Chapter 6: Faster 6
After entering the practice room I glanced around and inside the small room, there was a piano. Up to here was something I was familiar with and was a place that I had been pretty much living in, for the past month.
The only difference would perhaps be the table placed over there as well as the computer on top of it.
Tilting my head, I asked.
“There’s a computer here?”
“A few of the rooms are like that. Practice rooms starting with C are all reserved for the composing department.”
“Ohh…”
As expected of the composing department, they even had computers. Naturally throwing the bag on top of the desk and sitting down, Yu Minji spun the chair around once and grinned.
“Sit. I’ll explain it to you.”
“Okay.”
While pulling one of the distant chairs closer, I thought.
Yu Minji-sunbae.
I could guess after seeing her looking for me in the classroom but she was quite passionate herself. After all, when I asked, ‘Do it right now?’ she gave a smile before heading straight to the practice room and said she would explain about composing as soon as we sat down.
For me, this was good, since practising was a lot better than playing around.
Shrugging my shoulders, I sat down on the chair while Yu Minji had already started opening and looking for things on the computer. She turned the computer on, opened some apps and then took out a rectangular pad from the bag before connecting it to the computer.
“What is that?”
“You’ll see in a bit.”
When Yu Minji touched the pad several times, a stave appeared on the screen. There were five black lines on top of a white page and when Yu Minji wrote notes in between those lines, they appeared immediately on the staves.
Quarter notes, eighth notes, slurs and tuplets…
It was interesting to see the staves being filled up together with the movement of the digital pen. And with the press of the play button, it started playing.
“Oohh…”
“Well, it’s like this pretty much. During the admission tests we had to draw it by hand but these days, they’re all done on computers.”
Seeing the nonchalant Yu Minji, I was slightly baffled.
Wow that was modern. I somewhat thought that classic would have no relations to things like this, but they had been composing songs without a pencil and paper all this time? With an interested gaze, I was looking at the staves that had appeared on the pad when Yu Minji suddenly grinned.
“Cute.”
After tapping on my head for no reason, she spun her chair around another time.
“So, you wanted to learn about composing right? You learned Harmonic studies already so you should know about the basics… ah did you skip through them since you’re an opera student?”
“…No.”
She didn’t seem to believe it even after my response and just turned her head away.
“…”
It was heart wrenching that the perspective on the opera department was bad but I didn’t try to adjust it. Indeed in the opera department there were students like Lee Suh-ah who studied hard, as well as me. Han Dasom was quite enthusiastic as well.
However, there were kids like our Jusup who only sang.
Since opera singers were fundamentally executants that played only one melody, it was also a fact that they weren’t as interested in Harmonic studies as other instruments.
…While I was giving several excused in my head, Yu Minji continued her explanation.
“Well, it doesn’t matter even if you don’t know. You still know what Harmonic studies are about right?”
“…Isn’t it a study on harmony and chords?”
“Right, harmony. Literally it’s about sounds being in harmony. What happens when sounds are in harmony; they are nice to listen to. Therefore, for us composers whose aim is to create nice songs to listen to, Harmonic studies are that important. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
After running several notes in harmony through the program, Yu Minji lightly placed the pen down.
“Composing… is similar to joining lego blocks. You take an A harmony block and attach it to the B harmony block. Just like how you can make spectacular dinosaurs by adding several of those rectangular blocks, it is our job to add these single-coloured chords into colourful songs. Any questions so far?”
As I watched Yu Minji spin around the chair comfortably with her legs apart, I thought.
Mhmm… so it’s like this.
To compose, you first need to have mastered Harmonic studies, and have a good skill to be able to attach lego blocks in a beautiful manner. In other words, to be able to tell which shape was the prettiest, you needed discerning eyes, or rather good ears.
…So this upperclassman who was the top student of the composing department had all that huh.
Seeing me who was in admiration, Yu Minji smiled like she was looking at a cute junior and brought out a file from the computer.
“Now, let’s stop the theories there and go over to the pracs straight away. This prototype was something I made casually after listening to your song. Do you want to hear it?”
“Yes.”
Along with a click, I could hear the soft accompaniment of the piano as a sorrowful melody flowed above the slow accompaniment.
Hmm, a minor, with a dark atmosphere. The rapidly falling arpeggio straight after the introduction gave off an urgent feeling. From then, there was a strange sense of rhythm being felt.
Iya, that’s what it was huh? Feeling admiration, I opened my mouth.
