Chapter 7, Song 7...
As the most famous piece, Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, came to a gentle end, Xiang Min looked at Qu Jiaying and asked, "What did you think?"
Qu Jiaying said, "Not bad. It seems you haven't completely given up the cello yet, and you still practice from time to time."
Le Yi took out his violin: "Next is my turn!"
He was playing an etude he had recently learned, which wasn't very difficult. His posture and pitch were a bit off, but the most important thing was that he added a lot of his own interpretation, so it wasn't an etude at all.
Qu Jiaying pressed her forehead: "Very much your style." However, it was a bit higher than she expected; at least she could play a complete piece.
Yan Zheng asked, puzzled, "Why do you always add so much of your own interpretation? Can't you just practice according to the score?"
"But the etudes are unpleasant to listen to and very boring," Le Yi said, feeling aggrieved.
Xiang Min praised, "I really like your performance. It's great. Besides, you've practiced your basic skills well."
Le Yi's mood immediately improved, and he sat happily in the second chair.
Yan Zheng sighed helplessly, already sensing that the future would not be peaceful. He picked up his viola and sat down in the third chair.
Qu Jiaying sat down, adjusted the distance between the first chair and the music stand, and asked, "Shall we practice today?"
Xiang Minwen gently suggested, "I have a quartet version of 'Jasmine Flower,' which is relatively simple and suitable for us to work out together."
Yan Zheng said seriously, "We all know each other's skill levels, so there's no need to start with 'Jasmine Flower' and go straight to Haydn's 'Skylark Quartet,' which isn't that difficult."
Le Yi rubbed the blond hair sticking to his cheek with the back of his hand: "How about we decide on a band name first?"
Qu Jiaying said helplessly, "Don't rush to name them yet, those two are about to start arguing."
Xiang Min and Yan Zheng each had their own opinions: "What are your thoughts?"
Le Yi looked bewildered: "I'm fine with anything."
Qu Jiaying didn't mind, but in this situation, she had to make the decision: "If you have the sheet music, please send it to me."
Xiang Min sent the electronic version to the group, while Yan Zheng brought a paper version, one sheet of music for each person, which he had printed out.
Actually, it depends on whether Le Yi's level is good enough to sight-read without prior practice. Qu Jiaying and the other two can do it, so if you give Le Yi a piano score, he can definitely do it. But he has only been learning violin for a short time. After looking at the score for a while, he frankly said that he could not play Haydn's quartet directly.
Yan Zheng lost the argument, then suggested, "Now that the band is formed, let's first set a goal. We can't just have the four of us messing around in this rehearsal room, can we?"
Although Le Yi was the initiator, he clearly didn't have many ideas: "Doesn't the school have all sorts of activities? Let's sign up and participate then."
Xiang Min suggested, "I work at a bar, where there are often classical music-themed events, so you could go there first."
Yan Zheng frowned: "I know some competitions include awards for quartets."
Xiang Min laughed out loud, his tone gently sarcastic: "Your goals are truly lofty."
Before Yan Zheng could retort, Qu Jiaying coughed lightly, and the three of them looked over. She asked, "I know why Yan Zheng joined the quartet; it's to better conduct. What about you two?"
"I've never tried it before, but it looks like fun," Le Yi said with a grin. "I've always played the piano solo, and I've never collaborated with anyone before becoming your accompanist. I've always wanted to try playing with a band or orchestra."
Qu Jiaying glanced at him. Piano soloists collaborate with symphony orchestras. Le Yi has great talent, but if he doesn't participate in competitions and follow the rules of classical music, he can't become a soloist.
Xiang Min chuckled: "The composition I studied is becoming more and more avant-garde these days, but I still hope that the music is beautiful, not just updated in terms of format. Participating in the performance should be very helpful."
“You should all know my shortcomings in performance, and I also hope to improve through playing in the band.” Qu Jiaying looked at the three people to her left. “We are all in the same boat. We are not doing this for the quartet itself, but mainly want to improve our own professional skills.”
“It’s not that we can’t sign up for school activities, the problem is whether we’ll be selected. There are senior students on campus who specialize in quartets,” Qu Jiaying said.
She further analyzed, "Most domestic competitions do not have awards for quartets. To participate, you have to go abroad to participate in international competitions. As I just said, people don't join with the intention of improving their quartets, so international competitions are meaningless. However, music festivals organized by our peers are a good place."
Xiang Min smiled and praised, "Very down-to-earth."
Yan Zheng was somewhat annoyed with Xiang Min: "What are you so smug about?"
Le Yi was the most excited and supportive: "No matter where we perform, I will practice hard and won't hold everyone back!"
Qu Jiaying smiled and said, "If you have this kind of drive, there won't be any problem."
Le Yi suddenly remembered the matter of naming the child and quickly asked everyone for their opinions.
Qu Jiaying was already thinking about practicing the ensemble, and casually suggested, "Let's call it 'Three Missing One'."
Le Yi didn't want to object directly, so he asked the other two, "What about you?"
Yan Zheng and Xiang Min couldn't think of any good names and didn't want to argue because of their differing opinions. In particular, they and Qu Jiaying both said that the name "Three Missing One" was quite good.
