64 First Lesson
After a while, Tang Miaoyi said, "Forget about teaching me. You're the one who needs the lessons. If this deal goes through, I'll gladly be your teacher!"
Miaoyi spoke with determination and sincerity, meaning every word.
"HUH?!?!?!?" Upon hearing this, he was instantly taken aback.
Surprised and intrigued, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Wait, are you serious?"
The notion that TMY wanted to teach him, someone who was considered a pioneer in Chinese electronic music, was nothing short of astonishing. How long had it been since anyone dared to challenge his expertise?
With a career that spanned years and countless contributions to the genre, he was accustomed to being the one imparting knowledge, not the other way around.
He was the one who initially reached out to TMY, a rising star, in the hopes of signing her to his label. However, the tables had turned. He had offered to mentor her in electronic music, and now she proposed to be his teacher instead!
Such disrespect!!!
He couldn't simply dismiss her words. An initial sense of displeasure welled within him, but he suppressed it and asked, "What makes you say that?"
Miaoyi responded confidently, "Because electronic music has become stagnant. It hasn't evolved. It's still stuck in the same place it was ten years ago, lacking innovation and trapped in a creative bottleneck."
"Stagnant..." He was left momentarily speechless, the weight of her words sinking in.
"Yes, stagnant." Miaoyi reclined on her sofa, casually cracking melon seeds, exuding an air of relaxation.
She wasn't foolish. She knew her words would provoke thoughts and displeasure.
But she stood her ground, finding satisfaction in challenging established norms.
Despite her "humility," Miaoyi knew that in the current state of the world's electronic music scene, finding a teacher who could truly guide her was a rarity. It would be remarkable if she refrained from teaching others, yet this individual dared to claim he could teach her the intricacies of electronic music production.
The industry was dying before it even began. Similarly to country music, artists found one formula and stuck with it.
Most newer country songs only talked about well-calculated bullet points and had the same guitar, fiddle, harmonica, and singing style. Similarly, electronic songs had the same style of instrumentals, the same reverb, the same bass, and similar drops, and the singers even had their own electronic "accent," which made the genre blend together.
Miaoyi even had difficulty figuring out when one electronic song ended and another began.
Unfazed by his reaction, she continued to make her point.
"When you produce, where do you start?" Miaoyi inquired, cutting through the tension.
"Obviously, with the melody," he retorted, his annoyance palpable. "Isn't that the natural starting point?"
Starting with the melody had become a fundamental principle in electronic music production. To him, it seemed unquestionable.
Miaoyi was left dumbfounded by his response. She struggled to comprehend his perspective. "Starting directly with the melody is not just a problem; it's a fundamental flaw. You're trying to fly before you've even learned to walk."
"Isn't that what you do?" he questioned, his confusion evident. "If you don't have a good melody as a base, how can you create cohesive compositions that resonate with the melody?" Doubts swirled within him, compelled to express his inner perplexity.
Miaoyi responded emphatically, dismissing his notion. "That's utterly wrong. Even eating requires you to take it step by step. As mentioned earlier, you haven't even learned to walk yet but aspire to soar through the skies." Miaoyi's realization deepened as she understood the prevailing state of the electronic music scene in this world.
In her previous world, Miaoyi was interested in every step of production. She had previously discussed the process with some minor professionals and understood the flaws in such a method.
With how far ahead her world was, the audacity of someone in this world wanting to teach her the art of music production was unfathomable. It seemed they were living in a fantastical realm, detached from reality.
But, she now understood part of the reason electronic music was so lacking.
In fact, this was a common problem in her previous world, with all genres of music.
The issue was twofold. The first and foremost issue was starting with the melody. By starting with the melody, producers are drawn to make it as complex as possible, as all the empty space around the melody is grating. With the complexity of the melody, the additional instruments fall to the wayside, and all the listener pays attention to is the melody, which leaves the whole production lacking.
Additionally, creating a good background afterwards is much more challenging, as said producer would have to match each individual instrument perfectly with the melody and have a complementing Timbre.
A melody should flow with the other instruments, not clash against them.
The second issue, which wasn't exclusive to Electronic music, was another flaw with starting at the melody. When an artist begins a song with the melody, they tend to be drawn toward the chorus. This isn't a particularly bad thing on its own, considering that a hook is crucial to a song, but that leaves them floundering for a verse.
In her previous life, there was a sizeable short video app with many musicians promoting their music through it. Unfortunately, the musicians only posted the song's chorus due to the time limitation on videos.
Most made just the chorus and left the rest of the song unfinished to promote their other finished works.
As such, when called upon by the users of the app to release the entire song, the only part worth listening to was the chorus, and the rest of the song dragged the whole piece into obscurity.
Tutorial videos only spurred on this practice of starting with the chorus. Those tutorials would initially play the chorus or even the Drop section, trying to capture viewers' attention. Then they would reverse-engineer the song to create the beginning of the video.
None ever explained how to create a solid verse, intro, bridge, or ending afterwards.
But, as Miaoyi explained previously, eating also required taking it bite by bite, step by step. Rushing to achieve success was like constructing a tall building without laying the foundation. It would eventually collapse.
The same applied to producing electronic music. No matter how splendid the Chorus section was, ignoring crucial details and essential elements could result in a collapsed work.
Countless individuals ended up with an assembly of disjointed fragments - a work that crumbled like scattered sand. Even if it pleased their own ears, it would hardly pass as a professional-grade musical submission.
Miaoyi harboured a sense of disdain for these so-called "educational" videos that offered a mere glimpse into the craft. These self-professed experts flaunted their skills without comprehending the intricacies at play, perpetuating misguided approaches that led others astray.
Miaoyi conversed fluently with the individual on the other end, thoroughly explaining these various aspects.
"If you begin with the melody, the rest of the song becomes secondary. You make sacrifices and lower the quality of your own piece to force your melody to fit.
To begin with, I would suggest developing the intro section first. When uncertain, you can curate drum sounds that align with the song's style or experiment with intriguing individual samples. By organizing these samples and drum sounds into a cohesive Drum Rack and applying skillful effects processing, you can immediately perceive any inaccuracies with your Timbre, creating a more connected piece. This approach eliminates the potential criticism and limitations associated with your previous methods. Don't worry about the melody until the song's almost done.
A melody should elevate a song to the next level, but a song should still be functional without a melody.
Your workflow should be like this: start at the Intro section, progress to the Verse section, and culminate with the impactful Drop. This sequential structure serves as the fundamental backbone..."
The phone call stretched on, transcending mere moments.
For a staggering two hours, Tang Miaoyi offered insightful responses to myriad queries and dispensed invaluable advice. The conversation commenced with surface-level topics, gradually delving into more profound and conceptual understandings.
As the call progressed, the initial annoyance morphed into surprise, then astonishment, and ultimately transformed into sheer awe.
By the end of their conversation, the person on the other end addressed Miaoyi as "Teacher TMY," their tone brimming with profound respect.
Could changing one simple thing elevate a song to such a level?
After concluding the call, East sat in their office, momentarily dazed, needing to process the information absorbed.
These fragments of knowledge, previously unknown to them, were undeniably mind-boggling. It wasn't easy to fathom that they had all been compiled by a young girl with an unmistakable talent for sound.
If indeed true, it seemed that the external accolade of "Prodigy" aptly suited her.
"This young girl is truly extraordinary!" East's expression turned serious, their determination unwavering.
"Regardless of anything, we must bring her into the East Records."
