Chapter 441 441 Recording Run-In

The media attention was an accident, and it was nothing to the band. Along the road tour across the United States, the band members had seen a lot of different scenes, big and small, and Hugo's song "Hollywood's. Not. America" ​​is a delicate expression of the psychological changes of the band members. The liveliness of newspapers and magazines does not have much power for the band members.

Relatively speaking, working with Sheeran Raikkonen in the studio was the biggest challenge for the band members. Due to the characteristics of the recording studio, the performance of each note will be magnified endlessly, as if using a microscope to examine every millisecond of the performance, which are two completely different forms of presentation from live performances, and a brand new experience for the band. world, and difficult.

It was no exception for Hugo.

In the whole process of music creation, it can be divided into three parts: composition, lyrics and arrangement. Most ordinary people who have not received music education and composition training just have a feeling for tunes. They can hum some simple tunes, but they have no way to make these tunes. Simply put, ordinary people can write lyrics, even Talented people can still compose, but it is difficult for people without professional training to complete this part of the work.

The process of arranging is actually to evolve a tune into a complete musical form. A simple example may be divided into multiple stages in the creation process of a piece. One person is responsible for creating the tune and harmony, and one person is responsible for creating the strings. For the band part, one person creates the electroacoustic band part, one person is responsible for creating the percussion part, etc., then the composition is the first link, and the arranger is the one who integrates these four links. Therefore, in addition to the lyricist and the composer, there is often an arranger.

The importance of the arranger is no less than that of the lyricist and the composer, and even from a certain point of view, the arrangement link occupies a more important position. Because arranging is to give the correct guidance to an ordinary tune and give the music soul, this is the so-called music production process.

In many cases, the arranger and the composer are the same person, because the composer has the most direct understanding of his own music and can often give the arranger the most accurate understanding. However, in the field of music, there are also specialized arrangers. Maybe they are not so strong in composition, but they can have a keen sense of music, a precise sense of popular smell, and accurate judgment. Excellent recognition ability, but can give them outstanding arranging ability, and even have the ability to turn corruption into magic.

Hugo's previous adaptation of "Next. Time. You. See. Me" is actually an act of arranging, which is a process of modifying the score, rhythm, and style of the original song . The Beatles' classic song "Yesterday" has been sung or sung by more than 1,000 singers according to the Guinness Book of Records, and the number of performances has reached 7 million times, which is the highest in history. It shows a completely different style, which is actually the credit of the arrangement. A really good arrangement is the ability to present the melody in the best, most comfortable and wonderful way.

Hugo is a lyricist and a composer, but his understanding of the arrangement link is largely lacking. Although he has taught himself a lot of professional arrangement knowledge in his ten-year rock career, he has also cooperated with many professional composers. People have communicated, but because they have not studied systematically, Hugo's knowledge in this regard is very scattered.

All eleven songs of the first album of Glory To Death were written by Hugo, which was also approved by Sheeran. In fact, these eleven songs are all arranged by Hugo according to the style of the band, but this arrangement is still relatively rough, like a piece of handmade wooden furniture that has been polished, but still has some burrs and is not fine enough . During live performances, even if there are some rough parts, the band members will make adjustments by themselves, but after entering the studio, these burrs are amplified, and the members are not as cooperative as they are during live performances - everyone is in The studio was recording individually, so the roughness of the arrangement was immediately apparent.

But fortunately, the ten years of experience still left Hugo a lot of things. He also has his own set of understanding of arrangement. One of the most basic skills of arrangement is the ability to accurately understand the instrument. It is very basic and important to what style the instrument is suitable for and when to use it. Especially after entering the 21st century, many types of music will use orchestras for accompaniment. Country, pop, rock, hip-hop and other musical styles that do not seem to have any connection with classical instruments have also used classical music orchestras to accompany them. Arranging, so the arranger's understanding of the instrument is even more important.

Hugo's sharp recognition of keyboards, basses, drums and other instruments at the beginning actually came from the additional skills precipitated from years of research on arrangement.

"So you're saying that the main instrument for this song has to be the piano." Sheeran and Hugo sat face to face, his head propped up on the fingers of his right hand, lost in thought.

