svetikya Chapter 205 A Piano Piece That Vibrates Through the Drums
Chapter 205 A Piano Piece That Vibrates Through the Drums
During the afternoon club activities, Lin Yan followed the schedule and found the piano classroom located in a corner of the art building. Several upright pianos were placed in the classroom, and the air was filled with the faint scent of wood and old paper.
The piano teacher was a woman named [name omitted]. She looked to be about fifty years old, slender, wearing a well-fitting dark dress, and her grey-gold hair was neatly styled in a bun at the back of her head. A gentle smile habitually played on her lips, but her blue eyes, peering through her gold-rimmed glasses, were sharp, revealing both the rigor of an artist and the authority of a teacher.
"You're a new student, Lin Yan, right?" Ms. Green's voice, like her personality, was gentle, yet carried an undeniable air of authority. "Welcome to the piano class. My name is Eleanor Green, you can call me Ms. Green. Please take a seat at piano number three."
Lin Yan sat down as instructed. Ms. Green walked over to him and first corrected his posture: "Straighten your back, but don't be stiff. Let your arms hang naturally, relax your wrists, and keep them parallel to the keys." She demonstrated herself, her fingers lightly resting on the keys, forming an elegant arch.
"Learning piano requires a solid foundation. Just like building a house, if the foundation is not solid, nothing else matters." She began to explain the most basic knowledge of the staff notation: treble clef, bass clef, note values... Lin Yan listened very "attentively," nodding from time to time, and asking one or two common questions when appropriate, such as why this note is drawn as solid, or what that symbol represents.
With his Golden Core level spiritual strength and photographic memory, he had already thoroughly grasped this information after hearing it the first time, and could even apply it to other situations.
Next, Ms. Green focused on instructing him on his hand posture. "Your fingers should be naturally curved, like holding an egg, with your fingertips touching the keys vertically. See, like this..." She patiently corrected some minor deviations Lin Yan made, "Your wrist should be steady, and the power should flow from your shoulder to your fingertips, not just rely on the power of your fingers themselves."
She had Lin Yan do some basic, silent finger exercises on the piano keys, emphasizing the feeling of finger independence and support. Throughout the process, Ms. Green was extremely patient, demanding but not harsh. She was quite satisfied with Lin Yan's "comprehension" and "focus."
At the end of the lesson, Ms. Green took a prepared slip of paper from the podium and handed it to Lin Yan.
"Lin, you have a good ear for music and a good understanding. But to truly learn the piano well, class time alone is far from enough. Here is a reading list I've prepared for you. I hope you prepare it as soon as possible; we'll start using it in the next lesson."
The note had several book titles clearly marked:
1. John Thompson's Easiest Piano Course
2. *Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist*
3. *Beyer: Elementary Method for the Piano*
4. Czerny: 100 Progressive Studies, Op. 599
5. Bach: Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach - Selections
"These are the most important textbooks for building a foundation, and you should be able to find them in bookstores," Ms. Green added.
"Thank you, Ms. Green. I'll get ready as soon as possible." Lin Yan accepted the book list and thanked her politely. After school, he really needed to go to the bookstore to buy these "beginner essentials." He knew that with his learning ability, it would probably only take him a few days to master these basic contents.
Lin Yan spread out the piano textbooks he had bought in the practice room. With his powerful spiritual sense and physical control, reading music and moving his fingers was almost no problem. He could play simple pieces from John Thompson's and Beyer's works with astonishing accuracy after reading them only once.
However, the problem was immediately exposed. The good news was that the piece wasn't difficult; the bad news was that his touch was completely wrong. Because his fine control over his physical strength was still at the level of "body tempering," he subconsciously used the force he used to strike demonic beasts and practice his fists and feet on playing the piano. Each time he placed a finger, he lifted it too high, and the force was too violent and direct.
"Bang! Bang! Clang—!"
The high-quality Steinway grand piano, amplified by its enormous resonating chamber, emitted a harsh, piercing roar that was less like music and more like noise. Little Qi, who had been dozing nearby, was startled by the sound, whimpering twice in dissatisfaction and covering her ears with her little paws. "Brother, what are you hammering?"
The next day during the piano lesson, when Lin Yan played Beyer's 17th music with that same "bone-pounding" force again, Mrs. Green's brows furrowed tightly. She raised her hand and gently pressed down on Lin Yan's fingers, which were about to rise high again.
