A band, or a battleground?

062 Hair Like Snow

“You don’t need to look at me,” Qi Yuan put his phone back in his pocket. “I already sent the lyrics to the group while I was acting out a scene with Qian Yu just now.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the three girls quickly looked down at their phones.

Three seconds later, Jiang Yi exclaimed, "It really has a traditional Chinese style!"

Ten seconds later, Qiu Mengxue said, "Such a heartfelt love song?"

Then Qi Yuan said, "Detective, may we continue our discussion?"

Ning Qianyu looked up at him, then looked down at the lyrics, and said hesitantly, "Well, we were just talking about your guess, that lottery box... never mind, you should sing this song a cappella first, otherwise I won't be able to concentrate on the deduction."

Faced with the expectant gazes of the beautiful girls, Qi Yuan couldn't help but smile, and then began to sing a cappella:

"The crescent moon hangs low, and she appears haggard."

I raise my cup and drink in the wind and snow.

Who overturned the cabinet of past lives?

"Stirring up trouble and disputes..."

In Qi Yuan's previous life, love songs made up a small portion of his playlist, but this particular song was among them, partly because it was catchy and partly because it evoked childhood memories. Before participating in the show, this song, which he often sang at karaoke, was naturally in his lyrics memo.

So when he saw the words "ancient style" printed on the slip of paper he drew, he knew that he had really won this time.

Now, with better singing skills, he can still sing this song very well even without accompaniment.

After singing the verse and chorus once, the three girls stared at him blankly.

Ning Qianyu, forgetting all about her childish antics, murmured, "You're definitely a genius..."

Qiu Mengxue: "This is something we already knew."

Ning Qianyu quickly said, "But he used to write pop and rock songs. How come you're so good at ancient-style love songs? Haven't you never been in a relationship before!"

Qi Yuan smiled calmly and said, "Because I think those relationships in school are like playing house, they're meaningless."

Qiu Mengxue said thoughtfully, "So, what you yearn for is that kind of peerless love, like butterflies transforming into butterflies..."

Qi Yuan gestured for him to stop: "Don't overthink it. This is just for the creative process, a little bit of imagination."

Ning Qianyu nodded in agreement: "Exactly, dating is nothing compared to making music, right?"

Qi Yuan: "That's right."

Qiu Mengxue then asked, "I noticed the chorus was repeated again. Should we sing it again when we go on stage?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "No, that's harmony."

"Who's going to harmonize?" Seeing that not only Qi Yuan but also her two other friends were looking over, Qiu Mengxue pointed to herself, "Me?"

Qi Yuan: "Of course it's you. You're the best singer, aren't you?"

Qiu Mengxue couldn't help but laugh. But after laughing, she turned to the silent girl and asked, "Yiyi, what do you think?"

Jiang Yi smiled and said, "Such a good song, do I even need to give my opinion? If I could give it a score, I would definitely give it full marks."

However, there was a hidden meaning in her smile.

"Now that the song is already out, I'll contact Teacher Zhou and see if he can help with the composition."

As Qi Yuan said this, he stood up and walked out of the room while still on the phone.

"Then I'll compose the music and send it to him later so he can show it to Teacher Zhou."

As Qiu Mengxue said this, she left.

In Qi Yuan's room, only two girls remained with nothing to do.

Ning Qianyu pulled down the brim of her hat and suddenly said, "The famous detective Serant Solander Feather has discovered that you have something on your mind, sir."

Jiang Yi: "I don't want to be a party involved in any detective stories. In detective stories, the one who always ends up unlucky is the one who suffers."

Ning Qianyu found the pipe that Qi Yuan had casually placed on the bed earlier, picked it up again, and said, "Anyway, you must have something on your mind, I can tell. Tell me, I won't tell anyone else."

Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment: "Are you really not going to tell anyone?"

Ning Qianyu said in a serious tone, "Please trust the professional ethics of a famous detective."

Jiang Yi sighed and asked, "Who do you think that song was written for?"

This question surprised Ning Qianyu for a moment: "That song... was written for the third round of the competition."

Jiang Yi shook her head: "No, the song is called Hair Like Snow, and there's a harmony added in the middle. Think about it again."

