Devil’s Music - Chapter 63: The Birth of a Genius

With a bewildered expression, Geon Kim opened the dark brown door of Studio B.

Inside the studio, close to a hundred students had gathered, and there were more students sitting on the floor or leaning against the walls due to the shortage of chairs than those occupying seats.

At the front, on a small stage, three students were present. An Italian-looking boy with long black hair was tuning an electric guitar, while a diminutive African American student was plucking at an unplugged bass guitar. To the left, there was a golden YAMAHA 12-cylinder drum set, and surprisingly, a blonde girl was calculating beats while looking at the sheet music.

Geon had heard about the professor’s statement through the assistant three days ago.

He had been thrilled as though he would leap with joy upon hearing that he would perform in the studio class with the submitted music scores. However, his excitement faded upon the assistant’s following words. It wasn’t about performing; it was about producing. Moreover, the revered professor Sharon Isbin, known for her classical guitar mastery, would personally perform his composition. The past three days had swiftly flown by for Geon, leaving him almost dazed.

As Geon moved towards the stage, Professor John Corigliano, who had been sitting in the front row with the students, suddenly stood up and extended his hand towards Geon. With a slightly surprised expression, Geon looked at the outstretched hand, and Professor Corigliano smiled before speaking.

“Are you Geon Kim, the student? I am John Corigliano, professor of composition.”

Geon, taken aback, shook Professor Corigliano’s hand.

“Oh, yes. Hello, Professor Corigliano. But… what brings the professor of composition and the students here?”

Professor Corigliano chuckled and crossed his arms.

“We reviewed the scores submitted by the students, including those in composition. Initially, the students grumbled about the studio class called on a weekend being an observation class for other departments. But as soon as they saw the scores, they were astonished and eager to observe. Haha.”

Looking around at the students with a bewildered expression, Geon noticed that they were murmuring amongst themselves, casting glances at him. Especially among the female students, some blushed and turned away, unable to meet Geon’s gaze.

With a laugh, Professor Corigliano placed a hand on Geon’s shoulder and said, “You’re quite the handsome lad. They say God is fair, but it seems that might not always be true, haha.”

As Geon blushed and smiled, Professor Corigliano pointed towards the front of the stage.

“Alright, it’s almost time for class to begin. Give final instructions to the performers on stage. They’re playing without prior practice, so some basic guidance might be necessary, right?”

Geon nodded and ascended the stage, nodding slightly towards the electric guitar player, Fabio Marchetti, who had long black hair. Fabio, rising from his seat, politely bowed his head and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Fabio Marchetti, playing the electric guitar. Just call me Fabio.”

Geon extended his hand in greeting, and Fabio, shaking hands, smiled and said, “I tried playing the arranged piece. It’s a fantastic arrangement, Mister. May I ask for your opinion on the volume?”

Observing the guitar, Geon said, “It’s a Fender Stratocaster, Fabio. A great guitar. Please lower the volume to 2 or below with this guitar. It should give a sound that’s audible yet elusive. Also, set the distortion to 4.”

Puzzled, Fabio raised an eyebrow and asked, “Distortion? Do you mean you want distortion or gain? Adding distortion or gain might make the sound harsh. Are you sure about this?”

Geon nodded, “Yes, with a distortion gauge set to 4, it should produce an appropriate richness. While playing on the electric guitar, channel the emotion of ‘birdsong.’ Think of the birds on the mountains of Asturias.”

Initially puzzled, Fabio, being the guitar genius from Italy, soon nodded and followed Geon’s instructions. He stepped on the effects pedal, put on his headphones, and started practicing alone. Geon, now holding a bass guitar, chuckled as he looked at the African American male who had been watching him.

“Hello, I’m Geon Kim. I’ll be in your care today.”

The African American student flashed a bright smile, revealing his white teeth, and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Samuel Chandler. You can call me Sam.”

Geon and Sam shook hands and then gestured to the female student observing from behind the drum kit.

“Hey, could you come over here for a moment with the drums and bass? Could you lend us a hand?”

The blonde girl approached, drumsticks in hand, and introduced herself. “Hello? You’re Geon Kim, right? I’m here to assist with the drums and the professor. I’m Tindra Hagelund. I’m from Norway, just call me Tind.”

Geon smiled and nodded slightly before showing her the music score. “Sam, you specialize in the contrabass, right? That’s perfect. Please play it in the same technique as the contrabass. Set the volume to 3, without any distortion, with a clean sound. Tind, you have hickory sticks. Do you happen to have maple sticks as well?”

Tind nodded and adjusted the volume, putting on headphones. Meanwhile, Sam, after understanding the instructions, adjusted the volume without distortion and wore headphones. As Geon watched the three practicing, the door beside the stage swung open, and Professor Sharon Isbin walked in.

