Why bother writing songs? Fast forward to the "Don't Laugh Challenge"

Chapter 3 How Long Can a Childlike Heart Be Maintained?
At this moment, Xia Shen still harbored a pure and innocent heart.

Especially when I see some opinions on the internet.

Many netizens are complaining that music these days doesn't have the same feel as it used to; instead, it's becoming increasingly superficial and poorly made.

Tailors are everywhere, and habitual song plagiarists are rampant, filling the entire market.

Whenever a song becomes popular, you can always see them.

"When did the Chinese music scene become like this? How can such garbage become popular? I still miss the era when gods fought each other and masterpieces emerged."

"The songs that are popular now, you can always hear the shadows of more than a dozen other songs in one song, and they have a lot in common."

In short: The Chinese music scene is doomed!

Modern Chinese music needs to be listened to in conjunction with insulin.

This is the commentary of countless listeners on the current state of the Chinese music scene.

Xia Shen kept watching these comments and opinions, as well as the widespread pessimistic views on the current state of the Chinese music scene.

This ignited a fire within him.

See, the audience's ears are indeed discerning; they can tell what's good!

Especially after he had this extraordinary encounter and became bound to those artistic treasures from another world.

This ignited a sense of mission within him.

He wants to save the Chinese music scene! To save this increasingly abstract and superficial industry!
He had extremely high expectations for this, because many of the works from other worlds that appeared in his mind were truly terrifying.

Actually, the song he just released, "Give Me a Song's Time," isn't exactly terrifying, but it's still a rare gem. From the perspective of modern pop music, it's absolutely groundbreaking. It has many clever ideas and ingenious designs that are quite amazing. Many of the exquisite parts are interconnected, forming a catchy song.

He believes that once the song is recorded, anyone who listens to it attentively will be captivated by its charm.

The level of completion here is incomparable to a demo where someone plays and sings to the piano.

For example, right now, he, his roommates, and the studio owner are recording the instrumental parts.

First, record the music.

Since they couldn't afford to hire musicians, they had to perform themselves.

At this moment, Qi Yixiang was sitting in front of a piano, having just finished tuning the microphone, while the boss set all the necessary parameters on the mixing console outside the glass.

"Okay, let's begin."

The boss put on his listening earpiece and gave instructions.

Xia Shen also picked up a pair of monitoring headphones and put them on.

All I could hear was a 'tick-tock' sound coming from the headphones as soon as the boss pressed a button on the mixing console.

That's the sound of a metronome.

Soon, in the recording studio, with Qi Yixiang's finger movements, a string of arpeggios was precisely output in sync with the rhythm of the metronome.

The chord progression of this song is not complicated, a typical 1765432, which is more than enough for Qi Yixiang's skill level.

In fact, Xia Shen was very grateful to his brothers. After all, everyone was quite busy and had no obligation to help him.

If it weren't for their help, with all that I had, I wouldn't even have the audacity to dream of creating this song myself.

The cost is what it is; tens of thousands of yuan is already a very small amount.

For example, the piano being used for recording right now is called a Steinway Model D, with a list price of $15, which is equivalent to 108 million yuan.

But if you really want to get one back, you can't get it for less than 1.1 to 2.0 million.

The distinctive feature of this piano is its exceptional stability and its remarkably clear and standard tone.

This is a truly recording-compliant instrument.

Equipment that truly meets recording standards is actually quite expensive; not just any equipment can meet recording needs.

After all, every time you play this kind of instrument, there is some wear and tear, which all contribute to the cost.

The price the boss quoted him was really not expensive.

"very good."

The recording of the piano part was temporarily completed soon.

Of course, this doesn't mean that everything was recorded at once; it's not like that.

When recording in a recording studio, it's not actually recorded all at once as people imagine. Instead, it's recorded in parts, bit by bit, or even meticulously, line by line.

"Okay, Part Two, Xia Shen."

Following his boss's instructions, Xia Shen entered the recording studio. Looking at the MIDI keyboard, various effects pedals, drum pads, and integration console in front of him, he put on his monitoring headphones.

"Hey, hey, can you hear me?"

The boss's voice came through the earphones.

Xia Shen gave a thumbs-up to the mixing console area outside the glass and began to familiarize himself with the equipment.

The electronic music part actually makes up a large portion of this song.

Or perhaps it could be said that, in his memory, this otherworldly musician named 'Jay Chou' had a lot of electronic music in his works, using a lot of EDM effects and obvious DJing to add embellishments.

For example, the song "Give Me a Song's Time" actually uses a lot of scratching sound effects to add embellishments, create a rewinding feeling, and also to emphasize the segmentation, giving people a better listening experience.

