Please, come home and practice the piano

Chapter 1384 604 Seriously, class begins!

Chapter 1384, Section 604: Let's get down to business!

After the meal, Li An brought his family to the shop.

With the grading process completed and the start of the new school year approaching, the Fourth Steel Company enjoyed a rare period of leisure.

Wang Meili was scrolling through her phone at the front desk.

Although Haitao and Lao Tang were still editing the summer camp videos in the conference room, they expected to finish them all today.

Mu Xin was studying house renovation issues at the water bar, while Yan Zhen took a plane back to Xishi last night to visit his parents, and it is said that he will also be meeting an online friend.

Xiaoyun took her child to Changbai Mountain early this morning for a three-day summer retreat.

The so-called five-day holiday is just nominal. Anyway, the new semester doesn't start until September 1st, so Ang Lee doesn't care whether everyone is openly or secretly slacking off during this period.

In short, the work plan that Sigang set before the summer vacation has been achieved by everyone, and the revenue has exceeded the expectation by 25.7%.

Speaking of which, Ang Lee didn't actually spend many days in the store this summer, except for attending classes and meetings.

"What are you looking at, sis? Stop making all that noise."

Li An came to the front desk and greeted Wang Meili.

Wang Meili just came across an interesting video: an old foreign man assembled a drum set out of discarded basins and buckets on the street and played it with great skill.

"Xiao Li, what do you think of this skill level?"

Ang Lee took the phone, glanced at it, and commented, "You can't reach this level without fifty years of experience."

Upon hearing "fifty years," Wang Meili shook her head: "Professional, of course."

Ang Lee: "Absolutely. With that level of skill, he would definitely be the principal percussionist in an orchestra."

Just then, Wang Xiaohu came over and said, "Let me see!"

Chen Xuan and Mu Xin had already gotten together.

Mu Xin created a group chat yesterday and kept asking Li An and Chen Xuan for advice on home renovation.

Mr. Tang's parents will be coming over the day after tomorrow at noon. If all goes well, the two of them will soon have their own little home in Chengdu.

Mu Xin's biggest headache right now is how to pretend.

Ang Lee has seen the house; it's decorated quite well and the style isn't outdated. It's a real shame to demolish it all.

One of the reasons Mu Xin Lao Tang decided to buy this house was that it would save him the cost of renovation.

But then a problem arises: even if you don't reinstall, some partial renovations are still necessary.

For example, the restroom.

Compared to a complete renovation, partial renovation is actually more troublesome.

Mu Xin wanted to maintain the original style while also incorporating some of her own ideas.

This back-and-forth led to various problems.

"What are your thoughts, Lao Tang?" Chen Xuan asked.

Mu Xin chuckled: "Him? He's been using editing videos as an excuse to avoid the issue since last night."

Chen Xuan: "Huh?"

Mu Xin: "Haven't you noticed that he hasn't said much in the group chat yet?"

Chen Xuan: "I thought you two were discussing it together."

Mu Xin: "He doesn't care at all. When you ask him, he just says, 'It's your decision. Do whatever you want. I will absolutely support you.'"

Chen Xuan: "That's great. You can just do what you want and don't have to consider his preferences anymore."

Mu Xin: "The problem is that I can't make up my own mind."

Chen Xuan: "It's okay. I'll have Brother Zhao take a look at you when I get the keys in a couple of days. It shouldn't be a big problem."

Mu Xin: "Sigh, I'll have to trouble you all again then."

Chen Xuan: "What trouble? We'll be the ones really troubling you when the time comes."

Mu Xin suddenly smiled: "It's not certain who will come first or last yet."

Chen Xuan asked in surprise, "Didn't you change your plans to after the New Year?"

Mu Xin glanced at the glass door of the conference room: "His mother consulted a fortune teller who said this year is a good year to get married, and my family also thinks it should be as soon as possible."

Chen Xuan: "And what about you two?"

Mu Xin: "Sigh, now he just listens to me no matter what I ask him. I used to think he was quite opinionated."

At that moment, Ang Lee walked over and said, "Who doesn't have their own opinions?"

Mu Xin: "Your good advisor, huh?"

"Isn't having you enough?" Li An walked to the seat next to Chen Xuan and sat down. He turned to the two girls at the bar and called out, "I don't want tea anymore. Get me some ice too."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Teacher, would you like fruit tea or coffee?"

Wang Xiaohu's voice drifted over from afar: "I'll have a Coke, thanks!"

Ang Lee: "Ice water will do."

Car: "Received!"

As he spoke, Ang Lee turned around and changed the subject: "Then I'll talk about him later. It's really unacceptable that he didn't contribute anything at all."

Mu Xin: "Never mind, that's just how he is."

Ang Lee smiled upon hearing this, ah, a woman's thoughts.

