That's basically the mindset of the members of the DP band.

Seeing his friends' enthusiasm, Li Can smiled with satisfaction.

If DP wants to reach even greater legendary heights, the individual members must maintain their high standards. This will elevate the band's overall level, ensuring that even the weakest link in the chain is outperformed by the strengths of top-tier professional musicians.

To reach great heights, high-intensity competition is essential.

Only then did the band members realize what was going on.

The so-called "re-training" is clearly just a warm-up for the pre-match assault; the real pre-match assault is yet to come.

The competition is at the end of the year. It starts with preliminary rounds, and the competition will not end until at least April of the following year, which will be a time of bright spring sunshine, making it convenient to prepare for the performance after the competition.

Newcomers yearn for fame, and established artists aspire to take their careers to the next level. After winning awards, they want to showcase their peak achievements to the world, and countless music companies will never miss such an opportunity, releasing albums, touring, and securing endorsements.

Losing can be seen as a form of exchange, while winning brings both fame and fortune.

Although just getting into the preliminary rounds is already pretty impressive, nobody would mind being even more awesome.

Everyone was fully engaged in preparing for the competition.

Meanwhile, Li Can had a kind of worry that was different from his brothers'.

Flipping through the invitation letters for the judges of the Moscow International Music Competition, I was somewhat perplexed.

Because competitions between masters are completely different from competitions between young performers.

Student competitions need no further explanation.

Good is good, and bad is bad. Even the most talented contestant will have many flaws in the eyes of the judges. There is no end to honing the basic skills of musical performance.

The young performers are already close to perfect, or even at the peak level, in terms of technique. Many of them are even more outstanding than some masters in terms of spirituality and ability. However, the purpose of such competitions is to highlight the performers' personal style, understanding of the works, and methods of interpretation.

Therefore, only truly top-tier musicians can begin to take on the role of judges in such music competitions.

What about competitions between master performers?
This is a completely different level.

Contestants at this level have honed their skills to perfection. At most, there might be a few who are a bit older, but almost all of them have mature personal styles, extremely high artistic attainments, and their understanding and interpretation of works are all fundamental skills.

What are we comparing?
It has an artistic feel.

This term is a bit mysterious. While artistic sense is mostly a natural and objective phenomenon, it does indeed have some subjective influencing factors.

Let alone the contestants, even the contestants and judges, and the judges themselves, may have different philosophies.

In this situation, the most important thing is to win people's hearts as much as possible.

"Tsk, I need to do some research beforehand."

Li Can pursed his lips and muttered to himself.

I agreed to be a judge purely because it would be a subtle boost to my status within the industry.

He may be the strongest fighter, but his seniority is not necessarily the highest. Once he participates in this competition, his seniority will have to be raised by one or two levels, at least from the father level to the grandfather level, or even the ancestor level.

This represents industry recognition of an individual's artistic ideas, concepts, and skill level.

It's not just because of their absolute strength.

However, problems also exist.

If the competition mechanism weren't so well-developed, it could even be considered a trap.

There are many judges; in the final round, there will likely be over fifty international judges voting and scoring the two contestants.

It downplayed the voice of some individuals and made the mainstream judgment based on the consensus of the academic community.

Each judge's score for each contestant will only be notarized and verified by the supervisory group, and the information will be kept strictly confidential.

But the greater the fame, the more attention will be paid to every word and action.

The confidentiality controls have been very strict over the years, but even the strictest controls need to consider unforeseen circumstances. There may be people who will stop at nothing to create controversy and generate buzz.

If you give a score to a performer that displeases their fans, that's a huge problem.

Therefore, Li Can made triple insurance preparations.

The event organizers emphasized the importance of confidentiality, and the global team will conduct thorough screening of relevant information in advance, as well as inform Star Media Entertainment to prepare for the event's pace.

As for scoring, this is not something to joke about. We must start from the music itself. Objective is objective, and subjective is subjective.

