God of Piano

Until he obtained Hanon’s journal, Rowoon did not necessarily think of acquiring Chopin’s journal. But after looking into Hanong’s journal, Rowoon had a hunch. If you want to show a proper change in this studio class, getting Chopin’s journal is a must, not an option.

The journal was no ordinary diary.

At the moment of replaying Hanon’s journal, Rowoon was in 19th century France, not 21st century America. Hanon absorbed everything and emotions he had experienced while composing Etude No. 52.

Fingers are not more flexible. It is not that a lyricism that did not exist before was created. In the first place, Hanong’s No. 52 was not a song that pursued lyricism.

However, even if you eat the same dish, there is a huge difference between eating knowing what is in it and eating it not knowing.

Rowoon learned what was inside Hanong’s number 52.

Hanon’s life, love, faith, stubbornness and philosophy, and how they carved his number 52.

From that moment on, his playing was never the same.

‘Chopin. I really need to get your journal.’

Having a journal doesn’t make him play like a pro overnight.

However, if we know what kind of intention Chopin composed this song, if we know how he drew the notes, his dog waltz will still be in the realm of amateurs, but it will have a special quality that others cannot even dare to covet. it was

But the problem was that getting 50 points for playing the dog waltz and 50 points for Hanon’s Etude were completely different in difficulty.

Emotion is just as important as, or more than, technique in performance. Since Hanong’s song is a practice song that is dry enough to question the existence of emotion itself, there was not much to lose points in the area of emotion.

But in the doggie waltz, you couldn’t expect him.

‘Where would you lack the most?’

It would be convenient if Chopin pointed out such things differentially, but he harshly criticized all elements of Rowoon sitting in front of the keyboard. At least according to Chopin, Rowoon was ‘a fool who didn’t even know how to press the keys’.

As a result, there was only one thing Rowoon could do. Improving everything Chopin pointed out.

‘I don’t have much time.’

The remaining time until his stage is 15 days. Rowoon wanted to get Chopin’s journal within a week if possible. I had to look into Chopin’s life and see that it would take at least a week to incorporate it into a song after that.

But, as always, things didn’t go as planned.

[Don’t you know what’s missing? Rather than that, it would be better to think about what part of your performance is good. ]

[ The playing score is 46 points. ]

after a day,

[They listened to my advice. I asked him to move his fingers gently, and he’s wriggling like an octopus. ]

[ The playing score is 45 points. ]

Two days, three days, four days pass,

[ Do you not know the meaning of Crescendo? Yours isn’t more, it’s ‘very, very, more’! ]

[ The playing score is 47 points. ]

A week has passed,

[Your Rubato (the technique of adjusting the tempo of the performance at the discretion of the runner) is terrible. Don’t be ostentatious, start with the basics. ]

[ The playing score is 48 points. ]

Ten days passed.

And, Rowoon was still unable to reach 50 points.

‘······Okay. I’m f*cked up.’

lesson room. Rowoon, who had just finished playing in front of Baum, spat out swear words inwardly.

It was a tough day mentally. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t reach my goal, but when I faced Chopin’s harsh criticism, I thought maybe this wasn’t a blessing of music, but a curse.

‘I know you’re in a hurry. I know…’

Even so, I wanted to avoid the situation where the performance I performed on stage for the first time with the divine protection was no different from the previous one. I wanted to show that I have changed. I wanted to prove it. In front of everyone, formally.

But since I couldn’t even reach the 50-point performance, it was not unreasonable for me to feel exhausted.

Interestingly, when Rowoon was so discouraged, Baum, who was watching him, had a completely different feeling.

‘How come… suddenly.’

No seed can bloom in one day.

But what about this seed now?

It wasn’t long before Rowoon’s change began to come into view. However, the changes Rowoon showed in that short period of time were gradual, albeit insignificant. Rowoon’s hand movements, sensitivity, and ability to understand the song were growing with each lesson.

‘why? how?’

He could have been genuinely happy, but Baum chose to be cautious rather than rejoicing at his student’s growth. What I thought was wet firewood caught fire. And as difficult as lighting a fire was not putting it out.

That’s why Baum couldn’t do anything even more. Baum was afraid that his few hasty words would extinguish Rowoon’s flame again.

The strange thing was that even under such a careful coach, Rowoon was steadily growing. It had to be. No matter how careful Baum was, Chopin wasn’t.

