A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 47. Blue Night (5)

 

“I want to play the synthesizer!”

 

“Really?”

 

At my words, Father somehow had an excited expression on his face.

 

He quietly gripped the mouse and moved it around here and there.

 

After touching various parts of the music program screen, another instrument appeared.

 

As soon as I saw the instrument that looked no different from a keyboard, I could tell.

 

‘A synthesizer?’

 

It was no different from Father’s electronic piano.

 

An instrument with keys and various buttons attached above them.

 

But if there was a difference, it was that there were a lot more buttons.

 

“Now, you’re going to play. But before that! There’s something we need to do, what do you think it is?”

 

“Uh… um…?”

 

“If you get it right, Dad will give you a present.”

 

“Mmmmm!!!”

 

I was flustered by the sudden question, but if there’s a present involved, that’s different.

 

I made my brain work as fast as possible.

 

‘What do I need to do?’

 

What’s the most important thing right now?

 

It wasn’t rhythm, and it wasn’t melody either.

 

Those were already completed.

 

Then is there something needed when playing the synthesizer?

 

‘Playing in time? That’s the most basic… Huh?’

 

Timing.

 

Timing was the most important thing in all performances.

 

If the timing of the melody and the timing of the rhythm were different, it was nothing more than an uncomfortable performance to listen to.

 

But if the timing matched perfectly?

 

Only then could you start performing.

 

That was what I was missing right now.

 

‘There’s that subtle difference that can’t be caught by feel alone.’

 

I hurriedly told Father what I had figured out.

 

“Timing!”

 

“Right, making the bass… Hm? Timing?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Uh…”

 

It felt like the words ‘couldn’t imagine that’ were written on Father’s face.

 

If I pressed paper against his face, it would probably come out as clearly as a stamped seal.

 

“Hahaha! I never thought of that. Heeseong is right too. Timing is important.”

 

He said that while touching the program once more.

 

After finishing everything in 10 seconds, Father looked at me with a grin.

 

“Now, let me listen to the song my son made. But something will be different. Listen carefully.”

 

“Okay!”

 

As soon as my answer ended, Father pressed the spacebar.

 

The piano sound that had just been recorded was coming from the speakers.

 

And there was another sound.

 

Tick, tock, tick, tock!

 

Four ticking sounds were ringing out.

 

It was just like the sound of a metronome.

 

It was something that had just been invented in my past life and caused a huge sensation among composers.

 

‘Beethoven loved it tremendously. Though I only saw one once.’

 

It was so expensive that in the past, I couldn’t even dream of it.

 

With my already meager income, spending it on a metronome?

 

That would have been crazy.

 

No matter how crazy I was about music, I didn’t have that kind of courage.

 

‘What good is music if you can’t survive right now? You need a full belly to make music.’

 

Unaware of my thoughts, the metronome continued making its ticking sound.

 

I found myself nodding my head to that sound playing perfectly in time with the beat.

 

But it was somehow off from the piano melody I had just played.

 

It was off by half a half-beat.

 

“Can you tell what’s wrong?”

 

“The timing doesn’t match!”

 

“You’re saying what Dad was about to say. That’s right, the sound you’re hearing now is called a ‘metronome.'”

 

“I see.”

 

Since I already knew about it, I couldn’t make a surprised expression.

 

Still, since Father was teaching me, I should show that I learned something.

 

Satisfied with my reaction, Father continued with a grin.

 

“Then, do you understand the function of a metronome?”

 

“It’s for keeping time!”

 

“That’s right. A metronome is essential for composing. What do you think the reason is?”

 

It’s needed for keeping time.

 

This was a very basic answer.

 

I began to think more seriously about Father’s question.

 

‘Timing represents the feel of a song. But what if that timing is off?’

 

The structure collapses.

 

It was easy to think of it like a bridge.

 

To support a bridge, there needed to be supports to bear the load.

 

But what if one of the supports disappeared or broke?

 

At that moment, the bridge would collapse.

 

It was the same with songs.

 

“The song gets ruined!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because if the timing is different from other instruments, it sounds weird. That’s why it gets ruined.”

 

Instead of answering, Father raised his hand.

 

Then he gently placed it on my head and said.

 

“Even though you’re my son, you’re just too smart. What Heeseong said is the correct answer.”

 

“Hehe.”

 

“So from now on, when you compose, you always need to set the metronome first, okay? Promise.”

 

“Yes! Promise!”

 

I hooked pinkies with Father as a sign of our promise.

 

He probably doesn’t know that small action means happiness to me.

 

Father released his finger and said.