To be more stable.

Li Can made a phone call to Sir Henry, who was far away in England, to seek advice from the master craftsman.

You know what, you've come to the right person.

Sir Henry holds a very high position in the British classical music world, and he has participated in judging competitions on many occasions, including those in Europe, the UK, and the US.

They naturally have their own unique perspectives on scoring.

When Li Can asked him questions, Sir Henry answered without reservation, teaching Li Can in detail all the scoring methods he had used over the years.

A combination of bonus and deduction systems.

Scoring is based on the completeness of the individual performance, which accounts for only 60 points out of a possible total, with points deducted based on the individual's performance.

Even if you encounter a stunningly unique personal style, if it doesn't match the score, then reduce it.

Style and art account for 30 points, and these 30 points are not deducted, but added to the previous basic score.

The score of 60 is deducted point by point.

The 30-point bonus is increased one point at a time.

In other words, a good performer can make up for the points lost by changing the original expression in their personal style. If the change is really subtle, they can even make up for more. But if the change is purely clever and even causes a conflict between the left and right hemispheres of the brain with the emotions being expressed, then even if all the points are lost, they cannot be made up for at all.

This also prevents personal style from completely ruining the competition pieces.

So, playing random tunes is considered a personal style? And if you play something wrong, you have to use personal style as an excuse?
Such a mechanism can prevent any cheating or trickery from taking advantage of the players.

You may have played it very well, but I'm sorry, it's completely unrecognizable. The piece you played is not the same as the one you submitted.

The final ten points are entirely subjective and based on personal preference.

Normally, a score of 5 is the threshold. If you don't feel anything, give 5 points; if you dislike something, deduct points until you stop adding points; if you like something, add points until you reach a maximum of 10 points.

Such music competitions tend to lower scores significantly. This isn't arbitrary; there's a specific coefficient applied.

The coefficient for this test is 0.8.

In other words, the judges will multiply the scores by a coefficient of 0.8 to condense the results, which will make the individual scores very fair and equal, and will have a positive effect on the competition evaluation rather than a negative one.

This is the end.

The fourth puzzle piece, capable of handling extreme and unexpected situations, has been obtained.

In order to use this scoring system more proficiently, Li Can immediately thought of Chen Gang.

If there are readily available candidates, then we should make full use of them.

Let's practice with the gong first, so we won't be unfamiliar with it later.

Once this thought arose, it couldn't be stopped.

Li Can, looking rather quirky, entered the music room, where Chen Gang was practicing diligently.

The repertoire for the competition is fixed, but compared to other piano competitions, the repertoire for this Moscow competition is quite extensive, so there is no issue of limiting the contestants' personal styles.

It even includes all the pieces from Li Can's personal collection of "Superb Etudes and Pieces".

It's not considered cheating, because it ultimately comes down to skill. Chen Gang at most had the advantage of being close to the source, but that doesn't count as cheating. The world is inherently unfair, and there are bound to be differences between the mentors of different contestants. Everyone can choose their own pieces, and it all depends on their own practice. If you're not convinced, you can use your exceptional talent to win the favor of a master. Bringing in someone more talented than Li Can isn't out of the question either. Luck also needs to be proven by the performance itself.

If someone truly possesses the talent for playing the zither but lacks a renowned teacher, then that person will not fail repeatedly, nor will they dwell on a single failure and feel indignant about so-called unfairness. On the contrary, this failure may very well be an opportunity.

It is precisely because we understand this principle.

Upon seeing that Li Can's piece was among the competition pieces, Chen Gang chose it without hesitation, without any psychological burden.

If you have a father who offers training but don't choose it, that's just plain stupid.

If he could still be killed under these circumstances, then his opponent must be truly formidable, and Chen Gang felt he would definitely accept defeat wholeheartedly.

Chen Gang is playing "Liebestraum".

