bayedsolid Chapter 465
Chapter 465
A music album is not just a collection of songs. The tracks contained in a complete music album are all established under a unified concept, so as to interpret the musician's artistic style to the outside world and show his or her own musical talent.
To put it more simply, it means establishing one's own position in the market.
As the first music album in his music career, it is naturally of vital importance. Preparations began in January and it was also one of the main tasks of the studio in the first half of the year.
Lu Qingfeng was responsible for composing the music, and Zhu Zhichang was naturally responsible for other matters.
Although we are in the digital age nowadays and releasing albums is much less troublesome than before, there are still many things to deal with in today's thoroughly commercialized music industry.
This is exactly where the middle-aged agent excels. After all, he has been in this industry for a long time and has abundant resources.
The album was recorded in Lao Jia's recording studio. The owner of the piano store, whom Lu Qingfeng met when he was learning piano in college, is also a well-known music producer.
At first, because the recording studio was too small and the facilities were outdated, Lu Qingfeng planned to find a more formal recording studio.
But I didn’t expect that Lao Jia was also very decisive. He spent a lot of money to upgrade and renovate his recording studio during this period, so there was naturally no need to look for someone else.
Lu Qingfeng also reciprocated by adding his name in the album music producer column. His help was indeed needed in the recording and mixing stages.
The album started recording in bits and pieces at the end of February. Due to the early stages of adjustment, only non-essential tracks were recorded temporarily.
This pure music album titled "Summer" contains a total of twelve songs, ten of which are selected classic songs from previous lives, and the remaining two are original works.
Yes, after acquiring the talent of the Nine-Tailed Fox and continuing to study music in depth, he began to try to use his accumulation to create musical works. This was also the decision he made after talking with Liu Qianya.
Although works that have been proven by the market in previous lives are more likely to succeed, with such talent and such hard work, one still has to make use of it in the end.
Otherwise it would be a waste.
The two songs he recorded these two days were his own original songs.
As I get into the mood, I plan to list the album's title track today.
When he entered the recording studio, Lao Jia and his assistant were there, debugging the equipment. When they saw him and Zhu Zhichang, they greeted them.
"Let's start right away?"
"Ah."
Lu Qingfeng nodded, took off his heavy coat, and walked into the recording studio. A piano was placed against the wall with music on it.
"Let's do a test recording first and see how it feels."
He pressed the call button in the console, and Lao Jia's voice came from inside. Lu Qingfeng made an OK gesture.
After a little preparation, press the keys.
Summer
The title of his first album is based on the theme of summer. The title track he chose is the work of his previous life composer Joe Hisaishi. In China, this pure music track is more commonly known as "Kikujiro's Summer".
The movie whose soundtrack is based on this song is called this name.
This movie was filmed in 1999. Many people have not seen it because it is so old, but the melody of this piano piece is familiar. The cheerful and refreshing prelude makes people think of summer.
Sunshine, cicadas, watermelon, iced drinks...
It has a far wider reach than movies. It may not be the most musical work in Joe Hisaishi's creative career, but it is the most well-known and prominent song. Lu Qingfeng thinks it is very appropriate to use it as a selling point for the first album.
The first four bars are played only by the left hand, but they are the focus of the entire piece and the foundation for creating an atmosphere.
The melody consists of four notes in a group, the first and second notes are played continuously, and the following two, three, and four notes are staccato.
The so-called staccato is a piano playing technique, which is divided into arm staccato, wrist staccato, and finger staccato. Although they are all called staccato, the corresponding scenarios are not the same.
Arm staccato is generally used when the notes are slow in tempo and the melody requires strength and depth; while wrist staccato is used when the notes are faster and pronounced shorter.
"Summer" uses finger staccato, a light, agile and lively playing method, just like the atmosphere of the prelude of the song.
The ten fingers are slender and strong, the nails are trimmed neatly, the translucent piano deck is of uniform thickness, and the surface is smooth and round. They rise and fall continuously on the black and white keys, and pure melodies flow out, creating a pastoral freshness.
From the fourth to the eighth measure, chords played by the right hand are added, with the same light feeling, using the finger staccato technique to maintain the atmosphere that has begun to be created. A cool summer scene is presented, laying the emotional tone for the whole song.
"If he hadn't been practicing at my piano store, I would have thought someone was an idiot if they said they had only studied piano for half a year."
Outside, Lao Jia and Zhu Zhichang said this.
Although I have seen it before and said this several times, I still can't hide the amazement in my heart.
Because we are also musicians, we can understand the magic of it.
"Don't be discouraged. Think about it, he's only nineteen, and you're already over forty. He's not from the same generation as you, so there's no competition. Isn't that a lot more comforting to think about?"
Zhu Zhichang patted his shoulder to comfort him.
"Thank you so much."
Lao Jia rolled his eyes.
The whole song didn't take long, and the first take was quickly recorded. Lu Qingfeng came out, and Lao Jia analyzed the areas that were still lacking together.
"In the eighth bar, the sound is too solid. The force is too heavy when playing, and it's a bit rigid. It doesn't fit the overall feeling. It needs to be changed."
Lao Jia is a real talent as a music producer and he can quickly point out areas that need improvement.
"Also, in the middle and later part, around measure 30, the theme reappears. It should be contrasted with the previous part, and the intensity could be a little stronger."
One person is short-term, two people are long-term.
Although Lu Qingfeng can record alone, he is ultimately limited in discovering problems. Having another person to check for omissions and fill in the gaps can save a lot of mental effort.
Lu Qingfeng nodded and entered the recording studio to record his performance for the second time.
Then listen and re-record, and continue this process until you are satisfied.
Since it was his first album, he wanted it to be perfect.
Today's recording was not finished until the evening.
On the way back, we talked about publicity and cover visual design.
"According to the current progress, the release date has been confirmed as late April. The digital channel will still be Penguin Music, and the physical album license has also been issued. Tomorrow is Saturday, so it's a good time to shoot the cover as well."
Like book publishing, formal physical music albums also need to apply for a distribution number from the National Audio and Video Publishing House. The application period generally takes about a month.
Because of the presence of veteran Zhu Zhichang, many things were done in advance.
Lu Qingfeng felt that it was an extremely correct decision to bring him in to be his agent. Otherwise, if he had done all this work by himself, he would have to take a lot of detours.