“Ohh, the introduction was an offbeat huh? Like ‘Fur elise’, the rhythm is confusing and is interesting.”
Twitching her eyebrows, she replied.
“It’s boring to just start normally, so I added it in there.”
Indeed, after having it like that, it felt like the motif coming out later down the track was made clearer. It’s possible to have conversations like this when the composer’s right next to you huh.
Being somewhat excited, I started talking on and on.
“Swapping the sounds here seems to give off a big twist and I like it.”
“You do?”
“Woah… although it is going up, isn’t the jump too big? I think it hit a D5 just then?
“…Un?”
“In this part, it’s jumping from tonic to dominant so shouldn’t there be subdominant in the middle?”
“…That’s because it’s still a prototype.”
“I see.”
Seeing me nod, Yu Minji’s expression became blank.
“…You really studied Harmonic studies huh.”
Would I lie about something like that? Feeling dumbfounded, I replied.
“I said that just then though…”
“How much would a freshman in the opera department learn?”
“…”
That was true too. While I was scratching my head in slight embarrassment, Yu Minji sparkled her eyes and opened her mouth.
“Then what do you think about this development?”
She then immediately started printing out the music sheet, and her writing speed seemed to be even faster than my reading speed. Slowly, I etched the notes into my brain and played it.
‘Mhmm…’
It was fast and passionate, and high. The melody that had been storming away with passion hit the summit and gradually sunk down. After that, the lyrical melody continued… but that wasn’t the important part.
With a sullen face I quickly stopped the song in my head and tapped the shoulder of Yu Minji who had been writing away in full concentration.
“Sunbae.”
“…”
“Sunbae!”
“Un?”
Finally coming to herself, she stared towards me.
“The song’s good. It’s good but…”
“But?”
“This is too high.”
When I pointed at the staves, a beansprout that had shot all the way up to E5 was visible.
“…How would I even sing E5.”
I can’t even sing properly with C5 and yet 2 notes higher than that… I wasn’t sure how many people would be able to sing that with a male throat. Yu Minji who had unknowingly gone back to her relaxed appearance tilted her head.
“Ah, tenors can’t go up this high?”
“I need to cut my manhood off to reach that high.”
“Then do it.”
“…”
Is she for real?
After a glaring contest, I opened my mouth.
“How about we just add a soprano here?”
“Change it to a duet?”
“Yes.”
Yu Minji gave a grin.
“Is it that easy to put a voice part in? Another voice part coming in means we need to change the harmony from scratch, and it’s not just another melody being added. Sing with a falsetto or something. Don’t say nonsen…”
“If we sing in a falsetto we’ll be losing all the vigour though?”
“…”
She closed her mouth.
Right, I wasn’t a professional countertenor and was just mimicking it so how would I sing opera songs with a falsetto? Staring at Yu Minji in thought, a question was formed in my mind.
“Can’t we just change it to a duet?”
“I’m telling you, it’s not that easy.”
Un? Isn’t it? It was similar to a duet part in Manon Lescaut so can’t we take a bit from there and add it in? While thinking all that, I suddenly thought of how Yu Minji was still only a second-grade high schooler and realising that she might not even know of this song, I nodded and reached out with my hand.
“Something popped up in my head, can I try?”
“…Okay?”
Yu Minji passed the pen over with a blank expression and after receiving the pen, I stood in front of the computer. A music sheet that had already been filled could be seen with one accompaniment and one tenor.
“…”
At a glance, it seemed like no holes could possibly be made in this perfect composition. It was the accumulation of chords which Yu Minji, the best composer of the second grade had built up so it wasn’t something that could be shaken by someone like me who had never learned about composing.
But if we were to change the accompaniment slightly…
“Uh?”
Yu Minji’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
She seemed to have realised it.
It was as expected of the top of the second grade’s composing department, as she could tell from just a few changes in notes. The only thing she was lacking was experience.
After watching me do that, she slowly opened her mouth.
“…This is that Puccini’s thing right?”
“Yes. I referenced Manon Lescaut a bit.”
“I didn’t think of that…”
It was unclear whether her statement was a lamentation or of admiration but I scratched my hair as I stared at her. Rather than saying she couldn’t think of it, it was more correct to say that the world of classic was too large for a second-grade high schooler to understand everything of.
She was just lacking experience in other words.
I quickly moved the pen and filled in the notes.
