1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan came up to say hello and prepared to leave. Kudo Shizuka and Nakamori Akina had no intention of keeping him because there was no such segment today. Now Zhou Yan's sudden appearance might affect the normal progress of the concert if it took a long time, so it was enough for him to just say hello.

But the audience in the audience began to clamor, hoping that he could give everyone a performance.

"Let us hear you play."

“There’s a piano on the stage!”

“It doesn’t matter what instrument it is.”

"You haven't come to Neon for a concert in a long time."

……

It has indeed been a long time since Zhou Yan came to Neon to hold a concert. Recently, everyone in Neon knew about the Forbidden City concert. A small number of powerful Neon music fans were thinking about how to go to Yanjing to listen to the concert in person, but most of the fans could only watch and worry.

Now Zhou Yan suddenly appeared at Kudo Shizuka's concert. They certainly didn't want to miss such a good opportunity and hoped that Zhou Yan could perform for them live.

After hearing the audience's request, Shizuka Kudo and Akina Nakamori did not say anything. They just looked at Zhou Yan and let Zhou Yan make his own decision.

Zhou Yan glanced at the piano on the second floor of the stage, nodded, and said, "Okay, then I'll show you my ugliness."

Shizuka Kudo immediately translated Zhou Yan's words into Neon language and conveyed them to the audience.

When they heard Zhou Yan's agreement, cheers broke out at the scene. The audience who came to the scene today really got their money's worth. Not only did they hear the new song "Fireworks" and see Wang Lihong's performance, but they were also able to hear Zhou Yan's live performance.

Shizuka Kudo and Akina Nakamori were also very happy. Of course, they also hoped to see Zhou Yan's performance on the stage, and this was also the first time the three of them had worked together.

After Zhou Yan finished speaking, he took the microphone and went up to the second floor. The lighting technician was very observant and kept shining a beam of light on him.

Shizuka Kudo and Akina Nakamori also followed with their skirts lifted up and stood next to the piano.

Zhou Yan sat on the piano stool and set up the microphone first, then turned to look at the audience. Seeing that many audience members were still standing, he raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling everyone to sit down.

Seeing Zhou Yan's gesture, the audience who were originally standing sat down one after another in unison.

As everyone sat down, the noise in the venue suddenly disappeared.

More than 10,000 people fell silent tacitly, trying not to make any sound and keeping the venue quiet.

It was as if this was not a concert, but a music concert.

Koharuna still held the recorder, wanting to record this beautiful moment. She felt that bringing a recorder to record the sound on the scene was the best decision she had ever made in her life.

Just now she was worried that the venue was not quiet enough to record Zhou Yan's performance well. Now that the venue was so quiet, she secretly sighed that this was the charm of Zhou Yan. He could hold a concert just by going to any place and sitting down.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Zhou Yan nodded with satisfaction, and then he said into the microphone, "Just now when I was in the audience, I watched Shizuka and Akina singing "Fireworks" on the stage, and suddenly some melodies emerged in my mind. Maybe I can try to present these melodies for everyone to listen to."

As soon as these words were spoken, the meeting hall, which had just quieted down, began to buzz with discussion again. Even on the stage, one could hear surprise and joy in everyone's discussions.

Not to mention the audience, even Akina Nakamori and Shizuka Kudo on the stage had faces filled with surprise.

Zhou Yan just composed a new song and now he wants to play it for them?

Is music creation that simple?

If someone else said this, everyone might be skeptical, but this is Zhou Yan, and everyone knows Zhou Yan's composing efficiency.

Moreover, Zhou Yan's creative efficiency is not only high, but the quality of his works is also beyond reach. Many classic songs were created by Zhou Yan.

It is said that Zhou Yan took only a few minutes to compose the melody of the song "Snow Flower", and the melody of the chorus of "Little Hands Holding Big Hands" took less than a minute.

Of course, some of the rumors about Zhou Yan’s creative efficiency are true, while some are too exaggerated.

After that, Zhou Yan didn't say anything else. He just raised his hand and simply played two sets of broken chords.

