novelraw Chapter 72: Solving the Arrangement for "Singer"
Chapter 72: Solving the Arrangement for "Singer"
Xiao Chen led the way, with Song Ze following behind, quickly going over every detail of the arrangement of "The Lone Warrior" in his mind.
He made the decision to keep only piano, drums, and vocals in the chorus, changed it, changed it back, and finally made the final decision.
He has the confidence.
The music director's office door wasn't closed properly, so Xiao Chen pushed it open and stepped aside to let Song Ze go in first.
The office was small, with a dark wooden table taking up a third of the space.
On the table lay the full score of the arrangement for "The Lone Warrior," printed on A3 paper, densely marked with red pen.
Liang Qiaobo sat in the main seat.
He was in his early fifties, thin, with gray hair that was neatly styled, and wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
A cup of black coffee sits on the table, next to a red ballpoint pen.
There was no small talk.
Liang Qiaobo tapped his index finger twice on the chorus of the score.
He looked up at Song Ze.
"Song Ze, do you know what you're doing?"
The opening scene is a soul-searching question.
Liang Qiaobo turned the sheet music around and pushed it in front of Song Ze.
"The chorus only has piano, drums, and vocals—are you trying to put five hundred audience members to sleep?"
Song Ze glanced at the red pen annotations on the score, each missing instrumentation marked with a red question mark.
Goodness, there are more question marks than on his high school math exam.
Xiao Chen had already retreated to the doorway, minimizing his presence.
Song Ze didn't stand there to be scolded.
He pulled out a chair, sat down, turned the score around, and looked directly at Liang Qiaobo.
"Teacher Liang, I've heard that you were the music director for Wang Fei's 2010 tour."
Liang Qiaobo's finger remained on the coffee cup; he didn't reply.
Song Ze continued: "I've also studied those arrangements you made on 'I Am a Singer' that were criticized for being 'too weird' but were later repeatedly appreciated. In the third season, you removed all the electronic sounds from the original version of Han Hong's 'Come Back,' leaving only the strings and piano. At the time, the comments section was full of criticism for an entire episode. Three months later, that arrangement was rediscovered and hailed as a masterpiece."
Liang Qiaobo didn't interrupt, but picked up his coffee and took a sip.
In Song Ze's eyes, this gesture meant—"Go on, I'm listening."
"The emotion in this song is not conveyed by piling up instrumentation."
Song Ze's finger touched the verse section of the sheet music.
"The low register of the verse is pushed to its limit, the piano plays arpeggios, the bass line sinks to the bottom, and the vocals are sung very close to the point of speaking. What is the purpose of this section? It is to suppress the emotions of the audience. The harder it is suppressed, the higher the chorus will be played."
Move your finger to the chorus.
"Here, suddenly all the underlying tones are removed. The strings are gone, the synthesizers are gone, the bass lines are cut off. The piano switches from arpeggios to block chords, providing the harmonic framework. The snare drum hits on every offbeat, creating a sense of urgency that makes your heart pound."
Song Ze looked up.
"Leave the rest to the lyrics and vocals."
He paused for a moment.
"What I want isn't an auditory shock. It's the blank silence that follows, like being punched in the chest, leaving me speechless for a few seconds."
The only noise in the office was the background noise of the air conditioner running.
Liang Qiaobo put down his coffee cup, leaned back in his chair, and stared at Song Ze for about ten seconds.
Song Ze did not dodge.
He added as a final note: "You once said, 'We must present the best performance to the audience.' The version I'm submitting now is what I consider to be the best."
He dug this sentence out from behind-the-scenes footage of a variety show interview from his previous life.
Overwhelming information asymmetry is always the most effective weapon.
There was silence for almost half a minute.
Xiao Chen stood at the door, even his breathing became soft.
In his two years in the industry, this was the first time he had ever seen a singer dare to sit down and "take a lesson" in front of Director Liang.
Liang Qiaobo suddenly laughed.
He picked up a red pen, turned to the last page of the score, and signed his name in the approval column.
The scratching sound of the pen falling on the paper sounded to Song Ze almost like winning five million.
Liang Qiaobo pushed the sheet music back.
"Interesting. That's exactly what I was waiting to hear."
He took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.
"If you can't even clearly explain what you want to do, this score is just a piece of waste paper. It doesn't matter who says it—it's the same whether Jam Hsiao says it or not."