Ning Qianyu frowned slightly: "You mean, this song was written for Mengxue? No way, Qi Yuan is very open about it. If it was written for Mengxue, he would definitely say so."

Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "If that's really what you think, then forget it, it's fine."

Seeing her like this, Ning Qianyu suddenly felt that some problems that even famous detectives couldn't solve might be unfolding right in front of her.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"You've come to the right place to ask me for help with ancient-style songs! I've been experimenting with various musical elements over the past few years. Although the market hasn't been buying it, I've really tried all sorts of elements, including ancient-style songs. I've also drawn a lot of inspiration from them."

In a barbecue restaurant on the street, Zhou Taishan said this while opening a beer bottle.

Qi Yuan's lips twitched: "I'm a little worried that the market isn't buying into what you're saying."

"Hahahaha..." Zhou Taishan laughed heartily, filling both of their glasses. "That's because I was doing an experiment, and I wasn't trying to cater to the market. Those albums were released to attract like-minded people. But I know exactly how to cater to them, so don't worry."

As they were talking, the waiter served the dishes.

Beef skewers, lamb skewers, grilled beef tendon, potato slices, grilled oysters, grilled chives... the steaming aroma immediately wafts over.

Zhou Taishan said, "Eat something to fill your stomach before drinking."

So, the two of them each took a string of them.

Qi Yuan took beef skewers, while Zhou Taishan took grilled chives.

Zhou Taishan asked, "Don't you eat oysters and chives?"

Qi Yuan: "It's edible, I'm not picky."

Zhou Taishan said meaningfully, "Looking at the three girls in your team, I thought you really needed these things."

Qi Yuan picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons: "Teacher, the four of us are all underage high school students."

"You're so well-behaved, you don't seem like someone in a band at all..." Zhou Taishan noticed his phone vibrating, took it out and looked at it, "Oh, you've already sent me the song?"

Qi Yuan nodded: "The lyrics and sheet music are here."

Zhou Taishan picked it up and started reading.

At first, he ate his skewers while watching, but after only a couple, he slowed down. He didn't even finish the second skewer before putting it on his plate.

Then Zhou Taishan watched intently, his attention becoming more and more focused, as if all the noise around him could no longer reach his ears.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

063 Teacher Zhou, please don't do this

The barbecue restaurant was quite noisy, with customers eating, drinking, and chatting loudly without trying to control their voices. The owners were busy running around, sometimes shouting out which table had ordered which skewers, sometimes yelling about which table needed more food, urging the kitchen to hurry up...

However, in this environment, Zhou Taishan stared at his phone, quite engrossed.

He would hum a tune softly every now and then, then his eyes would widen.

Finally, Zhou Taishan let out a long breath, raised his eyes to look at the boy in front of him, and asked, "How long did it take you to write this song? Could it be that you wrote it before and just took it out today?"

Qi Yuan replied, "I had some inspiration before, but I've finally finished writing it down today."

Zhou Taishan nodded and said, "Good, the lyrics and music are both excellent, impeccable. Come on, I'll drink this song for you, you can drink as you like."

After saying that, Zhou Taishan downed the beer in his glass in one gulp.

Qi Yuan hesitated. Although the other person said "take it as you like," it would be a bit disrespectful if he actually took a sip.

Zhou Taishan put down his glass, poured himself another drink, and asked, "Do you usually enjoy drinking?"

Qi Yuan: "...I usually have classes."

Zhou Taishan nodded: "I understand, just take a small sip."

So Qi Yuan took a sip, and when he put the glass down, the water level had only dropped slightly.

Then Zhou Taishan said, "I need to think carefully about the arrangement, especially the secondary melody."

"I've also thought of the secondary melody."

"what?"

Zhou Taishan stared at him blankly.

Qi Yuan hummed the piano melody that started the song, "la la la," as he remembered it, and then said:

"My idea is that the main accompaniment instrument for this song should be the piano. The melody just now is the intro, played with piano sound effects on a MIDI keyboard, which then leads directly into the vocals. The guitar, bass, and drums should also follow, but they shouldn't be too prominent."

Zhou Taishan asked instinctively, "If you're going to do something in the ancient style, don't you need to get a pipa or a guzheng?"

Qi Yuan smiled and asked in return, "Wasn't that melody, along with the lyrics and music of this song, classical enough?"