After hearing these two sets of broken chords, the discussions in the venue stopped immediately. Everyone shut their mouths and held their breath, waiting for Zhou Yan's performance.

Zhou Yan played these two sets of broken chords to tell everyone that he was about to start performing and to make them quiet down. Now that his purpose was achieved, he was ready to start playing.

There is no need to test the pitch of this piano again, because he heard it when the pianist was playing just now, and there is no problem with the pitch.

When Zhou Yan listens to a concert, he will not miss any instrument. If there is a problem with the pitch of an instrument, he will definitely be able to hear it.

Without testing the pitch, Zhou Yan started playing directly.

The next piece he was going to play was Li Runmin's piano piece "River Flows in You". This piano piece is one of Li Runmin's more popular songs, and it has a very strong vitality, and has been active in the background of various videos for many years.

It is said that the frequency of using this song as background music is no less than those classic "Canons". Most people have heard it, but the difference from "Canon" is that when people hear "Canon", they know it is "Canon", but when they hear this song, they don't know its name.

This is also a common feature of many pure music. The public sounds familiar with it, but they just can't name it, nor do they know who the creator is.

"River Flows in You" is not a song that can catch the audience's ears from the very beginning, and the solo of piano music is not as shocking as that of other instruments such as violin. So when Zhou Yangang finished playing the beginning, everyone just felt it was quite comfortable, similar to many piano pieces.

The reason why this piano piece is popular among the public and is often used as background music is precisely because its melody lines are smooth, simple and beautiful.

The A section of this song is mainly composed of two phrases, which are square-shaped phrases. Each phrase has the same length of four bars, which adds up to eight bars.

This section starts with a bassline, with mainly smooth progressions and a few leaps, creating a quiet and gentle atmosphere.

But different people will have different feelings when hearing this passage.

When Ibuki Reine heard this passage, she felt a very familiar feeling. She remembered "Summer" and "Kite", as well as the days when she gathered with Tanaka Kenji and Sato Rina in high school to listen to Zhou Yan's music.

She thought of Zhou Yan's first feature film "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly", and the past summers, every summer with Tanaka Jianji by her side. Thinking of the past, she turned to look at Tanaka Jianji next to her, only to find that Tanaka Jianji was also looking back at her, and the two looked at each other, as if they understood each other's thoughts.

Tanaka Jianji also thought of the past, the days when he played football in middle school, and the days when their group of four watched movies and listened to music together every day. He thought of sunny days, rainy days, summer and autumn. It seemed that every pleasant day in the past had now turned into a river flowing through his heart.

Koharuna thought of the bookstore she often went to when she was in elementary school. Every afternoon at five o'clock, she always sat near the entrance of the bookstore, holding a book without reading, just staring at the pedestrians coming and going on the street.

There are staggering old people, jumping children, and affectionate couples. The sun shines on people's faces, with happiness and joy, as well as sorrow and helplessness.

And she, through the window, seemed as if none of this had anything to do with her. She was just enjoying the tranquility of the dusk.

The bookstore owner's son was a handsome boy a few years older than her. She had fantasized about having some romantic stories with him, but the two of them had never spoken a few words to each other.

Ah, it’s been a long time since I went to that bookstore, and I haven’t seen the handsome owner’s son.

Maybe I can go back and take a look in a couple of days.

Shizuka Kudo leaned against the piano, her eyes fixed on Zhou Yan's fingers. The melody brought her thoughts back to the autumn of Yanjing that year, in the dormitory of the Central Conservatory of Music. She was soaked all over because of the broken faucet. That day, she kissed Zhou Yan.

In Kudo Shizuka's eyes, their relationship started from that time.

Thinking of how bold she was at that time, Kudo Shizuka suddenly blushed, but she was also glad that she was bold, otherwise she and Zhou Yan would not be like this now.

Akina Nakamori stood next to Shizuka Kudo. She didn't think about anything, couldn't think of anything. All her thoughts were filled with Zhou Yan's face and the melody of the song.

The harmony in section A is based on the C chord, F chord and G chord progression in C major. The harmonic rhythm is slow, and the chords are switched every one or two bars. The musical harmonic color changes smoothly and sounds very harmonious.

