mijobooks Chapter 006 Special Recording Techniques
Chapter 006 Special Recording Techniques
Yang Du spent two days recording the accompaniment. Apart from a minor hiccup caused by the guitarist during the audition, everyone cooperated well afterwards.
On the third day, the single recording entered its most crucial stage: vocal recording.
Yang Du sat in front of the control panel, intently adjusting the equipment.
In this control room filled with sophisticated instruments, his young face stood out conspicuously.
To his left was Lao Li, the chief recording engineer of Jinshi Music, and behind him, on a leather sofa, sat Fang Lei and Sister Hong.
In addition, an uninvited guest, Wang Shihui, came to the control room today.
"Xiao Yang, ever since I heard your arrangement in the conference room that day, I've been thinking about it constantly. I figured even if I don't get the chance to be the producer this time, it would be good to observe from the sidelines."
"That's why I shamelessly came over with Director Fang today. You don't mind me showing up uninvited, do you?"
And you know what? It has a faint tea flavor.
"This old fox probably wants to see me make a fool of myself," Yang Du chuckled inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.
Fang Lei knew exactly what was going on.
Wang Shihui has spent his entire life arranging music, only to lose to a junior college student, and was even squeezed out of his producer position. He must be feeling very resentful.
He came today because he likes "Flammable and Explosive," but on the other hand, he may also be hoping that Yang Du will stumble.
There's a lot more to it than meets the eye in a recording studio.
It's not surprising for newcomers to understand music theory and arrangement; there are countless geniuses in the world. But how to evoke emotions in a singer in the recording studio is not something that can be accomplished by talent alone.
"Senior, let's go through it once to get a feel for it."
In the recording studio, Tao Cheng gave an OK sign.
The accompaniment began.
Tao Cheng closed her eyes and began to sing.
"They hope I go mad, and they also hope I won't live alone..."
"You want me to be aloof and elegant, yet also frivolous and vulgar..."
As a rising star singer heavily promoted by Jinshi Music, Tao Cheng has perfect pitch and impeccable breath control.
But just as the chorus began, Yang Du pressed the stop button, and the accompaniment abruptly stopped.
Fang Lei, sitting in the back row, raised an eyebrow slightly, while Wang Shihui calmly took a sip of tea, a hint of "I knew it" flashing in his eyes.
"Senior, the emotion wasn't there." Yang Du's voice came into the recording studio. "You sang with questioning and resentment, but it wasn't enough. I need that crazy, 'I'm not going to put up with this anymore' feeling."
"Okay, I'll try again."
The second time, the chorus still lacked the right emotion.
"No, do it again."
On the third try, Tao Cheng deliberately tried to create that explosive feeling, but her breath became disordered and she almost cracked her voice, making the effect even worse.
In the control room, Fang Lei sighed inwardly; his worst fears had come true.
The recording studio is never a place for personal relationships; the producer must oversee the entire process and guide the singer, so the producer's authority is especially important.
Does Yang Du have authority in the recording studio?
Ultimately, he was just a complete newcomer with no experience, while Tao Cheng had already released a physical album and was gaining momentum as a rising female singer heavily promoted by Jinshi Music.
Yang Du repeatedly denied the allegations, but failed to provide a solution in a short period of time, which quickly shattered the little trust that Tao Cheng had painstakingly built up.
What's more, outside the glass wall sat the company director, agent, and a veteran producer waiting to see the joke.
When the pressure accumulates to a critical point, Tao Cheng's subconscious trust will crumble, leading to the most fatal doubt: Is it that I sing badly, or that you are not good enough?
Even just a few days ago, Tao Cheng was still strongly supporting Yang Du to become the single's producer.
This is the fundamental reason why most singers prefer to collaborate with producers they are familiar with.
Seeing this, a glint of light flashed in Wang Shihui's cloudy eyes. He put down his thermos and said, "Little Yang, if this doesn't work, why don't you let your older brother give it a try..."
Here they come! They're already vying for control!
"Brother Li, stop recording for now. Teacher Wang, there's no rush."
Yang Du's voice remained steady and calm, showing none of the panic one would expect from a newcomer.
Yang Du pressed the intercom button and suggested, "Senior, why don't you come out and rest for ten minutes, have some water, and clear your head?"
