The Music of an Arts High School Genius Must Be Special - Chapter 187



Only Krnovel

Episode 187. Making the string instruments dance (3)

There are many factors that distinguish classical from jazz, but the difference that stands out most clearly is the beat.

These are the things that people often lump together as groove, feel, and swing.

Unlike classical music, where legato expression is important to smoothly connect the flow of music without breaking it up, jazz allows for free pushing and pulling of beats and is filled with the emotions the performer feels on the spot.

If I nod my head to a certain beat or hum a melody, my playing also matches the beat.

Once the main melody instrument is ready to jump in, the rhythm instrument must faithfully fulfill its supporting role.

In a situation where it is a duet between piano and drums, this is especially true if the drums do not have a solo part.

“Ta, da, da, da, I’ll go at this tempo.”

“No, you don’t have to force yourself to fill it in.”

“When I finish a line of melody and just play the chords, yes, like that.”

“Can you syncopate me? I’ll go with emphasis on the beats one, two, two.”

But because the drums kept trying to do something on their own, I had to stop playing in the middle and scold them.

Although he doesn’t openly challenge the piano like he used to, if you don’t point it out, he will slowly start using flashy techniques.

There is no other music that distributes solo parts to multiple instruments as much as jazz, so if you find it difficult to control your talents, why not just show them off to your heart’s content during a performance?

Just help me now… … I consoled and comforted my drum senior with such earnest feelings.

‘If you do it well, definitely.’

Only after winning the battle of wits, which can be called tuning, could I play a decent performance.

The drums perfectly filled the gaps that a single piano could not cover.

A fleeting moment when only a quiet, almost static, aftertaste dominates, just before the short melody ends and the next phrase begins.

The vibrations created by the alloy of the hi-hat and the plastic of the snare, penetrating through the narrow gap, spread out in all directions, not too thickly, and continued the beat and held the intervals of the music.

That pleasure is… … It is a thrilling sensation that cannot be felt without experiencing it firsthand.

This is why I like concertos and ensembles.

“… … Well done, well, you passed.”

The senior, who stood up and lightly threw the brush on the drum, finished playing with a displeased expression.

There was timid applause from the front row of the classroom, and exaggerated, loud cheers from the third-year seniors from the back row.

“Jaeyoon! Are we in a position to pick and choose people? If Dohyun takes the test, the other kids won’t be able to come because it’ll be burdensome!”

“Oh, well done. What did I say?”

“Oh my, anyway, the kid who’s graduating soon is really grumpy.”

Teacher Lee Bo-ram, who had hit Senior Jae-yoon on the back and thrown him to the back seat, immediately came up to me and spoke.

“Well done, well done. It must have been burdensome for your seniors.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve done a full-blown jazz solo like this, so it felt a little awkward.”

“Well? You did well! It’s not something I should say right now, but while preparing for the performance, wouldn’t it be good to study how to make voicing more colorful and learn a little bit about sight-reading chords? I feel like I went too far with the score this time, don’t you think?”

As I looked at the teacher who was speaking kindly and smiling, I felt quite strange.

It wasn’t just him slamming on the brakes on the car he was driving and crying or him looking depressed about the club going under.

That’s why first impressions are important.

‘This person is a real teacher who teaches piano at our school, but did I take him too lightly? … .’

Since I had never taken a class from Professor Lee Bo-ram, I was just a little confused by her professional side, which I saw for the first time.

Since he was in charge of the jazz club, it was only natural that he had a keen sense for quickly identifying problems even in short performances.

“Let’s work hard together from now on. In our club, only the teacher and Dohyun are piano majors, you know?”

After I smiled bashfully and bumped fists with the teacher, the third-year seniors who had been gathered in the back seats started to rush in.

Some people came up to me and applauded, while others let out loud exclamations as if telling me to listen.

“Ah, it’s really good that you came! Do-hyun.”

“Now that Eun-jin is out, talented people like this are coming in.”

