novelraw 61. Always with me
61. Always with me
"Wow? Finally reached 100 hours of practice? My hands are sore!"
Zheng Ning complained, but she was secretly delighted.
After all, the system had already made it clear that you would receive a piano music chest, and the songs that would come out of it would definitely be piano songs.
"System, open the treasure chest!"
Zheng Ning waved his hand and spoke to the air.
"Yes, host. The treasure chest is being opened. Please wait!"
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the song 'Always with me,' which will be accompanied primarily by the piano."
In an instant, a light and gentle piano melody rang in Zheng Ning's mind.
The music was so gentle and tender, yet tinged with a touch of melancholy.
"What beautiful music! Indeed, playing the piano requires full emotion; otherwise, all that comes out is a mechanical sound..."
Zheng Ning closed her eyes and unconsciously swayed her head to the melodious tune.
He felt as if he were sitting on a slowly moving train, watching the scenery rushing past the window, letting the gentle breeze caress his face—it was so pleasant, so tender.
Then a pleasant female voice began singing the lyrics.
The system also thoughtfully displayed song subtitles in the local language of Dongzhou, which were compared with the common language of Blue Star.
「嗓でいる热のどこか奥で
A call from somewhere deep within the heart
いつも心踊る梦を见たい
I always want to keep my dream alive.
Sad and sad
The sorrow is countless
その向うできっとあなたに会える
You will surely meet it on the other side...
"Oh... so that's what this song means! Wait, System, are there cultures and countries on Earth that correspond to the Eastern Continent? How come the text and pronunciation you provided seem to be exactly the same as those on the Eastern Continent?"
As I listened, something suddenly felt off.
How come the pronunciation of that female singer from Earth sounds exactly the same as the local language of Dongzhou?
"This is the isoform from a parallel universe..."
The system provided Zheng Ning with a lengthy explanation, gradually helping him understand the differences and connections between the two.
And the song continued to play slowly and gently in his ears, its emotions tender and melancholic, its melody winding and captivating.
As Zheng Ning listened, she became deeply engrossed in the story.
I stopped thinking about the connection between the two and simply appreciated this gift of art in silence.
「粲り回すあやまちのその都人は
People always tend to repeat the same mistakes
ただ青い空の青さを知る
All I know is the blue sky
果てしなく道は続いて见えるけれど
Although the endless road always seems to continue
この両手は光を hug ける
These hands will surely embrace the light…
……
Unbeknownst to Zheng Ning, he was still not fully awakened by the atmosphere created by the song after listening to it.
It took him almost 10 minutes to gradually emerge from that sorrowful yet slightly comforting atmosphere.
"Great song, great melody."
Zheng Ning nodded silently. This song did indeed have a strong Dongzhou flavor, and it shared many similarities with several animated films he had seen before.
"I feel like this song would be a perfect fit for that theme song the composition department did for the Dongzhou Animation Company's movie?"
As a formal member, he had seen the request list for the theme song of the animated film "Spirited Away," also known as "A Thousand Searches."
I've also seen the movie demo they sent. It's set on a train by the sea, with the sun shining lazily in. A little girl sits on a seat to one side, surrounded by ghostly figures and strange creatures.
For some reason, it resonated with the feeling I had when I listened to that song, the kind of atmosphere that made me feel like I was sitting on a train, slowly moving forward.
Isn't that exactly what this movie is all about?
That feeling of helplessness and being forced to move forward, that melancholic yet still elegant melody, that eerie and slightly ethereal atmosphere...
It's as if it was tailor-made for this movie!
Zheng Ning felt as if he had somehow come to understand something.
He planned to play this piece for Lao Yang when he went to work tomorrow.
……
Composing music seems like a very formulaic thing. For many composers, there are formulas to follow: the structure of verses and choruses, when to raise the mood, when to lower the mood, when to be excited, and when to make people feel depressed and sad... In fact, there are ready-made paths.
However, when it comes to each song specifically, the analysis becomes very subjective.
You say your piece is good, I say mine is good, we each have our own opinion, each thinking the other's is inferior and our own is the most fitting and excellent one.
Therefore, there has never been a specific standard for judging the quality of such emotionally driven creations; at most, it can only be determined by the market.
Sometimes, a client might have an idea, want a song, and then find a big company, offer a high price, and specify that they want their biggest star musician to write it for them.
However, the works written by big-name musicians, despite their painstaking efforts, may not satisfy the listener no matter how many times they listen, while something written by an unknown newcomer by chance may catch the listener's eye. How can this be explained by common sense?
Although this is a low-probability event, it's not impossible.
The current burgeoning composition department of Shuncheng is facing just such a problem.
Before Zheng Ning arrived, the nine composers here were all highly skilled in their respective fields. They had also been tested by the market for a long time and were undoubtedly among the top tier.
But the company called Donghai Animation in Dongzhou was never satisfied with any of the songs I wrote in the past few months. They always said something was missing or something was off.
This caused Old Yang, the head of the composition department at the Shuncheng branch, a lot of headaches. He even considered giving up and saying, "I don't want this order anymore, let whoever wants to serve me serve me."
However, it is now being suppressed by Hengcheng's headquarters and poached by two other giants. Two composers of the level of "master composer" have left in a row, and the orders that can be received have mostly dropped from large orders of more than 1000 million to medium orders of around 500 million.
Having finally secured this 600 million order, how could he possibly let it go?
"Sigh, if all else fails, I'll have to take matters into my own hands. These young people these days are really unreliable..."
The next morning, Lao Yang was yawning and complaining in his office.
"Hehe."
But then suddenly a crisp knocking sound was heard.
"Please come in."
He shouted, then cleared his throat to make himself appear more serious.
Then Zheng Ning walked in with a confident smile, holding a stack of printed A4 papers and a blank cassette tape.