Huayu 2005: Chat groups are full of real celebrities

Jiangbei nodded:

"To be precise, it's about finding your own way of expressing this song."

"Just now, I was teaching you how to understand lyrics."

"Now, you have to put your own understanding into it."

He looked at Liu Yifei and said seriously:

"Listen to the lyrics again carefully."

"Think about what emotions each sentence evokes in you."

"Then think about how you would express this feeling to someone else if it were you."

"Note that this is not sung for other people."

"It's for other people to hear."

"This time, you'll be the one to mark yourself."

"Where to soften the tone, where to strengthen it; where to pause, where to finish in one breath; where to restrain yourself, where to release your emotions..."

"These are all decisions you make."

As Shu Chang listened, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

This method is exactly the same as the one teachers use when analyzing scripts.

Understand first, then express, and finally, use techniques.

Having learned from her previous success, Liu Yifei did not hesitate at all this time.

She gently closed her eyes, not in a hurry to start writing.

Instead, I let the lyrics flow through my mind, line by line.

After a moment, she opened her eyes again and began to read in a low voice.

While reading, he wrote and drew on the score.

Sometimes I pause for a long time, and sometimes I simply cross it out and start over.

The room gradually quieted down.

Only her soft reading voice and the scratching sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper remained.

After an unknown amount of time, the entire page of lyrics was finally covered with her own markings.

She let out a soft breath: "All done."

Then, she read the entire song lyrics again according to her own understanding.

This time, Jiang Bei simply listened quietly without interrupting.

He slowly nodded only after the last word was uttered.

correct.

This time, it finally worked.

Just now, she read out the lyrics themselves.

And now, he heard her own words.

That clean and ethereal quality is still there, but it also has a touch of the naivety, confusion, and anticipation for the future that are unique to an eighteen-year-old girl.

This is no longer the sentiment of "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky".

It was Liu Yifei's own emotions.

Shu Chang couldn't help but widen his eyes upon hearing this.

If, when Jiangbei was helping her dissect the lyrics, all she heard were the images within the lyrics.

Now, she could clearly hear Sisi herself in Sisi's voice.

She couldn't help but exclaim, "This is amazing! It's like it's been blessed!"

Liu Yifei herself could hardly believe it.

She glanced down at the sheet music, then at Jiangbei, her eyes shining brightly:

"Jiang Laoliu!"

"What kind of ingenious trick is this?"

"How come I've never heard of this kind of singing practice method before?"

"Have you secretly apprenticed under some kind of master?"

Jiang Bei smiled and gave a casual, perfunctory reply:

"I figured it out myself."

Liu Yifei looked suspicious.

"Figure it out yourself?"

"How could someone possibly figure out something like this?"

"Are you sure you didn't find this secret manual in some remote mountain forest?"

Jiangbei started talking nonsense with a straight face:

"When I used to write songs for others, there were always people who couldn't capture the feeling I wanted."

"After doing it a few times, I gradually figured it out."

"It's just like cooking; if you put in too much salt, you'll know to put in less next time."

Liu Yifei looked at him suspiciously, feeling that he wasn't telling the truth.

However, her attention is now completely drawn to this method.

She couldn't help but press further:

"And then what?"

"Is there a next step?"

Jiang Bei nodded and plucked the strings of his instrument.

"certainly."

"Analyzing the lyrics is a way to understand the song."

"Finding your feeling is finding yourself."

"Next—"

"That's when the real singing begins."

He smiled and looked at Liu Yifei:

"Try to retain the emotions you had when you read it aloud."

Don't focus on how well you sing.

"Just think of it as expressing what I just said through song."

After he finished speaking, the guitar accompaniment slowly began again.

Liu Yifei took a deep breath, no longer thinking about pitch or deliberately controlling her technique.

Instead, following the feeling she had just found, she softly sang the first line.

This time, it was clearly different from before.

A picture even unconsciously appeared in Jiang Bei's mind.

Under the cover of night, a clean and untouched girl looks up at the night sky and whispers her secrets to the brightest star.

Shu Chang was completely stunned.

Jiangbei didn't talk about any vocal techniques from beginning to end.

There was no instruction on breath control, resonance, or even how to sing a single line.

It's just a different way of understanding the lyrics.

Sisi's singing voice seemed to have suddenly come to life.

After finishing the song, Liu Yifei's face was filled with surprise.

She looked towards the north bank of the river, unconsciously revealing her signature toothy smile:

"Thank you, Sixth Brother!"

Jiang Bei remained silent for two seconds before gently shaking his head.

"There has been progress."

"but--"

"There are still quite a few flaws."

As he spoke, Jiangbei started strumming his guitar again.

This time, he didn't have Liu Yifei sing the whole song; instead, he broke it down line by line.

"The first sentence."

"Don't rush to inhale."

"The moment the audience hears you take a breath, their emotions are cut off."

"Inhale quickly, exhale steadily, say a sentence completely first, and then think about how to sing it beautifully."

Liu Yifei nodded and sang it again.

Sure enough, it was much smoother than before.

Jiangbei continued:

"And here too."

He pointed to the sheet music.

"The high notes in the song 'The Brightest Star in the Night Sky' are not for showing off technical skills."

"Especially the ending note, don't force it."

"If you hit the high note, the audience will only think you sang too high."

"Gently sending it up is more like a person standing under the night sky, looking up to find that star."

"That way, the emotions won't dissipate."

Liu Yifei seemed to be thinking about something, and tried it again.

This time, the high notes were noticeably softer.

Jiang Bei nodded: "Yes, that's the feeling."

He continued:

"There's one more thing."

"Don't sing every word with the same emphasis."

"Key words can be emphasized."

Words like 'star,' 'courage,' and 'belief' are all emotional focal points.

"The other words are all for sending them out."

"What the audience remembers is never every single word."

"But rather, the few words you most want to tell him."

As he spoke, he demonstrated it himself.

The same lyric, after being stressed or emphasized, immediately becomes a distinct layer of emotion.

"at last."

Jiang Bei gently plucked a string.

"Techniques always serve emotions."

"Don't turn singing a single lyric into a show of skill just to prove you can sing high notes."

"The audience isn't here to listen to your exam."

"They just want to know—"

"What exactly do you want to say to them?"

This sentence silenced both Liu Yifei and Shu Chang.

Shu Chang suddenly spoke softly:

"so……"

"All those techniques mentioned earlier are just tools."

"What really matters is finding out what you want to express first."

Jiang Bei nodded with a smile.

"That's right."

"Skill determines whether you can sing."

"Emotions determine whether others are willing to listen."

"But what truly determines who this song belongs to is—"

"It's always about expression."

Shu Chang's eyes are getting brighter and brighter.

She finally understood why some singers, despite having near-perfect technique, always seemed to lack something when they sang.

Because they are singing songs.

What Jiangbei wants to teach is to sing about himself.

……