Song Ze put the sheet music away and stood up.
"Thank you, Teacher Liang."
"Wait a moment."
Liang Qiaobo added a sentence, and his whole demeanor relaxed considerably.
"Eason Chan's 'Ten Years' was also criticized for being too bland and having a simple arrangement back then. What happened afterward?"
Later, it became one of the most requested Chinese songs in KTVs. It was a must-sing for those who were heartbroken, and even those who weren't heartbroken would feel heartbroken after listening to it.
Song Ze didn't say the second half of his sentence aloud, but just nodded.
"Thank you, Teacher Liang."
He turned and walked out.
When I passed by Xiao Chen, I saw this guy's jaw almost dropped to the ground, and he was frozen in place, completely motionless.
"Close your mouth, are you trying to let dust get in?"
Xiao Chen suddenly shut up, jogged to catch up, and only calmed down after leaving the office.
"Teacher Song, did you...did you prepare what you just said beforehand?"
"impromptu."
"Really?!" Xiao Chen's voice cracked. "I've been doing this for two years, and I've never seen anyone get Director Liang to sign off on the spot and even smile. Last season, there was a singer who was rejected three times in a row, and it was only after the producer intervened that he passed."
Song Ze didn't stop walking.
"That's because he wasn't prepared."
Before Xiao Chen could say anything more, Song Ze's phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out and looked at it.
Caller ID: Tan Jingjing.
At this point in time?
Song Ze answered, "Teacher Tan."
On the other end of the phone, Tan Jingjing was a completely different person from the one at the Bazaar Charity Night last time.
Last time, she carefully chose her words, putting on the airs of a national-level singer.
this time--
"Xiao Song! Have you watched 'Masked Singer'?"
I was as excited as if I had just opened a blind box and won the hidden item.
Before Song Ze could answer, she had already taken over.
"I am 'Avatar Sister with Pointy Ears'!"
Song Ze paused in his steps.
In my previous life, this secret was only revealed to the entire internet in the episode where the identity was unveiled at the end of November.
Tan Jingjing's disguise was airtight; the production team signed an ironclad confidentiality agreement, and even the judging panel couldn't guess it.
She revealed it over the phone more than a month in advance?
"Teacher Tan, how much was the penalty for breach of this confidentiality agreement?"
"Hey, I didn't tell anyone else, I only told you."
Confident and self-assured.
"Next episode is the unmasking stage, and I'll be singing 'The Vast Land of Wolves.'" Tan Jingjing's speech quickened as she got down to business. "The production team asked me to recommend a special guest for the judging panel—"
She paused for half a second.
"You're the first person I thought of."
Song Ze raised an eyebrow.
"Just a remote video call will do; record a short review. Are you up for it?"
Song Ze walked to the window at the corner of the corridor and stood there.
I quickly went through it in my mind.
"Masked Singer" is a flagship variety show on Jiangnan TV, consistently ranking among the top three in its time slot.
The episode featuring Tan Jingjing's unmasking in her past life had a viewership rating of over 2, and it trended on Weibo for two whole days.
His appearance as a special guest on that episode was like getting a free nationwide exposure before the show even started.
Moreover—it was Tan Jingjing who proactively recommended it.
The value of this network is more precious than gold.
"If Teacher Tan asks, I'll definitely respond. But I'm afraid I won't be able to handle the high notes in your rendition of 'The Same Moonlight.'"
Tan Jing chuckled on the other end of the phone: "You caught the G6 during your audition, what's this to you?"
The two agreed on the details of the follow-up coordination.
The elevator doors opened, and Song Ze stepped inside and pressed the button for the first floor.
The elevator arrived at the first floor.
As Song Ze walked out of the Hunan TV building, the October sun in Changsha was still quite strong.
He stood on the steps, rolled up the sheet music for "The Lone Warrior" into a tube, and gently clapped it twice in his palm.
The arrangement is complete.
The exposure for "Masked Singer" has been obtained.
My phone vibrated again in my pocket, displaying an unfamiliar Suzhou number.
Song Ze answered the call.
"Hello, is this Mr. Song Ze? I'm Che Ze from the 'Masked Singer' program."
"Ms. Song, besides you, we've also invited another mystery 'guest' for this episode." The other person paused, "She specifically requested to share the stage with you. She said her surname is..."