"Stop, Lin." Her voice remained gentle, but carried an undeniable seriousness. "You are playing music, not hammering nails. The piano keys are not enemy heads; they require 'touching' and 'guiding,' not 'bumping.'"
She asked Lin Yan to stand aside and sat down on the piano bench. She didn't play immediately, but sat quietly for a moment, adjusting her breathing, as if gathering some kind of emotion. Then, she gently placed her hands on the keys and began her demonstration using the same melody that Lin Yan had just played.
A miracle happened.
The same notes, flowing from Ms. Green's fingertips, became entirely different. The sound was no longer harsh and granular, but rounded, warm, and elastic. The melody flowed smoothly and sang, as if whispering, carrying a tranquil and joyful mood. She deliberately slowed down, allowing Lin Yan to clearly see her finger movements—fingers naturally resting on the keys, driven by the natural transfer of weight from her wrist and arm, with a subtle "grip" and "pause" at the moment of touch, rather than a rough slam and bounce.
"Did you hear the difference, Lin?" She stopped playing and looked at Lin Yan. "Timbre. The soul of the piano lies in timbre, and timbre originates from the touch. Your power shouldn't be external, abrupt violence, but rather internal, controllable, and flowing energy. Try to imagine your fingers as soft hammerheads, wrapped in velvet, to 'caress' out sound, rather than 'strike' out sound."
Next, Ms. Green adjusted her teaching methods to address Lin Yan's exceptional personal strength. Instead of simply asking him to relax, which would be difficult for him, she guided him to apply his powerful control to "contraction" and "fine guidance."
"Lin, I've noticed that your finger strength and independence far exceed those of ordinary people; this is an extremely strong talent. But now, what you need to learn is 'restraint.'" She instructed Lin Yan to place his hands on the piano keys. "Feel the weight of your arm, let it naturally sink to your fingertips, but in this process, use your mind to control it, only allowing the finger that needs to play to 'bear' and release this weight, while the other fingers remain still. Your wrist should be like a soft spring, not a rigid fulcrum."
She designed a special exercise: to play a single note at an extremely slow speed, requiring Lin Yan to concentrate all her attention on listening to and controlling the volume and quality of each note, with the goal of making each note sound as smooth and non-harsh as she demonstrated.
At first, Lin Yan found it very difficult to adapt. For him, controlling the force of 180,000 jin to unleash a powerful attack was one thing, but controlling a fraction of an ounce of force to gently touch it was quite another; the latter required even more extreme micro-management. But he was Lin Yan, a cultivator, and what he had in abundance was focus and perseverance.
He cleared his mind of all distractions, immersing himself completely in the precise perception of the coordinated control of his fingers, wrists, and even the strength of his entire body. Once, twice, ten times… he kept trying, adjusting, and listening.
Gradually, the harsh, jarring "bang! bang!" sounds began to soften and become somewhat more resonant. While still far from pleasant, they were at least no longer unbearable.
In this process, a wonderful change occurred. When he stopped viewing playing the piano as a mere "task" or "technique exercise" and began to listen attentively and "control" the timbre of each note, he vaguely touched upon something behind the music for the first time.
Those seemingly monotonous arrangements of notes seemed to begin to carry a certain emotion—a gentle touch brought tranquility, a slightly stronger touch expressed affirmation, and coherent musical phrases seemed to be telling a story… He began to understand why the same musical score could be given completely different lives in the hands of different people.
After practicing for an hour straight, he was finally able to play a simple Czerny etude at a steady, not too unpleasant volume. He let out a long sigh of relief, and even beads of sweat appeared on his forehead—this was more exhausting than fighting a Foundation Establishment stage demon beast.
But when he looked up at Ms. Green, who had been patiently standing by his side, a new light shone in his eyes. It wasn't just about completing the task; it was more like the joy of discovering a new continent.
"Ms. Green," he said sincerely, "I think I'm starting to understand a little bit what 'singing tone' is. It's difficult, but... very interesting."
Ms. Green looked at this gifted yet hardworking student, and saw the transformation in his eyes from pure technical imitation to the initial exploration of emotional expression. A genuine smile of satisfaction appeared on her face.
"Very good, Lin. Remember this feeling. Technique is the servant, music is the master. You've already begun to knock on the door."