[ You just said staccato (a technique for making short sounds)? If you can’t even tell the difference between forte and staccato, just hit me up as it’s not too late. ]

‘The feeling of hitting the keys in staccato is gone. The popping sounds are like water droplets.’

[ Do you really think your tril (tril: a technique of quickly repeating notes that are two degrees apart from the tonic, eg: do and re) is soft? ]

‘The trill has become more natural. The stiff feeling in my fingers has also disappeared.’

[Forte (strongly) in the last bar is not a thunderous forte, but a soaring forte. Even if I tell you this, you won’t understand, will you? ]

‘The expression of the last word has become more delicate.’

Chopin’s words that made Rowoon grit his teeth every word. But those horses were definitely spreading Rowoon’s crumpled wings. He was turning ducks into swans.

Nonetheless, Rowoon still had a face that he could not stand because he was thirsty somewhere. But Baum understood.

‘If I knew that I could change, every moment of being still would be too much for me.’

A faint smile formed on Baum’s lips. Compared to the past when I got used to thirst and didn’t even think about drinking water, I liked the look better now when I honestly complained of my thirst.

Even so, of course, I had to point out something to point out.

“Are you nervous?”

“······yes?”

“Because you have a restless face.”

“As far as being nervous… No, yes. You are right. I’m a bit in a hurry.”

“Because of the studio class?”

“Anyway, that, I… have gotten a little better, haven’t I?”

“okay. changed.”

“But if I’m going to show you that I’ve changed, I want to show you that I’ve changed a little more properly…”

Rowoon muttered and his ears reddened. I wasn’t aware of it until he said it, but after hearing it like this, it seemed like he was saying that he wanted to brag to his friends right away that he had improved a bit.

But Baum understood Rowoon. His youthful sympathy, inferiority complex, and desire to be recognized were all things that once resided in Baum’s heart. No, maybe still…

Baum said, shaking off his thoughts.

“I want to show you. Because change is always confirmed by others.”

“I, have I changed a lot?”

“theory.”

Baum called him in a calm voice. A transcendent answer that could solve all these situations would not come out of his lips, but Rowoon’s eyes looking at Baum were filled with vague and desperate expectations.

So, Baum broke down and spoke more plainly.

“When you play the piano, just play the piano.”

It was as if he could clearly see Rowoon’s insides. In a way, it’s very common, but necessary.

“I play the piano for many reasons. I want to be famous, I want to be a professor, I want to be a soloist, I want to win competitions… But in the end, the ones who stay are the ones who want to play the piano.”

Rowoon, who said he hated playing the piano to teach piano, was trying to play the piano to gain recognition in front of people as soon as his skills improved a little.

Baum looked at Rowoon quietly. There seemed to be a little bit of hope hiding in those calm eyes.

“theory. Why do you want to play the piano?”

What answer should he have returned?

On this day, Rowoon’s performance score was not even 50 points, he couldn’t even cross the 48 point barrier.

The next day, it was only once, but it reached 49 points. There were 3 days left until the studio class.

On the twelfth day, Rowoon’s performance hovered around 48 again. The 50-point wall was still high and far.

Baum’s advice seemed to be far away at any moment. He wanted to focus only on the piano, but despite this, the performance scores that Walkman swears with a clear voice continued to get on Rowoon’s nerves.

48 points. 47 points. 43 points. 45 points. 47 points. 45 points. 49 points.

It was like this. Strictly speaking, it was impossible to say that Rowoon’s real score was 49 points. That was his highest score, not an average score.

And so, the thirteenth day came.

There is only one day left until the studio class.

“…”

practice room. Rowoon looked at the piano with a calm expression.

At this point, it was safe to say that looking into Chopin’s journal before the studio class was a long way off. Thinking like that made me feel better.

The studio class that will be held tomorrow is not his only stage anyway. The change has just begun, and even if the change is not directly illuminated tomorrow, the times will eventually pay attention to him.

no reason to be afraid,

There is no reason to fret.

He didn’t start playing the piano to show off his transformation.

I didn’t even start teaching piano.

He plays the piano because he just wants to play the piano.

[ My heart is in a hurry, my fingers are slow. ]

Rowoon recalled what Chopin had left behind in his performance the other day. After hearing that, Rowoon tried to move his fingers faster. But the more I did, the more my fingers got twisted.