Chapter 42 The Duet of Erhu and Suona

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The moment the gentle, melodious notes of the erhu blended with the piercing, high-pitched tones of the suona, Chen Ye suddenly felt that these two instruments were a match made in heaven.

It was as if only when played together did they form a single, complete instrument.

This song, "Relinquishing Sorrow," had been popular for a time before the descent of the Crimson, but he had never expected that the old erhu player would also know how to accompany it.

Though the old man had reinterpreted and arranged it through his own understanding, weaving it in through rich harmonies...

Not only was there not the slightest sense of discord, but it actually reinforced every part of the song, transforming the auditory experience entirely.

For a time, Chen Ye felt his consciousness completely immersed in the performance of the suona.

As the old erhu player's melody grew faster and faster...

It felt almost like an auditory illusion; Chen Ye felt as though the erhu no longer had just a single track, but had merged from multiple tracks playing simultaneously!

Gradually, he began to find the suona in his hands growing heavy and difficult to keep up with the old man's pace.

The music became chaotic, losing its sense of unity.

Struggling through to the end of the song, the music came to an abrupt halt.

At that very moment, the old erhu player slowly stopped his movements, smiled, and said:

"Don't be impatient..."

"The reason musical instruments require massive amounts of practice is to build sufficient muscle memory so that the sound remains unified and fluid."

"If you have to think while playing and get distracted, failing to maintain emotional continuity, it will naturally lead to scattering."

"However, initial contemplation is indispensable. At this stage, you need to think about what kind of music is appropriate, how a certain tune should be played, and which techniques are not yet fully refined..."

"Once you pass this stage and build up enough muscle memory, your performance can enter a state of 'flow,' allowing you to remain undisturbed by external matters."

Chen Ye pondered for a moment, carefully chewing on the old man's words. He nodded and said:

"Let's continue practicing."

The two resumed their duet.

During the first half of the song, the old erhu player reduced his own presence, letting Chen Ye take the lead.

He only performed simple, harmonic backing.

Once the song reached its climax, however, the erhu needed to bring out the full advantage of its timbre, bringing a revolutionary transformation to the entire piece.

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Therefore, at this point, the old erhu player would hold nothing back.

Whenever they reached the climax, the suona in Chen Ye's hands felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead. The previously familiar notes became difficult to blow, and it seemed almost impossible to blend with the music.

He took a deep breath, trying his best not to let the old man's music disrupt his own emotions, and instead focused more mental energy on the emotional expression of his playing.

For the audience, emotional resonance is the most important thing, which the performer must drive forward using skilled techniques.

However, for Chen Ye, he had to find his own emotions first before he could express them properly.

This was why, in creation, imitators could often make things look very similar yet still fail to become exceptional creators.

True creation requires personal expression, which demands finding oneself rather than blindly imitating or following someone else's rhythm.

Chen Ye gradually tried to detach himself from the mere mechanics of the song in order to find his inner core.

Suddenly, he felt the suona in his hands lighten, and the music grew much more melodious and tender.

He was secretly surprised in his heart, clearly not expecting that this harsh-sounding suona could actually produce such a gentle and graceful timbre under his hands?

Having mastered this technique...

Chen Ye suddenly realized how the suona should truly be played.

Gradually, step by step, he was able to keep up with the old erhu player during the climax. The melody of the entire song underwent a complete metamorphosis because of the suona, finally becoming genuinely captivating.

Even Chen Ye, as the performer himself, was deeply moved by the melody.

At this moment, his mind was completely clear and tranquil, as if he had forgotten all performance techniques.

He simply played the suona following the "flow," yet the resulting tone became entirely different—soft, moving, and touching deep into the soul, without a single technical flaw in the execution.

Contrast this with earlier, when Chen Ye had constantly obsessed over the correctness of his technique; he had frequently made minor flaws and always felt something lacked perfection.

Though his technique had not yet reached the level of absolute mastery, driven by the "flow," minor imperfections were smoothed over with subtle adjustments, ensuring that the overall rhythm and direction remained flawless.

It achieved the effect of minor flaws being outweighed by great virtues.

Thus, the piece became truly worth listening to repeatedly.

Finally.

The performance entered its outro, the music fading away into a distant, low, and ethereal artistic conception.

The old erhu player raised his head, looked at Chen Ye with a smile, and said:

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"Hehe, kid, you must have gained quite a lot today, right?"

Chen Ye gradually detached himself from the emotions brought by the music and returned to reality. His heart calmed down once more. He sorted out his thoughts in his mind, then organized his words and said:

"Yes, I think I've finally understood how a musician should play."

"After all, a person is only human; it's impossible to achieve perfection, impossible for every note to be as precise as a machine."

"Technique is not a formula; it is merely the performer's expression."

"But an expressionist must truly know what they want to express in order to attain true technique and bring that 'expression' close to perfection."

"If one plays purely for the sake of technique, they will only drift further and further away from the essence of expression..."

As Chen Ye finished speaking, suddenly, that familiar feeling of "digestion" surged forth once again.

Only this time, the progress of digestion was noticeably greater than the last.

At that moment, Chen Ye attained a sudden enlightenment regarding where his previous bottleneck had been.

After gaining a preliminary understanding of music, he had cared too much about whether the technique was correct, whether the note was right, and whether the rhythm hit the exact beat...

Yet, the more he thought about it, the more cumbersome the content he needed to "express" became.

In the end, he would grasp nothing, and his mindset would fluctuate due to technical mistakes during the performance, leading to excessive tension.

Just imagine...

When a performer is too nervous, what they express becomes a manifestation of "imbalance" under those conditions.

Even if the technical correctness is high, the fluctuations brought by this "imbalance" will make the auditory experience uncomfortable.

On the contrary, when in a completely relaxed state, unburdened by excessively strict constraints of technique, the melody and rhythm return to freedom.

The resulting performance undergoes a heaven-shaking transformation.

Opening the Crimson Phone once again...

His eerie value had already reached five thousand nine hundred points!

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