Chapter 38: Modern Piano Fingering (Seeking Three Rivers Ticket)

  Hehe, before the great god has exerted his strength, Sanjiang is currently in first place, thank you everyone, and please continue to support...

  Once it was decided that Lucien would learn the instrument, Viktor stood up from the sofa, clapped his hands: "Just in time, two days ago, Mr. Rhein and Mr. Xavier finished modifying the pipe organ, Lucien you follow me today to try out its effect, haha, because its timbre, volume and range width far exceeded my imagination, even surpassing all other instruments, only slightly worse in sound quality, so I think it's no longer a pipe organ, but a brand new, revolutionary instrument, Lucien, start your own musical journey from this brand new instrument."

  It can be seen that Viktor is very satisfied with the result of the harpsichord modification, and he, who usually just smiles and is good at keeping his demeanor, is full of brilliant smiles.

  "If it's a brand new, revolutionary instrument, then it should be you, Mr. Viktor, who suggests improvements and gives it an official name." Lott said with a smile as they walked together to the second floor music room.

  Victor looked at Lucien with a benevolent smile and asked, "Lucien, what do you think it should be called? This brand new instrument, you also made great contributions to it, why not give your opinion and let's refer to it. Mr. Rhein thinks that the mechanical structure of this instrument is the most complicated among all instruments, fully embodying the beauty of mechanical art, so it should be called a mechanical piano, haha, his violin playing is almost an art form, but his ability to name things... haha."

  Although Viktor didn't finish speaking, Lucien, Lott, Phyllis and Hierode all clearly knew that he thought Rhein was incompetent.

  "Mr. Victor, and Mr. Xavier?" Lucien asked with a hint of curiosity without directly mentioning the piano.

  "Mr. Shaver thought it should be called the struck string piano, because it was a combination of the struck string piano and the reed organ, haha." Viktor smiled and shook his head, clearly not impressed with the name, "I think it should be called the all-key piano, because the struck string piano is also called the small piano, the reed organ is the large piano, and this new instrument has a very wide range, almost covering everything.

  "Actually, you're all incompetent at naming..."

  This is a fact that Lucien, Lott and Phyllis silently stated in their hearts almost at the same time.

  Lucien thought for a moment and couldn't accept the three names, so he said bluntly: "Actually, the pianoforte is also called harpsichord, which has the word 'piano' in common with the fortepiano. It's often abbreviated as piano, and this word is full of mechanical flavor, which fits Mr. Rhein's idea perfectly. Moreover, it implies dynamic changes, which is the main characteristic of this brand new instrument's timbre and volume. Therefore, Mr. Viktor, I think why not just call it piano?"

  Because words are different from the earth, Lucien can only mix up his original ideas to forcibly find some reasons.

  "Ah, not... " Phyllis had finally heard a name that wasn't bad, and was about to agree, but then she thought of Mr. Viktoor, who hadn't spoken yet, and how it would be unbecoming of her noble status, and possibly against Mr. Viktoor's preferences, so she hastily shut her mouth. Instantly, Phyllis, who loved to mock others, had a beautifully flushed face that matched perfectly with her fiery red hair, making her look even more lovely.

  Lotte and Hiroto were fine, just nodded slightly, came to their senses, and glanced at Phyllis with a smile.

  "Ah, piano, yes, good, very good. It includes both my and Mr. Rhein's ideas, so we don't have to argue about it anymore."

  Lucien was taken aback and almost burst out laughing, it turned out that Mr. Viktor had asked him to choose a name because he and Mr. Rhein had gotten into an argument over the choice of name, neither willing to give in to the other.

  Soon, on the second floor piano room, Jun Mei's silver hair, which was almost eerie, wore his favorite red and black outfit, sitting in front of the "piano", his slender hands stretched out, his shoulders and arms almost motionless, playing a soft and pleasant melody, the sound of the piano was delicate, like whispers at night, as if it were a lover's whisper, making those who heard it feel calm and immersed in the musical atmosphere.

  The charm of the piano piece played by Rhein made Lucien, Victor and others silent, listening quietly until he finished playing, then lightly applauding, as if the sound of applause was a little louder, it would break the peaceful and beautiful atmosphere brought by the music.

  "Mr. Rhein, I didn't expect that in addition to the violin, your harpsichord playing is also so excellent, no worse than Miss Sylvia's!" Phyllis' face turned red again, her eyes shining with excitement as she praised him.

  Laine was just testing the effect of "piano" in this range and volume with a stroke of a single string, sounding flawless, while Silvia is the best musician playing alto on the small keyboard.

  Because the spinet is suitable for indoor performances in rooms such as living rooms, bedrooms, etc., and its tone color and suitable songs are also deeply loved by noblewomen and girls, Sylvia often becomes a guest of noble families, invited to attend banquets held by earls, viscounts, etc. There is even a rumor that she and Princess Natasha are close friends. With this background, Sylvia is the most transcendent musician in the Musician Association.