“Do-hyun, that guy earlier, Jae-yoon. That kid wasn’t originally like that, so don’t feel too bad about it.”

“Yes, it’s okay. Of course.”

I quickly nodded my head, unable to hold back laughter at the wave-like antics typical of upperclassmen that came crashing down on me more than anything else.

I think he did this to approach her more casually rather than to intimidate her, but I thought it might be a burdensome atmosphere for other first-year students to deal with.

“But, we also lost a girl last year and we don’t have a pianist. What are we going to do, Do-hyeon?”

“Do you want to come with us? We’ll take good care of you.”

“You guys know it’s graduation soon. It’s the last performance… … Huh?”

“ah!”

As the comments trying to tempt me poured out like a snake climbing over a wall, I heard a metal noise from somewhere nearby.

The owner of that voice was senior Lee Ga-young, and she was looking around with her mouth covered.

“Why Gayoung?”

“Ah, no, senior, hehe… … .”

“Hey, Gayoung. Since you’re so timid, how are you going to do with the performance this year?”

“Iknow, right…….”

She awkwardly laughed it off and turned her head away to hide, while the third-year seniors ignored me and continued teasing me with all sorts of ridiculous jokes.

I looked around in between and spoke calmly.

“I’m sorry, but I already have friends I’m supposed to be playing with. I joined the club because of them. I think I should join the strings group.”

***

“Ah, seniors, I was really scared, but thank goodness.”

“Hehehe, what did Dohyun say earlier, that the bass player does all the music? That’s right, as expected… … .”

On the left are two seniors, including Lee Ga-young, who has a strange laugh.

“I’m really touched that you kept your promise… … .”

“If Dohyun had been taken away from there, it would have been a real problem.”

“I told you I was good at judging people. If it had been another kid, he would have gone straight to the third-year seniors.”

And on the right, four friends playing string instruments are showing a similar reaction to when they shamefully confess that their average busking audience has never exceeded 5 people.

As I looked back and forth between these two groups, I could sense a strange sense of familiarity that I had felt with the rhythm section seniors earlier.

‘Why do these people react so similarly?’

Seniors and friends resemble each other.

It felt like I had to cough to break the awkward air, and the dampness that hung like a smoky fog clung to my lungs like a sticky substance, and that kind of atmosphere was spreading like an epidemic.

‘Is this the DNA of a jazz club?’

If you think about the third-year seniors who were cheerful in a certain sense, it doesn’t seem like that’s necessarily the case, but if that’s the case, is it a characteristic only for the first and second-year students? … .

“As I said before, I joined the club following these friends, so I originally planned to join here.”

“Good, you’ve got a good friend.”

“When you go to the homes of third-year seniors, we’re the center. We have to do well.”

“Yeah, we’ll be third graders soon. Hehe… … .”

“Oh, we’re also second-year students. We should accept juniors.”

It seemed like it would take quite a while to get used to laughing and talking while being stuck between each other’s quiet and giggling.

After dealing with the ambiguous gaze, I thought it would be nice to have some time to get to know each other since it was the first day.

“Before we all practice together, could you play a piece for us? Something like what we practiced in the first semester? I think it would be good for us to know what it feels like for the six of us.”

“Really? Hey guys, do you want to do ‘Misty’?”

“Yes, I like it.”

“Dohyun, do you know Misty?”

“Yeah, I think this is the first time I’ve heard an arrangement with only string instruments.”

Arroll Garner’s Misty is a fairly famous work within the genre.

The original song was a piano solo, but it became famous after vocals were added, and now there are several arranged versions.

This is what jazz is like. Unlike classical music, where the scores are almost fixed, the arrangement and scores are different each time.

“I’ll try, listen.”

The strings and rhythm parts were quickly ready to play.

The overall tuning was done by the drums, and the performance began to follow the beat set by senior Kim Tae-min.

“……how was it?”

“Please listen to me with the understanding that it’s been a while since I’ve played, okay?”

After listening to the entire performance, my impressions were simple.