This is a very clever little idea.

"Okay, let's start!"

Time was of the essence, and under the boss's direction, the recording began.

The familiar metronome sound filled the monitoring headphones. Xia Shen first pulled over the microphone, took a deep breath, focused his energy, and sang out in a mixed voice, "I—"

The word "I" was drawn out for a long time, and then Xia Shen recorded it directly into the device.

Then, perform simple processing using the central control system.

He cut off the air vents and added some effects. It sounded like an 'oh—' sound, with a strong electronic reverb.

This is what's called vocal slice sampling, which is used extensively in this song.

Actually, in many parts of the song at the beginning where the word "I" is sung, the word is not sung; instead, the vocal sample is used directly.

This is also a way that Xia Shen thinks is particularly brilliant in the original song. Anyone who can come up with this kind of treatment is simply amazing.

After recording the vocal samples, Xia Shen began recording the electric bass.
Time passed quickly during the recording process.

The recording lasted for two and a half days.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day.

Inside the recording studio, a group of people were gathered together. Qi Yixiang, Zheng Xingqi, Wen Xiong, and the boss were sitting in front of the mixing console, each with a monitoring headset on their head.

Xia Shen was alone in the recording studio, singing into the microphone behind the pop filter.

"I said I shouldn't have, I shouldn't have said I love you at this time."

"To prove I have no strength."

"I only have one day's memories."

Snapped!
The boss pressed the button.

Xia Shen took off his monitoring headphones and walked out of the recording studio.

Pah, pah, pah, pah—

Instantly, everyone applauded, and smiles spread across their faces.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

"This song is really well done."

"Great song! Great singing!"

The praise on everyone's face was genuine.

"Thank you." Xia Shen nodded gratefully to his brothers and boss who supported him.

The boss looked on with admiration: "Seriously, these days, I haven't seen a musician with such strong creative ability in a long time. To be honest, there are many innovative aspects to your song that I've never seen before, even after all these years in this industry. And the fact that you were able to integrate so many innovative elements without messing up the texture structure is very rare."

only."

At this point, the boss frowned.

"What's wrong, Brother Feng?" Xia Shen asked.

"What if this song doesn't do well?" the boss asked.

Actually, there are some things he, given his position, doesn't need to say.

But when the song was actually performed, he still chose to say some things.

Because in his eyes, Xia Shen was already a talented person, a talent worthy of his appreciation.

"I don't object to your song; it is indeed a good song. However, it doesn't quite fit the current dissemination model and direction."

The boss said, "I can only say that this is not your problem, nor is it the song's problem; it's a market problem."

"I always wanted to try, to see what would happen," Xia Shen said with a sigh.

Actually, there are some things he doesn't completely understand, but he often feels helpless about them.

What if you ask him to give up what he has been holding onto for so many years?

Is this easier said than done?
He didn't know how long he could maintain this childlike innocence.

But at least he wanted to give it a try.

Perhaps this will be the only time.

But he had to take this step eventually, since he was still young.

He's been sensible for so many years, always the "other people's child" that everyone talks about. Now, can't he even be allowed to be a little willful?

The boss basically understood what Xia Shen meant.

He pursed his lips, then smiled and nodded: "Then I wish you good luck!"

"Putting everything else aside, I will never forget the help you all gave me today, Brother Feng and all the brothers."

"You idiot, don't talk to your dad like that." Qi Yixiang laughed: "Just don't forget to give us a hand when you become famous."

“Your abilities are the strongest among our group, always have been, so temporary difficulties can’t hold you back, that’s what we’ve been saying,” Zheng Xingqi said.

“Me too.” Wenxiong nodded.

The picture is enjoyable.

Only Xia Shen remained confused.

Is it really impossible to trap them?

It actually took a lot of courage for him to take this step.

The pressure and burden of family are weighing heavily on my shoulders. I haven't even taken the first step yet, let alone made any money.

In this situation, if anything were to happen to his family, he wouldn't even be able to provide any help to them.

Not to mention the even greater pressure that will come their way in the future.

He has lived a life of constant anxiety and uncertainty. Can he really reach the other side?
I don't know, but there's no turning back now. This is the path he decided to take after exhausting all his strength.

Next, we'll see if we're on the right track!
Soon after a dinner party, Xia Shen returned to his dormitory and quietly released the song he had been preparing for a long time, which could be considered as a stepping stone for his future.

A new song titled "Give Me a Song's Time" has quietly appeared on major music platforms.

There is also a new musician named 'Xia Shen'.

(End of this chapter)