Chapter 3: Hitting the Pavement 1(An idiom that means to go out in search of something or for a specific purpose) (1)
An optician once said, ‘To someone who doesn’t know much about art, as long as the colors in a painting are striking, they consider the artist a talented colorist.”
The same can be said for music. The pictures painted by popular songs are generally flimsy. They lack intensity and are rough around the edges, frequently using mismatched colors.
However, because the general public looks at the ‘whole’ picture, they don’t really mind these flaws, as long as they aren’t too weird.
Oh, I’m not disparaging them at all. I’m just seeing what the general public can’t see, and there are, of course, beautiful pieces of music that remind me of a masterpiece even when I look at them with my eyes. These are the albums we often call ‘masterpieces.’
Masterpieces that do not lose their meaning and beauty when seen or heard by any sensory sense.
I was filled with deep admiration for the genius that transcends eras. As an ordinary person, I even feel a bit doubtful if I can ever reach their level.
But I believe in the power of this fortune. So, even if I may not create a masterpiece, I thought I could at least make a ‘good’ song by general public standards… However, the more I tried, the more I realized how difficult this task is.
Even though I could see and hear colors and sounds interlink together, it is challenging to fully express them perfectly to the world. And even when inspiration came, my equipment was severely lacking.
But I had no choice but to fill those gaps.
I studied, practiced, studied again and practiced relentlessly.
I analyzed the songs that topped the charts recently, as well as the masterpieces from the past. I delved into the relationship between melody and lyrics and even explored the unique color attributes each instrument possesses.
For example, a general piano VST (Virtual Instrument) only produces shades of green colors. As the pitch gets lower, the color becomes a darker green, and as it gets higher, the color becomes a lighter green, with only the saturation changing.
Additionally, guitars belong to the blue spectrum, and drums are black…
I took all of this strangely intuitively.
It was almost as if, after the accident, my ability to perceive and intuitively understand music and colors had developed as well. I even got to the point where I could predict the color of some instruments before hearing them.
Anyway, after spending two weeks engrossed in music and sleeping only four hours a day, here I am, sitting in front of my computer, staring blankly at the empty DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) with somewhat hazy eyes.
“…Hhhh.”
I had trained tirelessly, and now I needed to create a song, but no inspiration was coming to mind.
What I needed most right now was the ‘paint’, the singer’s voice, that will be the main ingredient for the song, but I had no idea who I should make it for.
Since I didn’t know any singers, I turned on the TV while thinking about it. As soon as it turned on, a song started playing.
– That day still lingers in my heart…~
“Huh?”
The song started halfway through. However, the rich colors flowing through the TV speakers were enough to captivate me instantly. The colors I felt in each phrase captured my heart.
Only 1 minute and 30 seconds.
The song was over in the blink of an eye, but in that short moment, I was entranced.
– “Will the sad cuckoo finally ascend to the throne of the new king of masked singers today?”
The inspiration for my music’s melody (樂想)…
I’ve chosen you, ‘Sad Cuckoo’ from The Masked Singer.
November 11th. On Pepero Day 2(A popular holiday in South Korea celebrated on November 11th each year. It’s similar to Valentine’s Day in that it’s a day to express affection for friends, family, and loved ones), a day when singles have nothing to look forward to, I finally completed my first song.
Using the deep blue colored voice of ‘Sad Cuckoo’—suspected by the public to be the skilled vocalist Jeon-hyuk—as my muse, it took me two weeks to complete the song.
In the past, I could finish a song in just two days when inspiration struck, but my current composing style had changed, making it two weeks the best I could manage. And there weren’t many instruments either.
The title of the song is ‘Alleyway’.
It captures the emotions of longing that arise as someone walking alone down an alleyway after a breakup.
Relying on a moment of inspiration, I used a dark piano as the main melody, adding strings and electric guitar only to the chorus of the second verse.
Consequently, the beginning is calm and gentle, but there’s a majestic feel to the highlight that builds to the climax.
