Of course Zhang Shixun was very happy in his heart. It was really lonely to celebrate the festival alone. Where could he find such a thing as celebrating the festival with two great beauties of the time?
In Li Shishi's piano room, Zhang Shixun sipped tea while asking the two girls to sing "Spring River Moon Night". Li Shishi played the zheng and Ding Dusai played the pipa, and the two of them sang a solo in the middle.
After they finished singing, Zhang Shixun said, "Madam Li plays the zheng very well, and Madam Ding plays the pipa very well, and you two sing even better."
"No, you're praising us, not finding fault with us?" Ding Dusai pouted, unhappy: "Don't be perfunctory with us."
Li Shishi said from the side: "Saisai, don't be impatient. Master Zhang hasn't finished speaking yet. Don't be impatient and wait for him to finish."
"When I praised you earlier, I wasn't being careless. You two are both truly outstanding, whether playing alone or singing solo. That's undeniable," Zhang Shixun said, his face turning serious. "But, when you two play together, it's unbearable to listen to... Oh my god! It's a complete mess."
When the two girls heard this, they looked at each other in surprise.
Is it really that unbearable?
That's an exaggeration.
No matter how bad the two of them were, it wouldn't be so bad that they "couldn't bear to listen to it".
"Don't be unconvinced. I really didn't say anything unfair to you. If you don't believe me, let's give it a try." Zhang Shixun walked over to Ding Dusai, took the pipa from her hand, and gestured to Li Shishi, "Now you play the zheng, and I'll use the pipa. Let's play together."
Ding Dusai quickly stood up from the stool and diligently wiped it with his sleeve, "Sir, please sit down."
Zhang Shixun sat down, tuned the strings, and said to Li Shishi, "Just play the main melody according to the score. Don't worry about how I play."
Li Shishi nodded, closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing, then began to play seriously.
Zhang Shixun plucked the pipa strings along with the main melody she played.
As soon as he joined hands, the ensemble was completely different from the previous one played by the two girls. The melody became richer and more layered, and the sense of layers was greatly enhanced.
Li Shishi also clearly felt it. When she played with him, she felt an indescribable ease and pleasure, and there was no longer the difficult and stiff feeling as when she played with Ding Dusai.
When Li Shishi sang with her voice, she actually felt relaxed and comfortable.
Zhang Shixun played the pipa while listening to Li Shishi sing. As expected of a courtesan, her voice was melodious, sweet and lingering. Before the song was finished, Zhang Shixun handed the pipa to Ding Dusai: "Now you play the pipa, and I'll play the zheng."
Upon hearing this, Li Shishi hurriedly gave up her seat to him.
The performance effect of the collaboration with Ding Dusai is different from before, and it sounds like a different style.
The two girls were very surprised.
"Why? Why?" Li Shishi asked repeatedly, with an obsessed expression on her face, which made Zhang Shixun's heart flutter. This expression was extremely lethal to a man.
"Yeah! Why is it different once you join?" Ding Dusai had the same expression.
Zhang Shixun laughed, and his laughter stunned the two women.
"Don't just laugh, tell us quickly." Ding Dusai said dissatisfiedly.
"This is called ensemble. Different playing methods will produce different playing effects. There is a problem involved here, that is, the rules. But your ensemble has no rules at all. Two people just play along the way, each playing his own way. This is called playing the piano at random." Zhang Shixun said with a stern face and without any politeness.
"Please give me some advice, sir. I will learn from you with an open mind." Li Shishi stood up and knelt in greeting.
Zhang Shixun thought to himself: You should have said that the bed was prepared for me.
Waving his hand to dispel the dirty thoughts in his heart, Zhang Shixun continued, "The so-called ensemble doesn't mean everyone plays together. This is not called an ensemble, at most it is called a unison, although in a broad sense, unison also falls under the category of ensemble."
The two women seemed to understand what he said and looked at him blankly.
"As I said earlier, your singing skills are both exceptional. Madam Ding's pipa playing is passable, and Madam Li's zheng playing is also decent. But when you combine, it's not the same story. Have you ever thought about the reason?"
"Of course I have thought about it, but I couldn't figure it out, so I came to ask you for advice." Ding Dusai replied.
"Okay, now I'll tell you, the reason your ensemble is such a mess... Madam Ding, don't be upset, this is the truth. If I wanted to fool you, I would definitely praise you as rare in heaven and unparalleled on earth. Do you want that?"
Li Shishi said, "Master Zhang, Saisai is innocent and naive, and everything is written on her face. Don't worry about her, just continue."
"Hmph!" Ding Dusai pouted.
"Let me continue. Your current ensemble is fine for the common people. These people have low standards for music and are satisfied as long as it's entertaining. But if you were to perform for the princes and ministers in the palace, that would be a problem. These people love to find fault with others and belittle others to show off their own ability. It would be very difficult to serve them unless you were an exceptionally good performer."
"What if the government heard it?"
"The official is a master of the arts, proficient in all arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. He is also knowledgeable and experienced. Others may not be able to tell whether a performance is good or not, but he can tell the difference just by listening. If you don't produce something of real quality, I'm afraid he won't be satisfied."
Zhang Shixun praised Zhao Ji's talents generously.
He is really talented.
"Mr. Zhang, now that you say that, I'm starting to get nervous." Ding Dusai said nervously.
"What are you doing? Backing out?" Zhang Shixun looked straight into her eyes.
"I was nervous and a little nervous, but I wasn't going to back down," Ding Dusai said stubbornly.
"Well, since you don't give up, I will do it reluctantly and try to help you make a big splash." Zhang Shixun said shamelessly.
The two girls looked at each other, unable to hide their surprise.
"I never tell lies." Zhang Shixun is confident that he can help them shine.
"Spring River Moon Night" is a masterpiece, whether it is a poem or a song. The talents of Li Shishi and the other two are beyond doubt. They are both top-notch artists of this era. If their playing skills were more professional, they would surely make a big splash.
Hearing Zhang Shixun's confident words, Ding Dusai immediately perked up: "Okay! We'll listen to you. If you tell us to go east, we won't go west. If you tell us to beat a dog, we won't chase a chicken."
Li Shishi couldn't help laughing out loud because of what she said.
Zhang Shixun teased her, "What if I asked you to catch mice?"
Ding Dusai was dumbfounded. Thinking of the time when he was scared by the mouse and threw himself into Zhang's arms, his face suddenly turned red with shame.
Zhang Shixun was afraid she would be embarrassed, so he quickly changed the subject: "I was getting off topic earlier, so let's get back to the topic... The biggest problem with your ensemble is that the pipa and zheng don't have different parts. Do you understand parts?"
The children all shook their heads.
"When playing an ensemble, two or more instruments must participate together, right?"
The two girls understood and nodded together.
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