  Rhine stood up, his right hand on his chest, slightly bowing, like a musician making his final acknowledgement. Then he smiled and shook his head: "I'm just more mature in technique, but I'm still far inferior to Miss Sylvia in music. At least I couldn't have written such a beautiful melody as the one just now."

  Lucien, who was standing by, looked at the books in the Soul Library, such as "Hanon's Piano Finger Exercises", "Chopin's Revolution of Piano Fingering" and "Exploration of Chopin's Fingering Methods". Comparing them with Laine's performance earlier, he nodded frequently in his heart: "Indeed, fingering, melody and music are all restricted by the instrument. Whenever the instrument has a new improvement, the fingering will gradually change, eventually forming different styles. And this piano's tone, volume and range have approached those of modern pianos, with 88 keys, having sustain pedals and sostenuto pedals, so it is most suitable for various modern piano fingerings."

  On earth, due to the limitations of instruments such as the harpsichord, playing the piano initially only used three fingers until Bach "liberated" the thumb and pinky, allowing them to participate in performances. Later, influenced by the sound quality and volume changes of the harpsichord being difficult to express with finger strength, musicians used techniques such as tremolo and echo to replace sustained sounds and dynamic changes. As a result, piano pieces from this period, including Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier", were filled with elaborate ornaments, making it impossible to highlight pure melodies, and rarely featured loud or rapid passages.

  Until the piano was truly born, the music and fingerings of the piano began to change dramatically, such as Chopin's second "liberation" of the thumb and pinky, allowing them to also play black keys, such as Chopin's innovative glissando and pedaling techniques.

  Lucien stood quietly by, watching as "Hanon's Piano Finger Exercises" and other modern piano finger exercises were being introduced at the time, while Viktor had already conferred with Rhein and decided to call this brand new instrument a "piano".

  "Lucien, come here, sit in front of the piano, I'll teach you the basics of fingering." Viktor suddenly shouted at Lucien.

  Lucien was a bit nervous and slightly excited as he walked quickly over, sat down on the piano stool, but as soon as he sat down, he felt something was off. According to the fingerings in the primer, his height relative to the piano seemed a bit low, so he hastily asked Viktor beside him: "Mr. Viktor, can you raise the piano stool? Or exchange it for one that's ten centimeters higher?"

  "Lucien, you're not much shorter than Mr. Rhein, so this stool should be just right."

  Lucien stretched out his hand, gesturing for Viktor to see: "This height is only suitable for using finger and wrist strength. When I need to use forearm, upper arm, and shoulder movement to play, it becomes very stiff, and the distance is also a bit far. The hand stretches too straight, not agile enough."

  "Nonsense! Lucien, quickly forget the informal and incorrect way of playing you learned from taverns and streets!" Viktor rarely scolded Lucien, lest he go astray. "Didn't you see just now? Mr. Rhein only used his wrist and fingers to play, when would he use his forearms, upper arms and shoulders?"

  Lucien had anticipated Viktor's reaction, for some of the changes in modern piano technique were difficult for certain famous pianists of the time to accept, such as Liszt's use of forearm, upper arm and shoulder movements, and high-falling free-fall power to produce a more powerful and intense sound, which was once criticized as not playing the piano but "beating the piano".

  "Lucien, don't imagine that so-called unbridled tavern and countryside style will surpass regular, perfect music education. If you can't correct these shortcomings, you'll only become a troubadour, but not a qualified musician." Herodotus, who had always disliked Lucien, finally seized the opportunity to mock him.

  Lott and Phyllis felt a little pleased that Lucien was scolded by Mr. Victor, but it's understandable for beginners to make mistakes, and they didn't think it was unexpected.

  Lucien, who had been prepared for this, explained calmly: "Mr. Viktor, I think the technique and style of playing should match the instrument, and this piano is a brand new one. From what you've introduced over time, it has an unparalleled strong tone, volume, and stable sound quality. Why can't we change our fingerings? Why can't we use arm strength?"

  "Didn't you ask me to help you find a solution to the piano problem just now, Mr. Viktor? Isn't it about the fingerings not matching with the instrument?"

  Listening to Lucien's clear and logical explanation, Viktor felt absurd and couldn't refute it. Instead, Laine stepped forward with a smile: "Mr. Viktor, have you forgotten the liberation of 'one finger' and 'five fingers' decades ago? Fingerings are constantly being improved, especially when there are obvious changes in instruments. I support Lucien."

  "Since Mr. Rhein has said so, we'll try to explore the change of fingerings, but if we go down this road and make a mistake, Lucien, you will waste a lot of time forgetting the habits you've already formed and then re-exploring and learning again. This is an extremely difficult thing for you to do. Are you willing to do so?" Victor pondered for a while before slowly speaking up.

  Lucien nodded firmly: "I'm willing to do so, Mr. Victor."

  "Fool who doesn't know his own strength and the difficulty of things!" Hiroto, Lott and Phyllis cursed in their hearts.