Zhou Taishan thought for a moment and then nodded: "Indeed, a piano is enough. It already has a strong ancient style. And it's not just any ancient style. It has a feeling of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai... no, it's not quite the same as that. It's more in line with modern people's aesthetics."

"You've already started doing market analysis?"

“I already said I know how to cater to the market. But you’re different. You’re not just catering to it, you’re leading it! There are so many ancient-style songs on the market right now. I can’t say I’ve heard them all, but all of them combined… tsk, none of them can compare to this!”

Zhou Taishan became more and more excited as he spoke, and simply picked up his wine glass again.

"I'll do it, you can do whatever you want!"

Then he downed it in one gulp.

Qi Yuan was a little dumbfounded: "Teacher Zhou, please don't do this."

Zhou Taishan put down his glass and laughed, "It's alright, you don't have to drink. Just for this song, you deserve anyone's toast!"

Qi Yuan: "No, you... can a singer drink like this?"

Zhou Taishan continued pouring himself more wine: "I've been playing music all my life, and I've finally achieved my current status in the music industry. Can't I enjoy myself a little?"

Qi Yuan finally understood: Zhou Taishan simply enjoyed drinking and wanted someone to drink with. He didn't care how much the other person drank; he just wanted to have a good time.

Over the next few minutes, the two continued discussing the arrangement of "Hair Like Snow" while enjoying some skewers, their conversation becoming increasingly engaging. Qi Yuan lacked experience and knowledge in arranging music, but he knew exactly what the song should sound like. Zhou Taishan, on the other hand, had no shortage of experience and knowledge; however, this level of ancient-style song had never been created in the world before, truly opening his eyes to a new world.

As they chatted, Zhou Taishan would occasionally pour himself a drink.

Qi Yuan went from being embarrassed at first to getting used to it more and more.

After nearly two hours of barbecue, Zhou Taishan opened a full five bottles of beer, of which only one was drunk by Qi Yuan; the rest all went into the stomach of this old-timer.

During this time, Zhou Taishan went to the toilet to vomit once, but when he came back, he was still clear-headed and had a clear mind. Even his discussion about music was still fluent and unimpeded.

After Zhou Taishan insisted on paying the bill, Qi Yuan noticed that he wasn't even swaying much and couldn't help but exclaim, "Teacher Zhou, you have a really good capacity for alcohol."

Zhou Taishan scoffed, "Beer is nothing, I can drink baijiu by the pound. I'm just slightly tipsy right now. Perfect for writing music. You guys can definitely start rehearsing tomorrow!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Zhou Taishan did not break his promise.

The following evening, Qi Yuan received the full score for "Hair Like Snow." It included not only sheet music for piano, guitar, bass, and drums, along with the key, tempo, and tempo, but also clearly marked structural sections. It even specified the techniques to be used for each instrument.

Furthermore, he didn't specify that it had to be played this way. Below the sheet music file, he even added a note: "[Take a look and see if it suits you. It's best to practice it live and record it to listen to. Tell me if anything is wrong, and I'll see how to fix it. Okay, I'm going to sleep now.]"

The four of them huddled together and watched for a long time.

Qiu Mengxue suddenly exclaimed, "Teacher Zhou's arrangement is so clear, and he released it so quickly. How did he do it?"

Qi Yuan: "I don't know how he did it, but he drank a lot of alcohol last night."

"Did you drink too?" Qiu Mengxue sniffed. "You don't smell of alcohol on you."

Qi Yuan laughed and said, "It's been almost a day, the smell of alcohol has long since dissipated. Besides, I only drank a small amount, just one beer. He drank a lot, five bottles."

Ning Qianyu couldn't help but gasp: "Writing music after drinking? And staying up all night to write it, does he think he's Li Bai?"

Jiang Yi concluded, "Anyway, it's really helpful to us. This way, we can start rehearsing tonight and go on stage next week, which gives us plenty of time."

Qiu Mengxue pondered, "I originally thought that the composition and arrangement of ancient-style music had to use the five notes of the pentatonic scale. But what you and Teacher Zhou did is really subversive."

Qi Yuan clapped his hands and said, "Alright, now that we have the full score for the arrangement, let's go rehearse. If we find any problems, we can give feedback to Teacher Zhou in time."