Hugo nodded vigorously, expressing his thoughts unswervingly. Sheeran didn't speak, and the two fell into silence.

Alfonso, who stayed in the recording room, stood behind the keyboard with a helpless expression, while Neil stood quietly next to him holding the guitar, looking like he was on standby at any time. Outside the recording room, Fukukin and Pedro were sitting on the sofa, watching Hugo and Sheeran who were arguing with each other, and were too nervous to speak.

"Why? The guitar works great as the main melody, doesn't it?" Sheeran still didn't back down, pressed the red call button, and said into the microphone, "Neal, can you try again?"

Before Sheeran could say anything, Hugo directly shook his head to Neil in denial, and then said, "They've tried it many times, don't you hear the difference?" Neil and Alfonso looked at each other in dismay. They were Hugo and Sheeran's tug-of-war, and it was really miserable to be pulled by two forces.

Hugo and Sheeran were arranging the song "Hollywood's. Not. America" ​​at this time, and the two had a disagreement over the use of the main instrument.

"The arrangement of this song is not complicated, but simply mixed with popular elements. The smoothness of the melody and the artistic conception of the lyrics are the biggest highlights. So, what is the artistic conception of the lyrics?" After Hugo stopped Neil "Hollywood represents the dream of becoming a star, but losing the opportunity to become a star doesn't mean losing everything, and life is not just about Hollywood. Playing this with a guitar doesn't mean you lose everything. The song turns into a cheerful and fresh country tune. The whole mood is more like a drive towards Hollywood, and finally a stroll back home. This feeling completely destroys the emotion the lyrics want to express; on the contrary, the piano The clarity and sadness of the melody can inject a touch of sadness into the melody. Behind the sadness, through the interpretation of the lyrics during the singing process, the hope bursts out and forms a contrast, which is the best way to express."

"Show it to me." Sheeran didn't say much, but said neatly. Hugo paused, and Sheeran went on to explain, "Show me the hope in the lyrics and the sadness of the piano, how to play it out, how to create conflict."

Without hesitation, Hugo walked directly into the recording studio, and then both Neil and Alfonso walked out, leaving Hugo alone in the recording studio. Sheeran pressed the call button again, "I'll play you the track that Alfonso played just now."

Hugo put on his earplugs and gave Sheeran a ready gesture. Glory to Death The whole band has been in the studio for more than ten days. The band, Sheeran, and the professional work of recording have been in a state of running-in. Both sides have made progress with stumbling and stumbling. In fact, the most stable performance is as a drummer. The Fu Jin, he has completely entered the recording state, and his performance is very good.

Relatively speaking, as the lead singer, although Hugo has entered the recording studio of City of Sounds before, because he shoulders the heavy responsibility of presenting every song, the pressure on his shoulders remains unabated. Since then, Hugo has also worked hard to learn, work hard, and try to find a state. Although only two songs have been recorded so far, Hugo is getting better, which is a good sign.

Sheeran started playing music when Hugo was ready. The first time Hugo sang, the pitch was still a little unstable. He took the initiative to pause the recording, walked to the side to clear his throat, took a sip of water, and started singing again.

The song "Hollywood is not America" ​​doesn't stand out a lot from the technical point of view of arrangement, and the rock element has been overshadowed by the pop, but the song's emotional catharsis of lyrics is not Has an empathetic mood. So the key to this song is to have the emotion in place during the performance, which is why Hugo insisted on choosing the piano as the main instrument.

Hugo's favorite part of this song is not the chorus, but the two verses of the verse, full of emotional tension, "born Helena-Jenny, with a weary soul, headed west to California, Became a magazine cover girl. But once you change your name, the pieces of the soul go away, and now she's barely recognizable."

The understated singing can't hide the loss in the tone, and the slight tingling in the heart is gently pulled in the melody. This is not an exaggeration but a sincere emotion that is faintly leaked. Water droplets generally penetrate slowly. This emotion and the piano complement each other. After these foreshadowings, when the chorus "Hollywood is not America" ​​broke out, the whole emotion reached its peak.

Even if Hugo didn't have the perfect state of the day he wrote the song, every time he sang the lyric "Once you change your name, the fragments of your soul will disappear", the trembling in your heart still grows uncontrollably. .