The soundproof door opened, and Tao Cheng came out, her expression revealing her frustration. Sister Hong quickly handed her a teacup.
"Senior."
"Um?"
"Have you been preparing for recording your single these past few days? Haven't you seen my new Weibo post yet?"
"yes."
Tao Cheng was stunned for a moment. What time is it? You still care about Weibo?
"Then I suggest you take a look now." Yang Du smiled slightly. "It's the one we consulted with you and Sister Hong about the day we had dinner."
Tao Cheng was puzzled, but she still took out her phone and went to Yang Du's Weibo homepage.
Tao Cheng's eyelids twitched as soon as she saw the title.
"I changed myself for love, from a career woman to the perfect wife, but he was having an affair: She's not as good as you, but she helped me regain my dignity as a husband!"
What kind of horrible title is this?!
Is this even human?
She took a deep breath, clicked on the full text, and began to read.
The article is simple, told from a female perspective, about a man from a poor background who wins the heart of a female protagonist during college and lives off her financially, living off her with a sense of entitlement.
After marriage, in order to protect his pride, the female protagonist lowered her stance and never brought her work-related items home.
She even took the initiative to do laundry and cook for the male lead, and made concessions in every aspect of life.
Despite this, the man still cheated on his wife.
He disliked the female lead for being too assertive and felt he couldn't stand up straight in front of her. Less than six months after their marriage, he found a scheming mistress who called him "Brother is so great."
What's most disgusting is that the money the scumbag boyfriend used to buy his mistress bags, jewelry, and even rent a villa was all paid for with the woman's bank card.
Well, using his wife's money to support his mistress—that was the idea Hong Jie gave him.
Tao Cheng was originally preoccupied with how to speak out and how to express her emotions, but now, looking at this highly relatable and melodramatic long article, she felt an inexplicable anger rising to her head, and she wanted nothing more than to smash the scumbag's head in.
"Why doesn't that guy just die!"
Tao Cheng gritted her teeth, her breathing became heavy, and the veins on the back of her hands bulged faintly.
Seeing Tao Cheng's blood pressure rising, Yang Du knew that the time was almost right.
"Senior, if you were the female lead, how would you feel right now?"
"Fuck it!" Tao Cheng cursed.
"Great, remember that feeling. Let's do it again."
"it is good."
Tao Cheng got up and strode back to the recording studio.
Accompanied by the slightly dark synthesizer sound effects in the intro, Tao Cheng closed her eyes, and all that came to mind was the disgusting and ugly face of that scumbag in the novel.
This time, she didn't need to deliberately cultivate her emotions; the struggle, resentment, and destructive anger flowed out naturally with her singing.
To hell with restraint and decorum!
I'm flammable and explosive!
"Give me dreams, and you give me a quick awakening; you sleep with me, and you waste my time without mercy..."
The high notes surged up, the emotion so intense it sent chills down your spine.
That's it, that's the taste.
Old Li's eyes lit up in the control room.
"Perfect!" Yang Du gave the sound engineer a thumbs up.
He pressed the intercom button again and said, "Senior, remember this feeling. Let's maintain it for two more times."
Fang Lei and Sister Hong exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise and shock.
This...that's it?
A long Weibo post that instantly ignited my emotions?
Only Wang Shihui, a veteran producer who has been in the industry for decades, is completely baffled by the current situation.
His hand holding the thermos froze in mid-air, feeling like an outsider who didn't belong.
What exactly did Tao Cheng watch?
His curiosity was bubbling like cat claws, and he finally couldn't resist asking in a low voice, "Xiao Hong, what exactly did Xiao Yang show Chengzi just now? I vaguely heard it was something like Weibo?"
Hongjie's expression instantly turned slightly awkward, and she replied dryly, "Haha, well, Teacher Wang, it was a Weibo post written by Yang Du himself."
Wang Shihui became even more curious: "Oh, what's his Weibo account? I'll go check it out."
Under Sister Hong's guidance, Wang Shihui took out his large-print smartphone and searched for the account 【Yang Dudu】.
Two minutes later.
Wang Shihui read the first blog post with a furrowed brow, then fell into deep self-doubt.
He glanced at Tao Cheng, whose singing was full of emotion, in the recording studio, and then at Yang Du, who sat calmly in front of the control panel.
Is that even possible?!