Chapter 399: Three Rounds of Bending

"Clap~ clap~ clap," clap~

The clapper sounded four times; the zither-pillar master covered the zither pillars, and the bell-rope master tightened the bell ropes.

The venue suddenly fell silent.

The pipa player and the zheng player flushed slightly, at a loss for what to do.

They didn't know until they started playing; only then did they realize how awkward and stiff their harmony was when matched with the other instruments. It was also at that moment they understood why Lin Sicheng had specifically annotated so many unfamiliar techniques and set requirements for details that were strict to the point of being abnormal. Because only by playing this way could they achieve a result as seamless as water and milk, as perfect as a pair of pearls.

The problem was, they really didn't know how.

The troupe leadership was also to blame: they had thought it was just a matter of transcribing music, and that ordinary musicians could handle it. They never imagined Lin Sicheng would compose so quickly and so well.

If they had prepared in advance, they could have at least sent over a folk musician proficient in the Thirteen-String Guqin Method.

As for the Five-String Pipa, there really seemed to be nothing to be done about that...

Thinking this over secretly, Xiao Yinan sighed and stood up to walk over.

She hadn't paid much attention before, and Lin Sicheng had assumed she was a leader from the Folk Music Troupe. It wasn't until Li Jingting introduced her that he learned she was the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Song and Dance Troupe. "Hello, Little Lin!" Xiao Yinan said with a smile on her face: "I was afraid of interrupting your train of thought earlier, please don't mind..."

There was nothing to mind.

Lin Sicheng smiled: "Editor-in-Chief Xiao, you are too polite!"

"I should be the one apologizing." Xiao Yinan looked ashamed, "I'm sorry, we are the ones holding you back!"

The words were a bit heavy, but the logic was indeed sound: Lin Sicheng was responsible for the arrangement; if it couldn't be played, it was naturally his problem.

But he had composed it, and if you couldn't play it when given the music, what was that if not holding him back?

And don't bring up how the instruments were too obscure or the techniques long lost; what Lin Sicheng was restoring was, in fact, ancient scores lost for thousands of years. The core principle was just one sentence: restore the original appearance as much as possible.

If he didn't use the Five-String Pipa, should he swap it for a guitar for you?

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But the problem definitely had to be solved.

"Teacher Zhao in the troupe knows the thirteen-string zheng; I've already had Editor-in-Chief Liu go invite him, and he will be here soon. But the Five-String Pipa?"

After a brief pause, Xiao Yinan sighed, "This is a bit difficult!"

There was no way to solve it in a short time; they could only grit their teeth and practice hard using the score Lin Sicheng had provided.

But it would take time: half a month or a month at the fastest, and three to five months was also possible.

Compared to that, what Xiao Yinan couldn't understand was: since these were lost techniques, how did Lin Sicheng know them, and how did he compose the music? To be honest, she really wanted to ask, but thinking of those twenty-four paintings of dancers, Xiao Yinan dismissed the thought.

"Liuyao" had also been lost for over a thousand years; hadn't Lin Sicheng restored that just the same?

Just as Editor-in-Chief Lan said: this kid is a bit uncanny...

"Thank you, Editor-in-Chief Xiao. Being able to invite a thirteen-string zheng player is enough!"

Lin Sicheng didn't really mind; he raised his hand to check his watch, "If they arrive soon, we can rehearse the dance and see the effect!" Xiao Yinan was startled: in such a hurry?

There were only two performers, and they had only practiced for one day?

Furthermore, without finding a qualified Five-String Pipa player, this piece could at best be considered a semi-finished product; how good could the effect of the dance be?

But Editor-in-Chief Xiao only muttered this in her heart and did not say it out loud.

It could be said that time and time again, under the premise that everyone thought it was impossible, Lin Sicheng had turned the impossible into the possible, even leaving everyone dumbfounded and tongue-tied.

Here, he had already established absolute authority. To this extent, let alone Deputy Editor-in-Chief Xiao, even if Editor-in-Chief Lan or even the Troupe Leader came, they would never question any of his decisions and would cooperate one hundred percent.

While she was thinking, Cheng Nianjia called over the two performers, and Lin Sicheng took the full score and explained it to them carefully.

Being able to come to the Song and Dance Troupe, their professional ability was certainly sufficient, not to mention they were the stars of the stage. Although they had only practiced for one day, every single shot was completed by them, and every set of dance postures had been broken down by Lin Sicheng for them more than ten times.

He wouldn't dare say it was carved into their brains, but the impression was definitely deep enough.

Once they looked at the score, the two performers knew which piece of music accompanied which dance posture, and which interval corresponded to which gap.

Moreover, Lin Sicheng's explanation was detailed enough: the changing drum beats corresponding to the rhythm, the shift in melody corresponding to the shift in dance posture, and the changes in expression corresponding to the intensity of the rhythm.

In the end, Lin Sicheng offered some comfort: "Don't be nervous, it doesn't matter if you get stuck!"

The two nodded vigorously and took a deep breath.

Looking at the expressions of the experts, directors, and Editor-in-Chief Xiao present, one could tell how much the troupe valued this program.

