I am a Big Player
Chapter 341 - 339, Little Professor (Second Update)_1

Chapter 341: 339, Little Professor (Second Update)_1

"Can’t a piano play a line of poetry?" Ren He said with a smile, looking at everyone after he finished playing.

None of the students could find the words to respond. This young professor had voiced exactly what was on their minds. Indeed, they were just thinking that the idea of playing poetry on the piano must be bragging.

But now things were different. The more mundane the practice piece, the more difficult it was to bring out its essence. Everyone was a professional, so after listening to the practice piece, they understood why a 16-year-old genius deserved to be at the Juilliard School of Music.

Moreover, when compared to him, what kind of genius were they? They needed to learn humbly, and quickly.

They came to the Juilliard School of Music to improve their playing abilities. Everyone was no fool; in the field of art, talent took precedence over age and academic qualifications—it was all about skill level.

Now that Ren He had proven himself with such a simple practice piece, the next thing for everyone was to study hard rather than cause any trouble.

And there was Yang Xi, standing in the crowd with a light smile, watching Ren He shine brilliantly. In her heart, she held a bit of admiration for Ren He. Yang Xi didn’t understand why Ren He could do everything so well or why he knew so much.

But every time he dazzled once more, her heart would flutter anew. This was the person she loved!

No matter how much others doubted, Ren He stood there, forever unafraid of rumors and gossip. That was true strength.

Ren He said with a smile, "In my understanding, what is the difference between a professional pianist and a master-level performer? Is it whose fundamentals are more solid? No. It’s really about how we construct sentences, you see. A segment of music notes is fixed, but what’s the meaning if you just narrate them monotonously?"

This is why in the past, many said Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata was easy to play, yet professionals would come out and say, "Don’t talk nonsense."

Easy to play, that means hitting the notes correctly. But is it really considered well-played if you just hit the right notes? Have you interpreted the emotions within the piece in your own way?

Music must contain emotions since it was created by the masters at their most inspired moments, but it doesn’t mean that if you only hit the right notes, you’ve played it well.

When playing the piano, treating each phrase in the sheet music with intensity, or blending the use of the pedals according to one’s emotional understanding of the piece, that’s what’s called a ’sentence’.

The same notes also differ in the strength with which they are played. When every pianist truly aspires to reach master level, it’s time to demonstrate their skills.

A piece of music, a line of poetry—this is what Ren He wanted to teach them! It sounded profound, but it was just Ren He expressing how to manage dynamics and coordinate with the three pedals in a poetic way. The handling of dynamics and one’s understanding of a phrase or an entire piece is where the interpretation of the piece’s emotions lies.

That’s why the masters are called masters, and it’s why piano virtuosos always emphasize that an outstanding performer needs exceptional technique, top-notch finger control, and a surprisingly clear and coordinated mind.

Whether the emotions are abundant—that’s the rarest talent of all.

During the lesson, Ren He, using the practice piece as an example, spoke endlessly about why he made the dynamic choices he did and would occasionally have the students play while he performed alongside them for demonstration. Some students, due to habits developed from long-term practice, had never thought to differentiate dynamics based on emotion—it was instinctual. Ren He then patiently corrected them.

By the end of the class, everyone understood why Ren He had placed two pianos here. It turned out it was for the convenience of on-the-spot demonstration.

They also finally understood that turning a piece of music into a poetic sentence is actually a very scientific and systematic process!

It was like opening a new world to them; before, everyone struggled because they didn’t know how to continue improving their performance. They always felt they were already doing well since they were, after all, talented.

But now, they finally saw the gap between themselves and master-level performers, and knowing the gap meant they could bridge it. This excitement was incredibly important for kids who loved the piano!

In fact, this was the issue constantly discussed in the piano world: To achieve top-level piano performance, having a first-class teacher was essential; self-teaching just couldn’t accomplish this.

How many first-class piano teachers are there in a country? Back home, a lesson from such a teacher starts at 1000 and can even reach 2000. The students standing here might not come from families short of money, but sometimes these elite instructors couldn’t be found even with money.

Now, for them, there was a master-level teacher giving them lessons, and it was such detailed, live, dual-piano instruction—truly a rare opportunity!

All the students felt that coming to the Juilliard School of Music was indeed worth it, and Ren He’s tone and powerful presence during the lessons never made him seem like just a 16-year-old boy.

They felt a need to tell their parents about this, as their folks were quite concerned about the teaching quality of a 16-year-old, but now they could let go of that worry. This was a first-class instructor.

What is a master teacher? It’s someone who can open up a new world for their students when they have reached a bottleneck, providing them with an opportunity for rapid advancement—that’s a master teacher.

Some students even requested Ren He to play a piece that they could record and use for practice. Ren He didn’t refuse. After all, learning usually begins with imitation, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Ren He then asked which piece they wanted to record, and suddenly a student blurted out, "Little Professor..." but then realized the term was perhaps inappropriate...

Little Professor? Ren He found it amusing. It seemed this was what his students had decided to call him, and they weren’t wrong; he was indeed young. He laughed and said, "No problem, just speak your mind, don’t mind the title."

Seeing that Ren He didn’t take particular offense, the student mustered up the courage and said, "Little Professor, I heard from other professors that you were originally hired as a composition teacher, and I also heard that the four pieces you’ve written are all incredibly stunning. Could we record one of those songs as long as we promise to not use it for commercial purposes?"

Ren He thought about it and smiled, "Alright, I also plan to release them, so let’s use this as an opportunity."

He had already agreed to release these four songs under the name of a Juilliard School of Music professor—it was sort of a promise. Since he had agreed, he might as well do it well, and Joseph had asked for popularity, not particularly caring about the audio quality.

And fundamentally, even if the audio quality of his four compositions was somewhat lacking, the melodies alone were enough to move everyone.

Ren He chose to record the third movement of the Pathetique Sonata this time!

Everyone, including Yang Xi, suddenly realized that when Ren He started playing properly, his demeanor seemed to undergo some transformation... and then those slender fingers began furiously dancing in the sunlit piano room!

Ren He was playing one of the most difficult versions of the piece ever adapted from the past world, and as the students watched his hands leap across the keyboard, they suddenly thought: In the rain, Little Professor’s hands could probably catch every raindrop falling before him from the sky!

It was madness!

...

There’s more today; I’ll continue writing.