A short while later, the cart brought over three drinks.

"Please enjoy your meal, teachers."

"Thank you."

“Leave it there,” Li An said, glancing at his watch. “You three go up and warm up first, I’ll go up in a bit.”

Car: "Okay!"

Afterwards, Li An sat for a while and shared some decorating tips with Mu Xin. At 2:30, he went upstairs.

This afternoon he is going to teach a class to the children.

Wang Xiaohu was the first to attend class.

The course lasts half an hour.

Ang Lee assigned Wang Xiaohu two new pieces: a Bach fugue and a Beethoven sonata.

Taking Lin Youyou's suggestion into consideration, he planned to have Wang Xiaohu take these two pieces to Vienna so that he could play them for Wang Xiaohu's future piano teacher.

After arriving in Vienna, Wang Xiaohu will continue his piano studies with Otto.

Alto was a good friend of Mr. Wei, Lin Youyou's piano teacher during her studies abroad, and also gave a masterclass to Ang Lee on the stage of the Rongyuan Studio.

So Ang Lee was naturally at ease with this little old man, but this seemed to have created a small problem regarding their generational relationship.

Lin Youyou is Alto's student, and Wang Xiaohu will also become Alto's apprentice. Therefore, Lin Youyou and Wang Xiaohu will become fellow apprentices in a certain sense.

Ang Lee and Lin Youyou are also senior and junior classmates, so if we substitute them, what are Wang Xiaohu and Ang Lee?
"Teacher, don't worry, you will always be my teacher."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"I'm not laughing."

"Alright, alright, get back to practicing your piano!"

The second student to attend class was Tang Xiaoxing.

After the summer camp and stage training for the grading exams, Tang Xiaoxing has undergone significant changes.

From confusion before coming to Chengdu to certainty today.

From the exuberant Torrent Etude to the serene Winter Wind Etude.

Even Boss X admitted that he didn't expect Tang Xiaoxing to undergo such a transformation in such a short time after coming to Chengdu.

These words are undoubtedly the greatest affirmation of Ang Lee.

In Ang Lee’s view, Tang Xiaoxing’s biggest problem was not who she learned piano from, but a kind of self-imposed mental and physical confinement.

So even if Tang Xiaoxing hadn't come to Chengdu, and Li An had regularly gone to Beijing to give Tang Xiaoxing lessons, the outcome wouldn't have been as good as it is now.

Only by completely freeing Tang Xiaoxing from her previous social circle can we gradually unlock the shackles in her heart.

In Chengdu, Tang Xiaoxing has friends to keep her company every day, a carefree living space, and freedom from the watchful eyes of her family. It would be hard for her not to be happy.

As long as Tang Xiaoxing is in a good mood, the remaining problems are minor.

If we look back, what exactly did Ang Lee teach Tang Xiaoxing over the past few months?

In summary, it boils down to four words: Play boldly.

He encouraged Tang Xiaoxing to boldly play the pieces she had wanted to play before but hadn't been able to fully express herself.

So Tang Xiaoxing did just that. And it worked.

It's that simple. Ang Lee would simply share some of his personal performance experience with Tang Xiaoxing during the performance.

Now that initial results have been achieved, Ang Lee can proceed with Tang Xiaoxing's next teaching plan according to his ideas.

After boldly playing, it's time to boldly think.

Ang Lee encouraged Tang Xiaoxing to play boldly, so that Tang Xiaoxing could play the ideas that had already formed in his mind about certain works.

It's like firing an existing bullet.

But bullets are consumables, and you have to replenish them as soon as you run out.

If we don't replenish our supplies, we'll only be firing blanks.

In other words, they're living off their past achievements.

Therefore, Li An's second-stage teaching plan was to broaden Tang Xiaoxing's performance ideas.

Tang Xiaoxing's learning path was changed from "from works to thinking" to "from thinking to the selection of works".

What does that mean?

Ang Lee confirmed through multiple conversations with Boss X and Tang Xiaoxing that Tang Xiaoxing never actively chose what she wanted to play; all the pieces were assigned by her teacher.

In other words, Tang Xiaoxing's thinking about each piece of work is passive. Regardless of whether she likes it or not, she gets a piece of work, starts practicing, and then reflects on the work based on her practice.

It is passive.

Of course, this learning method is suitable for 99% of young piano students.

Does Tang Xiaoxing belong to this 99%?
It clearly does not belong to that category.

Ang Lee can understand why Tang Xiaoxing's teachers all used this steady and methodical approach to teach him.

The responsibility was too great; no one dared to take the risk.

Therefore, what Ang Lee needs to do now is not only to help Tang Xiaoxing develop her ability to think about classical piano works, but also to develop his own teaching skills.

For Ang Lee, Tang Xiaoxing is the most special of all his students.