The students on stage removed their headphones and stood up as they saw Professor Isbin. She gestured for them to sit and then stood in front of Geon, saying, “Today, I’m in your hands as a performer, not as a professor.”

Geon, visibly taken aback, waved his hand. “Oh, no, Professor. How could I direct a professor like you in producing?”

Professor Isbin smiled and took out her guitar. “On stage, the producer’s authority is absolute. Today, I’m just one of the performers, so lead the way, please.”

Professor Sharon sat at the front row of the stage, gently strumming her guitar with her eyes closed. John Corigliano, who had been sitting below the stage, stood up and looked back, shouting, “Alright, the studio class is starting. Students, please focus.”

Once Professor Corigliano took his seat again and gestured towards Geon, Geon nodded in response.

“Let’s begin the performance. The piece is ‘Asturias,’ Professor Sharon Isbin’s version,” Geon announced.

As Geon finished speaking, Sharon Isbin, who was supposed to start playing, looked intently at Geon before rising from her seat, grasping the neck of her guitar, and calling out, “Let me reintroduce it. The piece is ‘Asturias,’ performed by Geon Kim from Korea.”

Geon, momentarily surprised, widened his eyes as he glanced at Professor Sharon. With a graceful smile, she lightly tapped Geon’s shoulder and then sat back down, closing her eyes again.

After a while, while Sharon, with closed eyes, concentrated on her classical guitar, producing a beautiful and swift melody, Geon set aside his initial astonishment and closed his eyes, focusing on the performance. Indeed, there was no flaw in Professor Sharon’s playing. About two minutes later, the electric and bass guitars joined in. Simultaneously, both Sharon and Geon’s expressions soured.

Geon signaled to stop the performance by raising his hand. Though Sharon had her eyes closed while playing, she, like a ghost, caught the signal and ceased playing. Geon went up on the stage and spoke to Fabio.

“Fabio, let’s lower the guitar’s volume to 1.5 and switch the distortion to 3.”

As Fabio nodded and adjusted the volume, Geon told Samuel, “I’ll raise the bass to 3.5.”

After Samuel also nodded and adjusted the volume, Geon descended from the stage, signaling to Sharon to resume the performance. Sharon closed her eyes again, focusing.

Professor John Corigliano, who was below the stage with his chin rested on his hand, observed Geon thoughtfully. “Precise instructions. He’s talented even as a producer. I need to find a way to make him take composition and classes, no matter what.”

Once again, Sharon’s lyrical performance poured forth from the stage. The students listening below the stage closed their eyes, letting the melody seep into their bodies and emotions. After a while, a faint sound resembling the cry of frogs in a valley blended with the bass guitar’s melody, mimicking a small stream flowing from a waterfall. The music was gradually taking on the form of nature.

Students began moving slightly to the rhythm, but soon found themselves unable to move or even open their eyes, astonished by their own stillness.

Gradually, the sound of a small waterfall-like stream, represented by a subtle drum, joined in, and the performance reached its climax. Many students, awestruck, couldn’t take their eyes off the performers. However, Professor Corigliano still couldn’t take his eyes off Geon.

“This wasn’t rock music. This was a perfect ensemble! Even an orchestra couldn’t evoke such emotions! He chose the best instruments!”

Sharon, still playing with closed eyes, had a smile on her face. Unconsciously, her smile grew, turning into a joyful laughter, and soon, the long performance concluded.

After a moment of silence, when the performers on stage stood up for acknowledgment, the stupefied students began applauding and whistling.

“Wow!!!!!!”

“Woohoooo~~~~~~~~~~”

“Amazing! It was fantastic!”

“The best! The best arrangement!”

Looking at the students showering them with compliments, Geon felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his cheek. With applause continuing, Geon stepped onto the stage, raising his hand, and even louder applause erupted.

Sharon, observing him with contented eyes from behind, raised her hand, stopping the students’ applause, and spoke, “Everyone, the performance is not yet complete.”

Startled by Sharon’s words, the touched students exclaimed, “What? Not complete?”

“No way! What more could be added here? It was already perfect!”

“Exactly! Adding more might ruin the piece!”

Glancing around the now noisy studio, Sharon raised her hand again.

“You all received the score in advance. The lyrics are written in it, did you all check?”

The students, seemingly recalling this fact, nodded at each other. With a smile, Sharon looked at Geon and said, “Geon Kim, is this song sung by a woman or a man?”

After briefly looking at Sharon and then around at the students below the stage, Geon made eye contact with Professor Corigliano, then replied, “This song is sung by a man. It expresses Albéniz’s longing for Spain’s beautiful natural environment.”

Moving to the stand microphone alone on the stage, Geon continued speaking, “Right away.”

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