God of Piano

But Baum really couldn’t believe it was the way for them. As such, he had no choice but to show a realistic attitude when facing disciples with a duck destiny, and meeting Rowoon was no exception.

“Does the practice go well?”

“yes. I think it turned out better than I thought.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

Baum’s eyes stood out for a moment at the more confident answer than he expected. When asked such a question, Rowoon always pulled back. ‘I think it’s not enough.’ ‘It’s still a long way.’ ‘Honestly, it’s a bit frustrating.’ Because the same languid answer was what Rowoon always said.

Did something cross a wall? I do not know. For now, there was only one thing Baum could do.

“Then give it a shot. Let’s see how good it is.”

“yes. wait a minute.”

Rowoon took out a sheet music book from his bag. Depending on the teacher, an instrumental lesson usually consists of three types of pieces. Scale exercises, technique exercises, and instrumental pieces.

Hanon’s No. 53 for scale practice. While playing Liszt’s Transcendental Skills Exercise No. 1 for technique, the lesson proceeded in the same atmosphere as usual. Baum, who had hopes for a moment at Rowoon’s comment, ‘It seems like you practiced better than usual’, had no choice but to lose steam quickly.

‘······It’s useless. How different people can be if they change overnight.’

Rowoon’s performance was neat and skillful, but that was just at the level of a high school student. It was a story about a duck level.

But still, having confidence is better than not having it. Baum hadn’t wanted to pour cold water on his pupil after a long time. So today, I was in the midst of wanting to pass the lesson time, no different from usual.

The atmosphere turned around when it was time for Rowoon to play Chopin’s waltz, Opus.64 No.1, commonly known as the dog’s waltz. Looking at the sheet music Rowoon took out, Baum couldn’t help but put on a stunned expression for a moment.

‘What memo…’

There were a lot of notes engraved on Rowoon’s sheet music. Looking at the densely engraved memo, I could feel Rowoon’s tenacity and thirst for music, to the point of feeling exhausted. Have you prepared this far for this lesson? why? A question mark appeared in Baum’s mind,

When Rowoon started playing, the question marks started to increase more and more.

‘······huh?’

It was different. Chopin’s sound, which had been trapped inside the piano and did not come out straight, was stretching and creeping toward Baum as if Rowoon’s sound had crouched down.

Are you stupid? okay. Of course it’s immature. However, there are sounds in the world that do not even bother you despite your maturity, and there are sounds that make your heart resonate somewhere despite your immaturity.

And now, Rowoon’s performance was closer to the latter.

‘What happened?’

I wanted to ask a question right away, but I couldn’t bear to stop playing. Even though it was lacking, it was a performance that contained everything I had. As a pianist before being a teacher, he couldn’t stop playing like this.

A smile forms on Rowoon’s lips. Looking at that smile, Baum suddenly felt a familiar sense of déjà vu overtake him. It’s a smile I’ve seen often. On top of the musical staircase, the smile that naturally forms on my lips when I realize that I have climbed one step further.

Smiles on the mouths of swans.

‘It’s impossible.’

it would be impossible

Why does he dream of the ugly duckling again?

＜ The Ugly Duckling ＞ End

＜ Do you go to church? (1) ＞

[ You play like an idiot. ]

[It’s better this time. but it’s far ]

[I praised it, but it breaks down quickly again? to be anxious. ]

[My ears are not meant to listen to this kind of performance. ]

[Oh my God! The puppy is dead! Go ahead, call the doctor! ]

Chopin’s impressions were always like that. Even though he knew he was Chopin, his tone was so nasty that he couldn’t help but get angry several times.

Having come this far after going through such harsh criticism, Rowoon was confident in humbly accepting any criticism from Baum. However, when Baum opened his mouth, Rowoon couldn’t help but be a little taken aback.

“Once again.”

“yes?”

“Play it one more time.”

To play again without a word of criticism.

It wasn’t like Baum’s usual appearance, but Rowoon put his hand on the keyboard once again. But when another performance was over, Baum told me to play it again instead of giving a bad review this time.

It was a strange order. It is not very common to have students play the same song over and over again during lessons. Usually, letting them complete is a story after repeating the lesson for the song over and over again, and having already pointed out all the points.

But Baum never stopped playing Rowoon from the first bar to the last bar. I even asked him to play again.

four times. It was after four performances like that. Baum looked at Rowoon with a complex expression in many ways.

“What happened in the meantime?”

“…”

Actually, one day I suddenly started hearing voices from the Walkman. But that voice conveyed Chopin’s advice. As I played as he told me, at some point my playing got better and better.

That, of course, was impossible to answer. Rowoon caressed his ear lobe and replied coolly.

“It just felt like I was getting better little by little from a certain moment.”

“I see.”

Baum had no choice but to accept Rowoon’s answer. It was a flat answer, but it was the most realistic answer. What other explanation can be attached to the growth of a pianist?

Baum was honestly quite embarrassed. listened to it four times. The more he listened, the more his deep doubts faded, but the more he listened, the more his heart began to throb. it was shown The shadow of the swan, from the disciple’s performance that I thought would come.

‘What the heck… how?’