This is more or less related to Tang Xiaoxing's family background, but the main reason is that Tang Xiaoxing will participate in next year's Chopin Competition.

As Tang Xiaoxing's last teacher during the preparation stage, the pressure he had to bear was unimaginable.

He had no prior coaching experience and had never participated in this competition.

So it's no exaggeration to say that he was also feeling his way across the river.

But one thing he was certain of was that, in any piano competition, there were a large number of objective factors that influenced the final result.

The Chopin Competition is no exception.

Only subjective music might be the key to breaking the deadlock.

This is the charm of live music.

Subjective music must be based on strong personal ideas—I want this sound to be loud—this sound must be so loud that it makes my soul vibrate—only in this way can the audience and judges feel that it is a loud sound.

Why should this sound be strong?

Let's put it in a more colloquial way.

Why did I choose to practice this piece instead of another?

This was the first lesson Ang Lee taught Tang Xiaoxing in the second phase.

"It's your choice."

At the piano, as Ang Lee finished speaking, Tang Xiaoxing, who was standing to the side, was slightly taken aback.

Choose yourself?
Choose one of all Mozart's piano concertos to practice next.
Tang Xiaoxing asked uncertainly, "Teacher, do you mean I should choose a piece I want to play?"

Ang Lee laughed: "Otherwise what? You want me to choose for you? I'm not giving you a choice. You choose for yourself and are responsible for it. If you don't play it well, it's not my fault."

Meeting the teacher's gaze, Tang Xiaoxing felt a sense of unreality, even though he knew the teacher was serious.

She never chose what she wanted to play.

And
Tang Xiaoxing: "Teacher, are you asking me to choose from Mozart's concertos? Not Chopin's?"

Ang Lee: "You can add Chopin if you want. Mozart is just my personal suggestion. You can add concertos by any composer you want. Just choose which one to play. It's that simple."

Tang Xiaoxing understood better this time; it seemed that her upcoming studies had nothing to do with the Chopin Competition.

She immediately felt incredibly relaxed, and a joyful smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

Do you have any recommendations?

"I already recommended it, Mozart."

"I mean, do you have any recommendations for Mozart's concertos?"

Ang Lee shook his head: "I'm sorry, I can't recommend anything. The feeling of Mozart's works from different periods is completely different to me. What I like may not be what you like, and even the same piece can give us completely different feelings."

Tang Xiaoxing: "I suddenly feel very nervous."

Lee An-lo: "What's there to be nervous about? It's not like I'm asking you to go on stage right now."

Tang Xiaoxing: "I wouldn't say I was nervous, but I felt a lot of pressure."

Ang Lee scoffed: "No pressure? That would be terrible! You'd better put some pressure on me."

Tang Xiaoxing chuckled, and after a moment, said, "Yes, ma'am!"

If there were other people present, they would definitely be able to sense that Tang Xiaoxing did seem to be under some pressure.

However, those familiar with Tang Xiaoxing would know that the smile on her face at this moment was one of blissful pressure.

"That's enough for today. Three days isn't a short time, is it? Fine, I'll give you five days. Give me a definite answer before my performance, okay?"

"Okay, teacher! I promise to complete the task. Should I continue practicing according to the previous plan for the next few days?"

Ang Lee glared: "Otherwise what? Today we're just assigning you a new piece; you still have to practice the pieces we planned for you as usual."

Tang Xiaoxing: "Got it, I'll go get Alin!"

With that, Little Star happily opened the door and left.

"Arlene, class is in session!"

Immediately afterwards, the piano music in the next music room stopped.

Less than a minute later, the car pushed open the half-closed door to the music room and came in.

Ang Lee stood up, picked up a glass of ice water, drank it all in one gulp, then put down the glass and asked, "How about we go through it all again?"

Car: "Huh?"

Ang Lee: "I've already rehearsed today, why don't you go through it too? Consider it a rehearsal, and I'll record it for Uncle Fang and send it to him."

Car: "Okay!"

Ang Lee: "Just go straight to the stage and play it."

The teacher and student arrived on the stage. The banner for the examination site had not yet been taken down when the car drove directly onto the stage.

"Teacher, should I still announce the program?"

"Are you stupid? There's no such thing as an announcer at a solo recital. And even if there were, why would someone announce themselves?"

"Haha." The car pointed to the banner above.

Li Anle: "Come on."

The car jumped off the stage and then walked onto the stage as if it were making a formal entrance.

Turn around.

smile.

He played the zither and bowed.

Then he sat down at the piano, adjusted the height of the piano bench, and after a moment played the first concert piece.

Czerny Etude No. 740, No. 14.

The cascading sound of the piano instantly reverberated across both floors.

That's right, the first piece in her Chengdu Summer Solo Recital was an Etude.