In section B, the pitch range is raised, the melody fluctuates more, and the leaps increase, which increases the tension of the music. The melody line also has leaps of thirds, fourths, and even fifths, making the melody more tense.

……

After listening to the whole piece, most of the audience thought of nature and the comfortable and pleasant days in the past, and they were in a very peaceful mood.

At first everyone thought that this song was nothing special, but after listening to the whole song, they found that they could not forget this melody. After Zhou Yan stopped playing, the notes were still echoing in their minds.

It took seven or eight seconds after the performance ended before someone started clapping, and then others followed suit.

During these few seconds, everyone was still immersed in the music.

Kudo Shizuka retracted her gaze, took a deep breath, and asked a question that the audience wanted to ask with a smile, "Does this song have a name?"

She asked the questions in Chinese, and Akina Nakamori helped her relay the questions to the audience in Neon. The division of labor between the two was very clear, which was better than bringing an interpreter on stage.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "It's called Xinhe, the heart of the heart, and the river of the river."

When they heard the name "Xinghe", Akina Nakamori and Shizuka Kudo were in a dilemma. How should this word be translated?
Shizuka Kudo thinks it should be translated as "心の川", but Akina Nakamori thinks it should be translated as "心の流れ". The former means that the heart is like a river, and the latter means that emotions and thoughts flow like a river.

The two discussed it and asked Zhou Yan again. Zhou Yan thought about it and said, "It's all right."

In the end, the two decided to use "心の川", which was more direct.

When the two announced the name of the song to the audience, the audience was also very excited. They witnessed the birth of a new song.

Perhaps because they have heard the name of this song now, many viewers will indeed have a sparkling, naturally flowing river appear in their minds when they think about the melody of the song.

If Zhou Yan knew what the audience was thinking, he would probably just laugh it off. The names of songs often have a psychological suggestive effect.

Now if there is a "river" in the name, everyone will think of the river. If there is a "starry sky" in the name, everyone will probably think of the starry sky. If there is a "wind", people will think of the wind.

Perhaps the composer has a fixed image in mind when creating the music, but when the audience listens, there are actually countless images.

Not to mention the specific images, even the emotions heard by different people may be completely opposite. Some people may feel happy when they hear it, while others may feel sad.

Music is like flowing water, and the audience is like a container. When the water flows into different containers, it will take different shapes.

At this time, after the song ended, Zhou Yan did not stand up, but smiled and said, "Don't worry, there's more to come."

After hearing Zhou Yan say there was more to come, the hall fell silent again. Everyone was curious, could it be another new song? But no one dared to ask.

Shizuka Kudo and Akina Nakamori looked at Zhou Yan with confusion, and did not ask any questions in return.

Zhou Yan smiled, raised his hand and played a piece of "The Bell".

Many people can recognize "The Bells" and they are very confused, why is Liszt's music suddenly being played?

But soon, they heard the melody of "Happy Birthday" mixed in with the bombarding notes of "The Bells".

When they heard "Happy Birthday", the audience shouted excitedly.

The reason why everyone reacted so strongly was that Shizuka Kudo's birthday was in a few days, and some people in the audience were holding up cheering signs that said "Happy Birthday Shizuka".

Shizuka Kudo covered her mouth and her eyes widened. She didn't expect Zhou Yan to play "Happy Birthday" for her at the concert.

Tears of emotion flowed from her eyes and onto her hands. She quickly turned her head away so that the audience could not see.

However, her action attracted the attention of the audience and caused them to roar again.

Zhou Yan didn't stop playing. After playing "The Bells", he followed up with "Moonlight Sonata", still with the melody of "Happy Birthday".

Then came Schumann's "Fantasy", Bach's "Aria in G", Chopin's "Nocturne" and Mendelssohn's "Venetian Barcarolle". Without exception, all of these songs contain the melody of "Happy Birthday".

The audience had never heard this kind of birthday song before, and they all thought it was very interesting. They felt that "Happy Birthday" also had the flavor of these masters. (End of this chapter)