The song’s scenery moves slowly.
First, a hazy sunset that looks like it’s about to shatter. Then, gradually, as the view shifts to the background, a narrow alleyway appears in a more vivid dark blue at the moment the sun sets in the fiery sky.
This structure is repeated in the first and second verses, and after the final bridge, the chorus becomes a bit more intense, and a desolate darkness devoid of light and brightness enters poignantly.
The song’s overall difficulty is quite high.
The chorus appears three times, and there’s a part where you shout the last killing part, aka the ‘Ooh yeah~~‘ part.
Even though I wrote the lyrics myself, they are decent enough. While they could use some professional polishing, I don’t think they’ll ruin the song at least.
So, it’s definitely more sophisticated and objectively easier to listen to than the songs I created before gaining my color sight.
However.
“…It’s ambiguous.”
Without a voice and with the lyrics needing more work, coupled with my inadequate equipment, the finished song felt much duller and vaguer than I had envisioned.
The identity of the song is vague, which goes well with the dullness in a strange way, but still, as a composer, I can’t be satisfied.
If I could at least add a voice, I think I’ll get a general idea of how it would feel overall…
In the end, I hired a busker for 70,000 won to record the lyrics after some negotiation.
Honestly, the recording process was so nerve-wracking I thought I was going to have a seizure. Even if I generously said his voice was somewhat similar to Jeon-hyuk’s, he couldn’t capture the feeling of the song at all.
Nevertheless, the finished product turned out to be pretty decent. Even the busker who recorded the vocals was impressed.
Of course, there were occasional jarring parts that sounded rough, but I figured it was acceptable for a demo.
I changed the composer’s name from the unlucky ‘So-ha’ to ‘Helly’ before sending the demo to various agencies.
But as expected, this industry wasn’t easy.
I sent the demo song to almost every agency – except for those shady agencies that would just steal the song – but they all ignored it.
Major agencies didn’t even open it, while small to mid-sized ones responded with generic feedback like ‘The song is good, but…’. I even sent it to Jeon-hyuk’s agency, but they didn’t even bother to read it.
This was to be expected. Nowadays, they get songs from composers all over the world, so there’s no reason for anyone to listen to a song by a complete newbie composer with no credentials like ‘Helly’.
“Damn it.”
I threw the mouse aside as I listened to ‘Alleyway.mp3’ playing on the speakers.
I started feeling disheartened again. I guess it’s true that some people are just never meant to succeed, no matter what they do…
“Tsk.”
I turned off the song and suddenly noticed the TV, which had been on for some time, was now more prominent.
– Shin Seung-yeon wins with 232 votes!
It was a rerun of the popular Thursday night show ‘Singing Through the Times’, also known as ‘Singol,’ which consistently ranks in the top 1-2 spots for viewership.
– Yoon Hyeok-pil, who is making his first appearance today, is eliminated without a single win!
A musical singer named Shin Seung-yeon was overwhelmingly defeating a male singer.
But the host just had to make sure. Poor guy…
“Wait a minute.”
Wasn’t that show ‘Singol’ being recorded at the NBC Cultural Center nearby?
A flash of inspiration struck me. I quickly grabbed my phone and texted Yoon Seong-woo, the only friend I could call, who works as a manager at JM Entertainment.
[Hey, isn’t ‘Singing Through the Times’ recorded in Seosan?]
Surprisingly, he responded quickly.
[Yeah, why?]
[What time does the recording start?]
[Rehearsal starts at 3 PM on Saturday. Why do you ask?]
I started gathering my things while texting back.
[Got it, thanks.]
[?]
The current time is 1:30 PM on Saturday.
What a coincidence, I had just enough time to buy a CD and put the song on, it would be the perfect time to head over.
Hello everyone! I’m excited to let you know that from now on, I’ll be sharing new posts every Wednesday! 🗓️✨
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Thank you, already love the story!