"Each instrument involved, such as the two of you, a pipa and a zheng, constitutes two parts."
"I kind of understand now." Li Shishi said with realization.
"Now, let's get to the point. Since you only have two instruments, it's best to have one part form the main melody, and the other part serve as accompaniment. During the performance, the main melody can be exchanged between the two instruments according to the progression and artistic conception of the piece. Just like when I collaborated with you just now, whether you played the zheng or the pipa, I was able to perfectly complement it with the accompaniment part. The two complement each other, resulting in a more harmonious, layered, and expressive piece. You've all felt this."
The two girls seemed to understand but not quite.
Seeing that the two girls were having difficulty listening, Zhang Shixun picked up the pipa and signaled Li Shishi to play the zheng to accompany him. He demonstrated while explaining, pausing from time to time and patiently explaining in detail to the two girls.
The two were extremely talented and studied very attentively. With Zhang Shixun's guidance, they gradually grasped the key to playing together. All that was left was to get used to it...
Before she knew it, it was getting dark outside. It wasn't until the maid came in to remind her that Li Shishi slapped her fair forehead and said, "Oh! I was so engrossed in my studies that I didn't realize it was already this late... Master Zhang, I'm so sorry. You must be hungry."
Zhang Shixun smiled. He had been talking for quite some time and his lunch was completely digested. His stomach was empty, but he was just too embarrassed to say it.
The three of them went to the living room to eat, and then returned to the piano room to reorganize the music score. Since it involved the accompaniment part, they had to write the zheng score and pipa score separately.
Zhang Shixun watched them hunched over the table noting music and said, "Your way of notating music is too complicated. It's a bit late today. I'll teach you a simpler method some other day."
"That's great! I always get a headache when I try to memorize music." Ding Dusai smiled and asked, "Is this simple music notation method you mentioned easy to learn?"
"You're very eager to learn. I'll have you all mastering it in less than an hour."
"So easy?" Li Shishi was skeptical. She had spent several months learning gongche notation.
"Yeah!" Zhang Shixun nodded. "With the two of you being so smart, it might not take an hour."
"Why wait until another day? Just teach us now." Ding Dusai begged.
Li Shishi hurriedly said, "Saisai, you're so impatient! Master Zhang has been teaching us for most of the day and must be a little tired. Just let him rest for a while. Besides, our ensemble is still new and we need to practice hard. How can we have time to learn new things?"
"That's right, you can't chew too much. Madam Ding, don't look at the pot while eating from the bowl." Zhang Shixun teased her.
"Hmph! How stingy!" Ding Dusai rolled his eyes at him, picked up his pipa, and said to Li Shishi, "Let's play it together again, let Mr. Zhang find fault with it again, and then let him go home."
Li Shishi readily agreed: "Okay!"
The two of them played it again very seriously.
Zhang Shixun listened and nodded. "Although there are still many unsatisfactory aspects, it's already quite good. With more practice, you and your sister can make this piece a repertoire."
"Reserved program?" The two were confused.
"A reserved program is a unique and wonderful program that cannot be imitated by others. It is not often shown to others and is only brought out on important occasions or festivals."
Li Shishi smiled and agreed, "That's a good idea... Keeping it a secret is a very novel and unique way of saying it. People are like that. The more you keep something hidden, the more people want to get to know it."
Zhang Shixun admired her intelligence very much and nodded frequently.
At this point, Zhang Shixun suddenly became interested and said to the two of them, "Let me play a song for you two."
They both looked at him, surprise on their faces.
"That's great. Mr. Zhang is happy to play for us. You're most welcome." Li Shishi clapped her hands and smiled. "Wait a moment, I'll light some incense." She stood up and lit a stick of incense and put it in the incense burner.
A faint fragrance filled the piano room.
Zhang Shixun picked up the pipa, tuned the strings, and gently plucked the strings with his fingers. A highly infectious song "Lanhuahua" rippled in the piano room.
The melody of the song "Lanhuahua" is in the style of Xintianyou. Although the song is short, the melody is sad and beautiful, expressing the demands, hopes and resistance of a young woman vividly and directly reaching the heart.
Subconsciously, Zhang Shixun wanted to play the song for Li Shishi, but it was just out of pity and nothing else.
Most of the famous beauties in history were victims of men, had miserable endings, and were burdened with many infamy after their death.
Li Shishi's ending was not good either. After the Jingkang Incident, there were several versions about her ending. Some said that she swallowed gold and committed suicide for Huizong, while others said that she drifted to the south of the Yangtze River, was displaced, and her whereabouts were unknown.
While playing, Zhang Shixun was thinking about some rumors about Li Shishi. When he suddenly found that two listeners were crying, he quickly ended the current performance.
Ding Dusai burst into tears after hearing this, and Li Shishi also shed tears.
"I want to learn this song, please teach me." Ding Dusai wiped away his tears.
"It's getting late today, let's do it another day." Zhang Shixun declined tactfully.
"See, was I right? You still don't want to teach me and find reasons to reject me." Ding Dusai said with a pout.
Zhang Shixun quickly defended himself: "No, I..."
"I don't care, you teach me." Ding Dusai started to act unruly.
Zhang Shixun had no experience in dealing with women's rudeness, so he looked to Li Shishi for help.
However, Li Shishi turned her face away with a smile, pretending not to see it. She also wanted to learn this song, but she just didn't know how to speak out loud.
"Okay, I surrender." Zhang Shixun raised his hands.
Ding Dusai was overjoyed after winning the victory, and her facial expression became more colorful. She smiled sweetly, her eyes were beautiful, and her charming appearance made Zhang Shixun stunned.
"Fox charmer!" Zhang Shixun muttered to himself, picked up the pipa helplessly, and began to teach her piece by piece, imparting all his music scores and fingerings without reservation.
Ding Dusai studied very seriously, and his focused look seemed like two different people from before.
Since it was a teaching of finger techniques, contact between hands was inevitable. Zhang Shixun was not one to take a loss, so he would definitely take advantage of the opportunity and just treat it as tuition.
Ding Dusai's hands are as soft as catkins, looking white and tender, and feeling soft and smooth.
Everyone has some dirty, dark and other things in their heart that cannot be seen in the light, and Zhang Shixun is no exception.
Seeing how seriously one taught and the other studied, Li Shishi was envious and said, "Master Zhang, if you have the chance, you should teach me the fingering of the guzheng."
"Okay." Zhang Shixun readily agreed. This suggestion was very good and just what he wanted. Li Shishi's hands were also very beautiful, like scallions, soft and boneless.
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