This is a piece that combines technical skill with artistic beauty. In such a master-level competition environment, it is technically a bit simple, but the treatment and artistic expression of the work are quite redundant, making it a high-risk piece.

Li Can was only slightly taken aback before he saw through Chen Gang's ambition.

This guy is genuinely defiant and is determined to prove himself.

However, as he listened, Li Can frowned slightly.

After carefully scoring according to my own criteria, and then multiplying by a coefficient of 0.8, I only got a pitiful 68 points.

This score is actually not low; it wouldn't be difficult to get into the preliminary rounds or even make it to the third round. However, it might be a bit difficult to perform well in the intense competition after the rounds are narrowed down.

Li Can entered the music room after Chen Gang finished playing.

Seeing Li Can enter the music room, Chen Gang chuckled.

"Come on, Chan-ge, give me some criticism, nitpick!"

"."

Li Can shook his head, choosing not to nitpick.

Instead, they turned around and asked Chen Gang a question.

"How is my song 'Love Dream' being evaluated in the industry? Could you summarize the current mainstream perception?"

"Um"

Chen Gang's brow twitched slightly.

Dude, I asked you to come and criticize me, not for me to praise you.

Seeing Li Can's serious expression, Chen Gang realized it wasn't for such an abstract reason. He frowned, pondered for a moment, refined his words, and then spoke.

"It perfectly embodies the idea of ​​technology serving beauty, possesses extremely high artistic value, and has unlimited potential for further development."

What do you think is most important?

Is it technology serving beauty, or artistic expression of aesthetics?

"No, what you're saying is true for young performers, but it's far from enough if you want to reach the level of an artist. If you want to truly leap from a young performer to a master, to have an infinitely expanding range of possibilities, that's what's most important for you."

Li Can's words immediately made Chen Gang's eyes widen.

I feel like I've been struck by lightning, and it's like I've suddenly become enlightened, but I don't know what that enlightenment is.

A fleeting flash of inspiration appeared and disappeared, yet remained somewhat elusive.

"Brother Chan! Continue!"

"When practicing piano, the first thing is to hone your technique and avoid making mistakes, which is for college students. The second thing is to express your technique and express beauty, which is for professional performers. But if you want to become a master, you need to incorporate your personal style and your personal understanding of the work."

"Understanding includes your attitude, your cognition, your worldview, your emotions and romance, and your own beliefs."

Speaking of it.

Li Can shook his head slightly.

He paused only briefly before speaking.

“You’re completely copying me, which isn’t wrong, but if you continue like this, you’ll only become a younger version of me.”

"In my understanding, love is a two-way street. My expression comes from my relationship with Winnie. She is a very direct girl. Her daily life is ordinary, but she always likes some passion. So in my interpretation, the main and secondary chords, the different motifs, are in conflict. It is like a flame, which is more intense and passionate, like her enthusiasm for me and my response to her."

"What about you?"

"Or is it that other people understand love in the same way, like a dream?"

This statement came out.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Chen Gang, as if he had been struck by lightning.

Li Can's words not only pointed out the problem, but also made Chen Gang realize the real gap between himself and world-class piano masters.

Integrate.

Everyone's dream of love is different.

This has nothing to do with whether or not you have been in a relationship.

Some people imagine love as gentle as water, as mutual entanglement and dependence, and music expresses this flowing nature.

Some people believe that love should be like a raging fire, so it should have a passionate beat, as vibrant as a heart.

Of course, people who have suffered heartbreak can also use music to express irony, or to reminisce about lost love, imbuing it with a sense of regret and sorrow, or even a feeling of melancholy that it is too late to regret.

Chen Gang is not incapable, nor does he lack his own style and understanding.

Simply because Li Can's emotional expression of the music was so moving, Chen Gang tried to imitate him. Only then did he realize that what moved others was not what moved him. What he needed to do was not to create a sensation, but to express his own unique perspective.

"Holy crap! I get it!"

(End of this chapter)