It was the result of Chopin almost forcibly leading it, but to Baum’s ears, who did not know it, it could only be seen as a miraculous change. Baum looked at Rowoon and couldn’t open his mouth for a long time. I thought I had nothing to say to Rowoon. But really, he had nothing to say to himself.

‘Can a duck also become a swan?’

Or has he been mistaking the swan for a duck?

No, actually, even if it’s the latter, it won’t change anything. If so, isn’t it a story that there are still countless swans in this world, thinking that I am a duck? Isn’t it a story that Baum himself might be one of those swans?

Baum slowly put his hand on Rowoon’s shoulder. Looking down at Rowoon’s embarrassed face, he said quietly.

“Good work.”

“······yes?”

“It was a good performance.”

It wouldn’t be a very good attitude to throw such an ambiguous compliment from the position of giving a lesson. His job was to find Rowoon’s flaws and fix them, not just admiration.

There is nothing to point out. It’s not a job to make that excited face look sullen in an instant. But… but at this moment,

“It was a good performance.”

I didn’t want to either.

#

‘······How long has it been since you’ve been praised by Mr. Baum?’

After Baum’s lesson, Rowoon couldn’t erase his bewildered feeling for a long time. Baum wasn’t a vitriol, but he wasn’t the kind to say empty words that he didn’t even have in mind.

Come to think of it, there were times when he praised me for working hard, but I never heard that he was good at playing. However, Baum used the expression ‘good performance’.

The power of the blessing of music was not fake.

‘It’s changed. I.’

It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in a very long time. How long have you felt the change? How long has it been since I came to feel that life hardening like a stone statue was natural?

Rowoon honestly accepted the happy feelings that filled his heart. I couldn’t be happier than this. Everything that was only dreamed of can now be drawn in reality.

But as much as I was excited, I was also scared at the same time. What would happen to him if the blessing of music disappeared in an instant like a midsummer night’s dream?

‘······Before it disappears, I’ll have to take everything it can give.’

Rowoon grabbed the Walkman. The efficacy of punctuated notes was real. Right away, the only thing Baum reacted to in this lesson was the puppy waltz that he ripped out and corrected through his correction notes.

But now you shouldn’t just focus on the puppy waltz. Scale and technique exercises did not exist for nothing. On the piano, practicing just one song doesn’t make you play that song better, but rather, when you come back after playing a completely different song, the blocked part is cleared. Perhaps, through other exercises, it was possible to overcome the 50-point barrier that was not possible in dog waltz or other musical pieces.

“…”

So, what Rowoon picked up was ‘Hanon’. A textbook that is the epitome of scale (scale) practice songs that those who have played the piano have no choice but to come into contact with in some way. To put it simply, it can be seen as a textbook that helps you to play smoothly with your hand movements in the process of crossing the octave of the keyboard.

Rowoon headed to the practice room. Then, after pressing the record button on the Walkman with familiar hand movements, he raised his hand above the keyboard. The song I played was Hanong No. 52, which I was taking lessons from Baum.

3 degree overlap. For example, it is a simple sheet music that goes up and down in sequence, such as sea bream, lepa, and misol. It’s really just a song for practice, with nothing to say about melody. It may look easy at first glance, and it can’t be said that the difficulty is actually high, but it was also a difficult song to play subtly cleanly.

As with most of the lessons, not only do your wrists hurt from performing repetitive movements, but unless you are a human metronome, there are bound to be occasional moments where the rhythm jumps out. In addition, if you try not to give a difference in the strength and weakness of hitting the keys in the middle of it, there are many annoying parts in a different meaning from the recital.

‘What is Hanon going to say to me?’

If someone were to ask which one he respects and likes more, Hanon or Chopin, he would pick Chopin without hesitation.

Of course, Chopin had no choice but to criticize. Whether it be technique or emotion, his performance was bound to fall far short of Chopin’s standards.

But what about Hanong? As the owner of a song that has nothing to do with melody, and focuses solely on mechanical scale practice, what kind of performance will he expect and what kind of evaluation will he make?

Maybe Hanong will give a good review. Perhaps this other music giant will praise him with a special appreciation. Because of that expectation, Rowoon’s fingers moved much more delicately and cautiously than usual. Chopin had been scolding him since the beginning, but his honest feelings were that he wanted to at least match the first steps well with Hanon.

After the performance, Rowoon picked up the Walkman with a flushed face. There were no mistakes in playing. At this point, no matter how much Hanon was a perfectionist, he would have no choice but to give a decent evaluation.

And his prediction was not wrong. but······.

[ You played Etude No.52 by Hanon. ]

[This is a performance that made full use of his skills. ]

[This is a message from the composer. “Do you go to church?” ]

[ The playing score is 54 points. ]

[ You have succeeded in completing the race. Composer’s ‘Corrected Notes’ function has been unlocked when the conditions are met. ]

[ To use the ‘Correction Note’ function, press the play button. ]

[Your playing score is over 50, and the basic conditions for unlocking Hanong’s Journal have been met. ]

[ To unlock the journal, do the homework given by Hanong! ]

[This is Hanong’s homework. “Go to the cathedral and see the Lord.” ]

“······Where?”

There was one thing Rowoon didn’t know.