Although Lin Sicheng hadn't said it, after finishing the storyboards, he immediately had them practice; the implication was self-evident: practice well, and if there are no accidents, the leads for this program will very likely be the two of you.

So, how could they possibly get stuck?

The two performers gritted their teeth and looked at Lin Sicheng with gratitude.

Taking advantage of the break while Lin Sicheng was explaining the score, Xiao Yinan had Cheng Nianjia call a photographer to prepare for archiving. Immediately after, Liu Hao brought over the zither player. Upon introduction, Lin Sicheng was startled at first and hurriedly addressed him as "Teacher Zhao."

It wasn't an honorific; he was a real teacher: Zhao Guanghua was a disciple of the Guqin educator and performer Mr. Zhang Gong.

Before the Oriental Group was restructured, when the Folk Music Troupe was still called the Beijing Folk Music Troupe, Zhao Guanghua was the principal of the Folk Music Troupe. After the Folk Music Troupe was restructured, he served as the Deputy Department Head of the Training Department, specifically responsible for the training of plucked string instruments.

When it came to the Guqin, he was more professional than anyone else present.

The score had just been handed to him, and before Lin Sicheng could even open his mouth, Zhao Guanghua let out an "Eh," and looked him up and down: "You composed this?" Lin Sicheng nodded.

"You know the zhazheng, and also the thirteen-string?"

Lin Sicheng nodded again: Of course.

If he didn't know, he couldn't have annotated the techniques to such a detailed degree.

Zhao Guanghua pointed to the main melody: "And this?"

Lin Sicheng took a look: "I know a little bit about this too."

Zhao Guanghua was stunned: That's rare?

He could count on his fingers the people who dared to say they knew a little bit about the Five-String Pipa. Of course, he was one of them.

But it was limited to the level of "knowing a little bit," far from being proficient.

So, the question arose: without reaching the level of proficiency, who would dare to make the Five-String Pipa the main melody of a dance piece, and with such a heavy share?

Let's count: eighteen musical sections, and the main melody accounted for sixteen; it could be said to run from the beginning to the end.

However, after a moment of suspicion, Zhao Guanghua did not ask further and took the Thirteen-string Zheng from the hands of the zheng player.

After sitting down, he looked at the Thirteen-string Zheng part in front of him, then looked at the pipa part to the side, and the corners of his mouth could not help but twitch: it had been altered into something neither fish nor fowl, unrecognizable, and it would have been better not to alter it at all.

Sighing, Zhao Guanghua removed the part and requested a full score.

Everyone took their places, including the band, the actors, and the cameramen.

Only the Five-String Pipa player remained: she felt that she was the prisoner about to be dragged to the guillotine, the one to be executed under the gaze of the masses. Being beheaded was not scary; what was scary was the moment before being beheaded.

Involuntarily, her face turned pale, and her hands began to shake. Even her entire body started to tremble.

Xiao Yinan was stunned for a moment: she had been preoccupied with finding a musician proficient in the Five-String Pipa, but had neglected the musician's ability to handle pressure on the spot. No need to guess: in her current situation, she would only play worse than before, and it was even possible she might snap a string.

But this was not the pipa player's fault: knowing that she was about to play a piece of crap, and in front of so many peers and so many leaders, anyone would be nervous.

Xiao Yinan sighed, beckoned to Liu Hao, and prepared to call for someone else.

But before she could speak, Lin Sicheng stood up and walked to the side of the pipa player.

With a smile on his face, his voice was very gentle: "Teacher Zhou, let me try!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Could Lin Sicheng play?

Of course he could play; all morning, he had been plucking the pipa while composing the score, and the instrument was still sitting right there.

Although he used a Four-String Pipa when composing, he must understand the five-string version, otherwise how could the score have been composed?

While secretly pondering, the pipa player smiled apologetically and stood up.

Not daring to crowd near the leaders, the two of them consciously retreated to the corner of the Bian Dao Shi.

Lin Sicheng picked up the pipa and adjusted the strings slightly.

Then, he nodded gently.

The fangxiang player raised the Copper Hammer and struck down.

"Dang," the bell sound was deep and resonant, echoing throughout the venue.

Subsequently, the Zhazheng, chiba, Four-String Pipa, louhou, Flute, sheng, Twenty-One String Guqin, and Small Drum sounded one after another.

Then, it was the Thirteen-string Zheng; the moment the zheng strings rang out, everyone's eyes lit up: one knows if an expert is genuine the moment they make a move.

When this section was played before, the zheng sound felt coarse, muddy, and out of place.

But with Zhao Guanghua, it was like Wind through the corridor, extremely fluid.

Correspondingly, the sound effect of the entire harmony section immediately jumped up a level.

Suddenly, more than a dozen pairs of eyes stared straight at Lin Sicheng: after the harmony of the Thirteen-string Zheng, it was the main melody.

They knew Lin Sicheng would definitely play better than the previous musician, but they didn't know how much better...

While they were secretly pondering, Lin Sicheng pressed the frets with his left hand and plucked the strings with his right.

