Chapter 229: The Melody That Will Shock You
“Man, Japanese is cool. I need to get on that.”
Lin Tian stroked his chin in thought.
This system is pretty thoughtful. Noticing that he’s heading to Tokyo soon, it decided to teach him some Japanese.
No, what’s truly shocking isn’t necessarily about being terrified.
After all, being startled and feeling creeped out are two different things.
Being startled is like a cheap prank; getting crept out requires a bit of skill.
It’s kind of like watching a work by Toono Nika. It could be either refreshing or horrifying, depending on how you look at it.
Some thrills come from every interaction with a bald colleague who’s also your boss’s spouse, the squirm and heartache from his annoying boss, or the tingling rush when helping a bashful guy in class without anyone noticing.
Others—well—they’re simpler. It’s about someone going in, her yelling, and both ending up exhausted.
So, if it’s just that…
Lin Tian didn’t particularly want to inflict a scary tune on listeners.
He just needed to add some jarring elements to startle people at the right moment.
At that point, Lin Tian knew what was next.
He had to introduce a legend among Austrian composers, a founder of Vienna’s classical era—Franz Joseph Haydn.
Haydn, serving as a court musician for thirty years in Austria, was adored by the aristocrats and high society in the 18th century.
In those days, attending performances by renowned artists was considered incredibly refined.
Many upper-class folks loved partaking in such activities.
Put simply, it was all about showing off.
In contemporary European nobility, this trend of “pretending to be cultured” was quite the rage.
Enter Haydn—he was the go-to superstar everyone wanted to see perform, almost a status symbol among the noble crowd.
Just watching his performances was already high-status stuff.
But it came to pass that many of the nobles couldn’t understand a thing and only listened to seem cultured.
Quite often, they’d nod off during Haydn’s concerts.
Imagine your audience falling asleep while listening to you! Naturally, Haydn got mad about that.
So, he wrote a piece—the “Surprise Symphony,” also known as Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G Major.
This piece? It’s all about torture!
The intro? Super quiet and slow.
But, if you think you’ve found yourself some peaceful music to relax to, you’d be in for a fright.
Boom! An enormous shocker chord hits you right when you least expect it, making you jump out of your skin!
And then it does that at unexpected intervals, catching you off guard each time.
Haydn played a cruel game.
During its first performance, it really worked. Noblemen who were dozing off suddenly found themselves shocked back to consciousness.
More formally speaking, this showed off Haydn’s mastery as a composer and his innovation.
But in reality, it’s more like Haydn’s personal vendetta against bored audiences.
That said, it showed a fun side of this classical music maestro.
Time to make a new tune.
“Teacher Gan, wait a moment.”
Lin Tian stood up quickly, dashed into the bedroom, and grabbed a laptop.
“What’s up?”
“I’m gonna write a new song!”
Lin Tian then started typing away.
Standard procedure: He reworked Haydn’s symphony into a cello-piano duet with strings as backup.
Since this combo works well for most pieces, it wasn’t tough to adapt.
Especially when you’re aiming for that “surprise” element, a cello’s dramatic power packs a punch.
After some practice, they’d go into the studio with full accompaniment later.
Lin Tian kept fiddling on the laptop when Gan Yan Yu snuck up, standing behind him with her head resting on his shoulder.
Her hair fell over his neck as she peeked at the screen.
“Mr. Lin, man, you’re so spontaneous.”
“Stay for dinner after and give this a shot.”
Not long after, he had written down the second movement, which gave the symphony its name.
Lin Tian finished work, arms crossed.
Gan Yan Yu glanced at the score, humming along.
Halfway through, her pupils widened, pointing at the screen.
“Mr. Lin, is there a mistake here?”
She looked puzzled,
“Shouldn’t it be like this?”
She wasn’t one to doubt Lin Tian’s musical prowess, thinking maybe he hit the wrong keys while typing.
“No error, that’s just how it goes.”
“Huh?”
Now even more confused.
Scratching her head, leaning forward, and continuing to read it.
Every now and then, her eye caught an odd variation.
Yet somehow, it all came together and felt oddly compelling!
Impatient, she dragged him along.
“Let’s go try!”
They headed to a café.
Unveiling the piano’s cover, Lin Tian took his usual spot.
Gan Yan Yu picked up her cello and sat on the couch, placing it between her legs.
She looked at the sheet music.
On three-two-one, they began.
Given the cheerful tone,
they played smoothly together.
Such energy and joy, they practically overflowed from their notes.
No big problem there.
Near the end, even Gan Yan Yu, always serious about her cello, let loose.
Holding back a giggle, she said,
“Lin Tian, what’s this, your song?”
She hadn’t laughed so much over a piece in ages. She felt the same way last time with the “Can-Can” dance.
“We’ll record it tomorrow,” she added, excitement bubbling over.
Gan Yan Yu was almost more eager than Lin Tian to see everyone’s reaction.
(Fin)