 

“For city pop, hmm, 95 BPM should work.”

 

“BPM?”

 

“Ah, that refers to the metronome’s timing. What people commonly call tempo refers to this.”

 

Father said that while playing the 95 BPM timing for me.

 

It was definitely slower than the metronome timing I had heard earlier.

 

It felt calm yet somehow lively.

 

It was exactly the feeling I wanted.

 

“Will this work?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Now that I had matched the beat, it was time to start composing in earnest.

 

“Should I try what I was going to say earlier before Heeseong answered so cleverly?”

 

“Um, bass, right?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

What is bass?

 

Ultimately, it means playing the root notes.

 

The fundamental sound that becomes the foundation of a song.

 

Something that gives identity to a song from the low register.

 

That was the role of the root note.

 

Adding bass was the same principle as giving identity to a song.

 

“You said you wanted to play the synthesizer, right?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Then, now you have to choose. Father said he’d give you a present, right?”

 

“…Huh?”

 

As soon as Father finished speaking, the program screen changed.

 

There were pictures of countless instruments drawn there.

 

Father clicked on the picture of a synthesizer among them.

 

‘Wow, wow!!!’

 

Countless synthesizers were contained within the program.

 

It looked like a bookshelf laid on its side.

 

Like books lying horizontally from the top, the names of synthesizers were stacked one after another.

 

Words I couldn’t deduce like CS-80 or Odyssey, but I could tell they were all types of synthesizers.

 

So it meant I could use all of those.

 

‘If only I could get that red synthesizer…!’

 

It meant I could play like that too.

 

I had a reason to make the song more perfect.

 

“The most boring time in composing has arrived.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“It’s time to find a synthesizer that suits the song.”

 

Father said that while scrolling the mouse wheel.

 

The stacked synthesizers began moving upward, and new instruments started appearing.

 

But there was no end in sight.

 

There seemed to be easily hundreds of synthesizers.

 

“It’ll be tough, but this kind of effort is what completes a song… Hmm, might this still be too difficult for Heeseong?”

 

Father started to say something but stopped.

 

But his concern couldn’t quite reach my ears.

 

‘You’re saying I can use all of those!’

 

In other words, Father’s computer was a warehouse containing countless instruments.

 

Even if I couldn’t get the feeling of actually playing them.

 

Still, I was happy.

 

Instead of being anxious like in the days when I was poor and could only use one piano, I could use many instruments I wanted.

 

“…Want to listen?”

 

Father asked quietly, and I answered energetically.

 

“Yes!”

 

***

 

‘Hehe, to think he’d enjoy it this much.’

 

Yoon Young-hoon was looking at Heeseong while resting his arm on the desk.

 

His sparkling eyes like stars in the sky and his cheeks red like persimmons told him that Heeseong was excited.

 

If you looked closely, you could even see steam rising from his nose like from a rice cooker.

 

He had often seen Heeseong happy, but he didn’t know he would like it this much.

 

‘I was like this at first too.’

 

The joy of being able to use various instruments.

 

But that joy soon turned into boredom and tedium.

 

He spent time choosing instruments every time, and couldn’t invest time in actually completing songs.

 

But Heeseong was different.

 

He was genuinely choosing instruments, playing them, and gauging whether they fit his song.

 

Boooooom-!!

 

Then a loud sound echoed in the music studio.

 

Heeseong’s eyes had grown wide as if he was also startled.

 

Seeing his son make the same mistake he had made at first, Yoon Young-hoon burst into laughter.

 

“Hahaha!! Heeseong, be careful. Among synths, there are some that get louder when you hold them down.”

 

“I, I didn’t know…”

 

“So just press lightly, and if you think the sound is getting louder, take your hand off right away.”

 

“Yes…”

 

Heeseong said that while calming his startled heart.

 

Young-hoon captured the sight of his son in his eyes.

 

A vivid scene was being stored in his mind like a photograph.

 

‘But he’s not getting bored.’

 

He already knew well that Heeseong was different from ordinary children.

 

That usually sleepy feeling was nowhere to be found now.

 

The child who was a sleepyhead and loved eating had become a completely different child.

 

‘Is it the power of music after all? Or is he a genius?’

 

Yoon Young-hoon thought about his son.

 

His answers about music were more precise than anyone’s.

 

What he said about rhythm earlier was also a completely unexpected answer.

 

So when he taught him about the metronome, he absorbed it quickly.

 

Though saying he absorbed it, it seemed like he already knew it somehow.

 

Overall, Heeseong was genius-level when it came to music.