‘It’s strange.’

It’s not that I can’t do it, but it feels strange for some reason.

First of all, it is a performance with an overall introverted tone. There is little energy to approach the audience with all one’s might.

If you ask if that’s wrong, no. Since it was a ballad-style song, the texture of the sound hidden inside suited it.

‘Still, it’s a shame to choose a song like this for the concert.’

What is the reason that Baek Ji-ho and I were eliminated in the audition for the dormitory performance? Was it because the lyrical song selection was a negative factor in the outdoor performance and on a large stage?

We’re not performing in an alleyway, we’re in the middle of a noisy festival, trying to grab people’s attention…

‘The string instruments lack sexiness.’

When I listened to performances that were not just jazzy but full-fledged jazz pieces, I was able to clearly see where our string instrument friends were lacking.

I think the role of string instruments in jazz is definitely sexiness. String instruments should sound sensual and flirtatious.

It is no exaggeration to say that it symbolizes the power of performance.

Due to the structural characteristics of the instrument, which does not have a fixed pitch, a provocative sound that stimulates people’s hearing by continuously rising and falling is needed.

That sticky image that often comes to mind when you think of the sound of the saxophone.

‘Haven’t you ever heard of jazz violin or anything like that? I don’t think so. Does that mean you lack confidence?’

Confidence… … .

If the incredible feat of an average busking audience of 5 people continues, it is not surprising that confidence is falling.

‘But during the vacation, we performed well in front of dozens of people, right?’

While I was wondering, a conversation scene suddenly appeared in my head.

The sound these six people make brings up a clue that you shouldn’t be introverted.

“Hey, Changyong.”

“huh?”

“When you first introduced your club to me, didn’t you say it was some popular club… and that it would be really fun?”

Lee Chang-yong answered slowly, avoiding eye contact.

“I felt like I had to say it like that so you would come in… … .”

“So you’re saying it was a scam? False advertising?”

“The third-year seniors actually have a lot of friends, so half of them, right?”

I felt empty.

Because of that one line of comment, my first impression of the jazz club wasn’t very good.

“And where is Kim Ga-eul? I didn’t see her earlier.”

“Gaeul left because she didn’t want to please her seniors, but after the first semester ended.”

“… … .”

That was a very Kim Ga-eul-like reason.

Anyway, since Kim Ga-eul would have been in the brass instrument group even if she had been in the club, it didn’t really matter.

“Yep.”

“It definitely feels different when you perform in a wider space.”

As I finished my conversation with Lee Chang-yong, the voices of Park Eun-bin and Lee Ga-young talking tickled my ears.

As if he noticed my gaze, he spoke to me first.

“No, Gayoung unnie asked me a lot of questions about our performance in Jeju Island. She said our chemistry got better.”

“Breath?”

“Yeah, Dohyun, they were already good, but I feel like they’ve become even closer since then… … . I’m on bass, so I can see behind the scenes how they adjust.”

Senior Lee Ga-young smiled broadly, revealing her love for the bass without any filter.

The laughter was so dark and sinister that it made me feel strange every time I heard it.

“Performing in a big venue helped me raise my voice to match the venue, so I guess I gained confidence… … .”

“Confidence.”

“Yeah, I’m jealous. I’m not good at playing just like my senior did earlier… … I’m not good at playing out of the blue. That’s why I majored in double bass.”

I nodded blandly and continued asking my senior questions.

“Oh, so after they performed at the training school once, it feels like they’ve gained some confidence?”

“Yep.”

“It seems like our chemistry has improved, and since it’s an outdoor performance, the overall volume seems to have gotten louder?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Dohyun listens well. Hehe, that’s good.”

I glanced at my watch and muttered the question to myself.

“Teacher Lee Bo-ram hasn’t left work yet, right?”

“maybe……?”

“Didn’t you just go to see your third-year seniors?”

And I formally asked the six people sitting in front of me.

“Can you all wake up about 30 minutes earlier starting tomorrow?”