The melody that was too high was given to the soprano while some of it was broken up to give the tenor some parts, with choruses in the middle. While I was fixing the music sheet, the pen slipped from my hand due to the sweat filling my palm.
“Huu…”
This time, I held it tighter and when I raised my head after some more hard work,
A finished music sheet was right before me.
“Is that okay?”
“…”
Together with Yu Minji, I read through the sheet silently.
Mhmm…
Certainly, because I was a beginner, it felt a lot awkward. There were some parts where the progress seemed forced due to just sticking it there and I could also see segments that ended in an awkward note.
But there weren’t any parts that made no sense harmonically so… wouldn’t it be better after Yu Minji polished it up a bit? I reflected on it and was nodding when Yu Minji turned her eyes towards me.
“Hey…”
“Sorry?”
Ah, was I too rude? Thinking that I pulled my head back when Yu Minji tapped on it a bit before patting it.
“You’re quite good. You sure you’ve never learned composing before?”
“No way, I was just copying from other songs.”
“You didn’t copy – you were just referencing from it and they’re not even that similar either. That’s what’s called skill.”
Uh… it was a bit strange hearing that from her. Rather than someone like me who just thought of a similar song before taking it, isn’t Yu Minji who had written that melody on the spot the real skilled person?
Since it would be weird for me to bring it up, I quickly changed the topic.
“Ah right. Don’t we have to find a soprano now?”
Folding her arms, Yu Minji raised her head a bit.
“Right, but the pitch is a bit low and has to be dramatic so… it would be good if there was a mezzo-soprano but it’s quite a rare voice type so… is there perhaps one from the freshmen?”
Blinking my eyes, I replied.
“A mezzo-soprano?”
*
Kim Sukwon smacked the door open.
Within the room of the club, [Cantabile], one could see several students here and there. After glancing over them, Kim Sukwon walked in large strides until he was standing at the very front.
“Our freshmen juniors. I have something to say, can you guys come here for a second?”
“Yes sunbae.”
Glancing at the faces of the freshmen students that came up, he opened his mouth.
“As you all know, after around a month, the Improvement Concert of the composing department begins. So, the sunbaes of the composing department in [Cantabile] are in need of some performers and…”
“…”
The freshmen students of the musical club, [Cantabile] all glanced around with deep breaths. Just from hearing up to there, they could guess what he was about to say.
He must be looking for performers who could volunteer for free and since it wasn’t the first time, it was obvious that would be the case. And naturally, Kim Sukwon did not betray their assumptions.
“As you guys know, we, the composers need time to compose songs and therefore we have everyone presenting their songs towards the end of the term in a large batch and thus, it’s hard for us to find performers.”
“…”
“You guys, as juniors of the same club can help your upperclassmen up a bit right? You know how important the Improvement Concert is to the final marks yeah?”
“Yes.”
With a satisfied smile, Kim Sukwon glanced around. Let’s see, the second and third grade composers including himself under the Cantabile were 3 people and since Kim Sukwon already had Kim Wuju, two or so more performers should be enough.
Who could obstruct that ‘Yu Minji’ quite well… After staring around at the faces, he made a bright smile.
“Lee Suh-ah? Can you help perhaps?”
“Sorry but I have a concour during that time.”
“Ah, right…”
He needed a soprano but that was quite unfortunate. Isn’t Lee Suh-ah the only useful soprano amongst the freshmen…
‘Ah, there was one more decent one.’
Kim Sukwon fixed his gaze at Song Mirae nearby.
“Mirae, you don’t have any concours right?”
“Sorry? I don’t but…”
“Then please think about it. Every single one of these performances add up to your experiences. And you over there, are you okay? You are? Good.”
After nodding his head once, Kim Sukwon made a smile. Yu Minji. There were lots of rumours that she had gone to the freshmen classroom just then – she perhaps started composing.
“Hmm…”
Touching his chin, he thought of what had happened before. Jo Yunjae singing Nessun Dorma in front of the Main Building… wasn’t something to be worried about. Just in case, he had asked other freshmen kids and had received a definite reply that Jo Yunjae wasn’t that good.
Besides, the only performer Yu Minji has found seems to be one tenor so…
‘No matter how small the scale is, she would need at least one accompanist. When is she planning to finish looking for performers?’
Shrugging his shoulders, Kim Sukwon thought.
Oh well.
In the end, the results will be made clear after a month on the stage. After staring at Kim Wuju for no reason, Kim Sukwon let out a grin.