 

‘Hmm, should I work on the next album together with Heeseong? No.’

 

Right now, helping Heeseong with what he was doing was the priority.

 

‘More importantly, what should I give him as a present?’

 

The promise to give a present if he got the question right was bothering him.

 

It was just something he said casually, but the child’s answer was so satisfying that he wanted to give him something wonderful.

 

Preferably something related to music.

 

“Oh!”

 

While Yoon Young-hoon was lost in thought, Heeseong had finally found it.

 

“Did you find it?”

 

“Yes!”

 

The synthesizer with the feeling he wanted.

 

***

 

The synthesizer in this song was the lights of a car.

 

I wanted to express the slowly turning tires and the sound of cutting through the wind.

 

There was a lot to express, but this was enough for now.

 

There was still plenty of time.

 

Bwaaaang-♪

 

I liked the sound of the synthesizer resonating from the low register.

 

‘Let’s do this.’

 

Father was watching me from the side.

 

He was just smiling quietly as if telling me to try when I was ready.

 

As he said, I first activated the metronome.

 

– Tick-tock tick-tock

 

95 BPM.

 

When I listened to it, it was like the speed of a slightly fast walk.

 

But this wasn’t my footsteps.

 

It was similar to a flowing stream.

 

Baaaam-♬

 

I started pressing the fundamental notes of the song in time with the beat.

 

The lights of cars moving slowly due to traffic reached the stream.

 

Cars honking and urging to go faster, but unable to move forward.

 

Those scenes looked like a painting when viewed from afar.

 

All the people were still, and the flowing stream remained unchanged.

 

But they were definitely moving.

 

‘Cars don’t stop on the road.’

 

Of course, they could stop.

 

If the traffic light was red.

 

The light reflected in the stream was green.

 

The ripples on the surface became more intense.

 

Baaaam-!

 

This time I pressed a little stronger.

 

I couldn’t help but admire the sight of tires kicking off the ground and moving forward.

 

This was a modern city.

 

The towering buildings were nice, and the lights from people’s phones were nice too.

 

But the cars carrying people and bearing all sorts of news were the true landscape of the city.

 

‘The cityscape is determined by its vehicles.’

 

Memories of riding horse-drawn carriages came to mind.

 

Those days when I traveled from this city to that city performing.

 

Even though they were clearly different cities, the emotions I felt were similar.

 

In the end, they were places where people lived.

 

Places where people lived busy lives.

 

But Cheonggyecheon was a place where people gathered to breathe.

 

A place where they dipped their feet in cool water and arranged their hair in the cool breeze.

 

Bam! Baaaaa-!

 

Even when playing root notes, there had to be some variation.

 

If it kept repeating, the song would become boring.

 

I pressed the synthesizer once every time the metronome ticked four times.

 

But not now.

 

Every other time.

 

It was a point to signal that the mood of the song had changed.

 

The flow of a song was bound to change.

 

Even songs that started calm would eventually speed up a little.

 

It couldn’t stay calm forever.

 

The same was true for the flowing stream.

 

The slowly flowing stream would soon hit rocks and break apart.

 

‘But not now.’

 

I hadn’t found the instrument to express that yet.

 

I was disappointed that I couldn’t express what I saw, but it was okay.

 

Buaaaam-♩

 

Heh.

 

I couldn’t help but smile.

 

Who knew that doing composition I loved would make me this happy.

 

I really felt fantastic.

 

“Are you done with the synthesizer?”

 

“I think I need to do more. But I’m finished for now!”

 

Father said.

 

I caught my breath for a moment and fell into thought.

 

The synthesizer’s role was finished.

 

But I thought of other things in between.

 

I wanted to express other lights that couldn’t be expressed with the synthesizer.

 

“Now you want to use other instruments, don’t you?”

 

At Father’s words, I quickly turned my head.

 

He was grinning as if he knew everything.

 

As he said, I wanted to use other instruments now.

 

A lead instrument that could produce many sounds.

 

“Tell me. Dad will help you.”

 

Father said this while stroking my head.

 

His touch was warm and always reassuring.

 

I nodded slightly and said.

 

“Electric guitar…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

But at my answer, Father made a troubled expression.

 

“Dad can’t play guitar…”

 

“You can express it with keyboards!”

 

“Guitar can’t be expressed through programs. Others might not know, but Dad only uses guitar sounds played directly.”

 

“Huh? But you said you can’t play guitar…”

 

“Haha. Right, Dad can’t. But I know someone who plays well.”

 

Father said with a smile.

 

What?

 

Somehow it was an unsettling smile.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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