It was impossibly fast; it felt as if his fingers had left afterimages, and with a "su" sound, four strings were twisted together: like a single rope, you in me, and me in you.

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng suddenly released, and the pipa emitted a "zheng" sound.

The pipa player seemed stunned: it was clearly the same hands, the same five fingers, so why could Lin Sicheng twist four strings at once, while she couldn't even manage three?

And this sound.

Why, when hearing "Ambush from Ten Sides" or "Farewell My Concubine," does one immediately associate it with "golden spears and iron horses" or "a forest of spears and a rain of arrows"? The reason lies in the Twisting Strings: the sound is like a thunderbolt, filled with murderous intent.

But when Lin Sicheng played it, one couldn't hear a shred of killing intent; instead, it was ethereal, pure, mellow, and distant?

But immediately, the pipa player realized: this was only the beginning.

After the Twisting Strings came the Wheel Fingering: Lin Sicheng showed her how to play a gradient of ten notes per second while rapidly changing frets. The tone was crisp and pleasant, each note full yet distinct. Subconsciously, the pipa player recalled that line of Bai Juyi's poem: large pearls and small pearls falling onto a jade plate...

After Twisting Strings came Wheel Fingering, after Wheel Fingering came Pushing Tone, and then the Pushing Tone.

When she saw Lin Sicheng pushing the strings with his little finger, clearly articulating the three neutral tones of 3, 4, and 5, the pipa player's eyes nearly popped out. The Thirteen-string Zheng player didn't understand as much as she did, but he knew how to watch, and even better, how to listen.

He felt that this move by Lin Sicheng was extraordinary, and he squinted his eyes: "Teacher Zhou, what technique is this?"

There was no response the first time, and after being called two more times, the pipa player finally came back to her senses.

She sighed despondently, a deep sense of powerlessness rising in her heart: "Thirty-Five Cent Pushing Tone."

The zheng player was stunned for a moment: he knew Pushing Tone; it was a basic technique of the pipa: changing the pitch by moving the pressing finger laterally across the fret/phase to alter the vibrating length of the string.

He also knew cents: one cent is approximately one two-hundredth of a musical scale.

But what the hell was a Thirty-Five Cent Pushing Tone?

"Is it very difficult?"

Difficult? It was more than just difficult.

This technique required a precision of 0.1 millimeters for string displacement. That is about one-tenth the thickness of a fingernail; you tell me if it's difficult? The zheng player was stunned for a long time, his face full of disbelief.

"What about the Twisting Strings? Four strings twisted together, why can't I hear a single bit of that fierce, cold feeling?"

Just like the Four-String Pipa, whenever strings are twisted, it is inevitably like a cold blade leaving its sheath, with the force of a thunderbolt.

But what Lin Sicheng played was like warm jade emitting mist, clear and supple?

The pipa player thought for a long time: "The four-string is steel, the five-string is silk."

The zheng player was stunned: looking at her as if to say, don't try to fool me: Zhou Mei, what nonsense are you spouting?

That was definitely the main reason, and there were other reasons, but the pipa player didn't know how to explain them.

"Then what about the Wheel Fingering? How did he do it? The ten notes sound almost simultaneously, yet they can decay asynchronously?"

And the Overtone is so wide, so expansive, just like ripples spreading, one circle following another?

The pipa player thought for a good while: "Silk, five strings!"

The zheng player twisted his face: Zhou Mei, I may not know as much as you, but I'm not ignorant.

The pipa player sighed: those were indeed the two main reasons, but there were many others: the vibration base, resonance characteristics, vocal noise, and the dimension of the lingering sound.

It was indeed a bit perfunctory, but if she wanted to explain it clearly, it would take at least two lessons.

She shook her head: "Teacher Sun, Editor-in-Chief Xiao is glaring at us, stop talking!"

That's impossible, right?

They were over ten meters away, and music was playing in the venue; how could she have heard that?

While suspicious, the zither player took a peek, then shrank her neck back: Editor-in-Chief Xiao, was she really glaring?

In fact, it was a matter of perspective: Xiao Yinan was indeed glaring, but she was not glaring at them; she was extremely shocked.

She had never imagined that Lin Sicheng's pipa playing could be this good.

If she had to make a comparison, one phrase could describe it: a world of difference.

But it was not just a matter of how many times better Lin Sicheng played than the pipa player, but the overall effect presented by the Five-String Pipa: clear, unique, yet natural to the extreme.

At the very beginning, amidst the harmony of the various instruments, the sound of the pipa was like ink dropped into water: incomparably conspicuous, incomparably unique. But subsequently, layer upon layer of Rendering, layer upon layer of assimilation, eventually turned all the water into the same color as itself.

And it was extremely natural, like water and milk blending together, silent and soundless.

Consequently, it was like a monarch arriving at the palace, with all officials bowing in praise: the melody's primary and secondary parts were distinct, orderly, harmonious, and seamless.

She did not know if it was an illusion, but Xiao Yinan felt: was the legendary "Liu Yao" piece supposed to be like this in the first place?

To borrow a phrase from Editor-in-Chief Lan: it turns even after three rounds of accompaniment...