Le Yi convinced himself: "If you two are arguing, I can't stop you. Forget about a quartet, even a trio won't work." He nodded, convinced himself, "It really won't work without Qu Jiaying. She's the key person."
And so, the first rehearsal with all members of the "three missing one" quartet officially began.
The quartet arrangement of "Jasmine Flower" is not difficult, making it suitable for the four of them to work together. After the first smooth rendition, all four of them frowned.
"It doesn't sound very good," Le Yi said.
“Your pitch has quite a few issues, but you didn’t just play it haphazardly,” Qu Jiaying said to Le Yi.
"Although there were some things that weren't quite right, at least you managed to get it right on the first try," Xiang Min encouraged.
"Something's not quite right." Yan Zheng pondered, recalling the ensemble performance just now. Qu Jiaying had no problems whatsoever and was able to cover up Le Yi's minor mistakes, and he himself hadn't made many errors either.
The problem lies with Xiang Min. It's not that he played badly; his skill level is about the same as Yan Zheng's. The issue is that he played by himself without paying attention to the other three. Even though the piece was simple, you could hear that his cello made the whole piece sound worse when he joined the ensemble.
"Have you ever played in an ensemble? Even just with piano accompaniment?" Yan Zheng asked.
Xiang Min thought for a moment, then shook his head: "What's wrong?"
Qu Jiaying also realized that Le Yi had little experience in ensembles, but the score was simple, with the scores for the first and second violins being basically the same. In addition, Le Yi had just been her piano accompanist, so her feel for ensembles was relatively clear, which was better than Xiang Min's situation.
Xiang Min asked curiously, "Have you all played together before?"
Qu Jiaying said, "Most of my works are duets."
"I've just partnered with Qu Jiaying!" Le Yi said proudly.
Yan Zheng is different. Although he entered a key middle school through academic subjects, the school also recruits students with artistic talents. The school has an orchestra, and as a viola player, he has played many well-known classic pieces in the middle school's small orchestra. He has the most experience.
Xiang Min had never played in a quartet before, and he humbly accepted the advice: "Indeed, the decision to join the quartet was the right one. I understand conceptually that the instruments in a quartet should interact and communicate with each other, but I haven't achieved that yet. I understand what you mean. Let's do it again."
The second ensemble performance was much better overall. Qu Jiaying praised Yue Yi and Xiang Min, saying, "You two grasped it very quickly."
Yan Zheng pursed his lips, a sense of urgency rising in his heart. He knew that in the small middle school orchestra, it had taken him a long time to learn how to coordinate with the other sections.
The four of them practiced several more times before they finished. Qu Jiaying was in a good mood. She had no experience playing with a large group of people, and she personally experienced how to synchronize the pitch with others and pay attention to the parts of other instruments when entering the room. This was not a solo performance. Looking at the score again from this perspective, she vaguely gained new insights.
Xiang Min didn't need to move his cello for convenience, as he had the key to the rehearsal room. After locking the door, Qu Jiaying and the other two carried their own instruments and set off for a newly opened hot pot restaurant on the commercial street near the school.
Le Yi first found a seat by the window and sat down. Qu Jiaying sat opposite her, and Xiang Min quickly went to sit down next to her.
Yan Zheng could only sit next to Le Yi and watch Xiang Min fawn over Qu Jiaying. His feeling was right, but he had no right to object.
Xiang Min placed all the cooked food into her bowl and asked gently, "Want some more?"
Qu Jiaying retorted, "Why not eat? I'm not full yet, can I have another main dish?"
Le Yi raised his hand: "Me too, hot pot isn't enough to fill me up."
"Okay, waiter, another order of fried rice." Qu Jiaying then looked at Yan Zheng and Xiang Min, "What about you two?"
Before they could say anything, the waiter explained that the fried rice in the restaurant was served in a small bucket.
Xiang Min ordered several more plates of beef and asked Qu Jiaying, "Is this enough?"
"Pretty much. I work out regularly, so I have a big appetite," Qu Jiaying said.
Yan Zheng smiled and explained to the other two people, "She's working out to prepare for her future solo concert."
Qu Jiaying argued confidently: "So what? First of all, you need to have the stamina. It's a performance that lasts at least an hour and a half. Besides, with more upper body muscles, I can control the bow better with my right hand."
Le Yi's eyes lit up: "Amazing!"
Qu Jiaying tried to remain composed: "It's alright."
Xiang Min served Qu Jiaying more food, and Yan Zheng casually reminded her, "She doesn't like meatballs."
Xiang Min scooped the beef balls back into his bowl and then put more slices of meat on Qu Jiaying's plate.
Qu Jiaying felt the atmosphere was awkward, so she cleared her throat and said, "I have a cat's tongue, I can't eat food that's too hot."
Le Yi nodded vigorously: "I understand you, meatballs and fishballs won't cool down for a long time."
Xiang Min chuckled and refilled Qu Jiaying's glass with iced fruit juice.
Qu Jiaying smiled and said, "We haven't toasted yet. I hope everyone can enjoy the performance together."
Regardless of the undercurrents beneath the surface, at least at this moment, all four of them are genuinely celebrating the formation of the "Three Missing One" quartet.
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