Chapter 158: Recording the Accompaniment

For this grumpy old man, Su Chen didn’t feel much animosity.

Having encountered many people in his previous life, Su Chen could often judge a person’s character at a glance.

At worst, this fellow just had a bad temper.

“No problem, we'll charge by the hour, and the price is reasonable!”

Old Lu looked at Su Chen with slight surprise, seemingly not expecting the young man to be so composed. Then he asked, “Are you here to record accompaniment or vocals?”

“I’m recording the accompaniment!”

Su Chen said as he took out the printed music score.

A song is composed of the main melody and lyrics.

The accompaniment serves the melody and lyrics.

Therefore, the accompaniment must align with the content of the song.

“Follow me,” Old Lu said, taking Su Chen’s music and glancing over it before heading into the back room.

Su Chen followed closely behind.

Halfway there, Old Lu stopped and frowned as he looked back at the young men sitting outside.

“What are you still standing there for?”

“Don’t you see there’s work to be done?”

The young men shuddered as if struck by lightning, immediately jumping up, grabbing their instruments, and trailing after them.

Entering the back room, Su Chen glanced around with surprise.

Compared to the dilapidated exterior, the equipment here was brand new.

Moreover, the gear was impeccably maintained!

It was clear they took great care of it.

Su Chen took a few more looks; this setup was no small investment!

This configuration nearly rivaled a professional recording studio in an entertainment company.

No wonder Fang Xiao recommended this place; in the amateur realm, it was top-notch.

Old Lu sat down and carefully examined Su Chen’s song.

Nearby, Su Chen and the young musicians crowded into the room.

“What style are you aiming for in the accompaniment?”

Old Lu asked, having reviewed the song multiple times but making no comments on it, instead inquiring about Su Chen’s intentions.

“Mainly traditional instruments, with a touch of pop style.”

“We’ll need gongs and drums, erhu…”

Su Chen listed several instruments in succession.

“For the intro, the gongs and firecracker sounds come in…”

Su Chen described the accompaniment for the song “Congratulations on Prosperity” from start to finish, speaking smoothly and clearly.

“Are you the composer? You wrote this song?”

Old Lu frowned and asked, “If you already have it so clear in your mind, why haven’t you recorded the arrangement yet?”

Su Chen was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected Old Lu to be so perceptive. This man clearly had skill.

Composers typically come with the initial arrangement concept as inspiration strikes.

During creation, they hum or play on a keyboard, forming a simple arrangement in their head—not just a melody line.

For example, the intro might have a suona horn, here a booming drum; though not on the sheet music, the orchestration concept is already roughly there.

Su Chen’s clear description immediately led Old Lu to conclude he was the composer.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the question, Su Chen scratched his nose.

“Time’s tight; I haven’t gotten around to it yet!”

He usually handled arrangements himself, rarely putting them on paper.

But with Old Lu’s question, he couldn’t just say that.

Old Lu was patient about music, so the two began working together, gradually transcribing the arrangement onto paper.

Since Su Chen’s ideas were clear, the process was much quicker than usual.

When finished, Old Lu held the sheet and pondered silently.

Su Chen quietly waited, not wanting to disturb him.

“The instruments you’re using, we have most of them, but a few are uncommon…”

“We’ll need to record the accompaniment live, then do computer post-production to add those instruments…”

“So it might take a while.”

Hearing the time might be long, Su Chen quickly asked, “How long exactly?”

Old Lu thought for a moment before replying, “About two hours for live accompaniment, plus at least one hour for post-production.”

“With the final test singing, it might be around four hours total.”

Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief—he had worried it might drag into the next day, but a few hours was acceptable.

“No problem!”

Seeing no objection, Old Lu nodded and began assigning the young musicians to their parts.

Su Chen sat silently nearby.

From the setup and distribution, the team’s coordination was seamless.

Listening critically, Su Chen found few faults.

Compared to the music team at Star Orange Entertainment, they were even more professional.

He finally understood what Fang Xiao meant by top-tier technical skill when recommending this studio.

This level of skill would be considered elite even in entertainment companies.

Yet, how had such talent ended up buried in such a place?

Su Chen couldn’t help but recall the shabby surroundings outside.

Because there were few mistakes, the accompaniment recording finished quickly—about an hour and a half, half an hour ahead of Old Lu’s estimate.

Many times, Su Chen thought they were done, but Old Lu insisted on redoing minor details.

If the final product hadn’t been nearly perfect, Su Chen might have suspected he was doing it on purpose.

Including the computer post-production, the entire process took about two hours.

When finished, Old Lu instructed his team to compile and export the files.

He then replayed the recording, listened carefully, and, seeing no issues, called Su Chen over.

“Listen to this!”

Su Chen shook his head.

“No need!”

“I already heard it from the side—it's perfect!”

Hearing this, pride flashed across Old Lu’s face.

“As long as the client is satisfied!”

Though he said it casually, anyone could see he meant no client would be unhappy with his work.

Su Chen smiled wryly, suddenly finding the old man somewhat endearing.

“Since there’s no problem, want to test the effect?”

Old Lu beckoned.

A young man put down his instrument and approached.

“Take a look at the lyrics! Sing along with the accompaniment once and see how it sounds!”

“Alright!”

The young man took the song to familiarize himself with it.

Su Chen was astonished, thinking, “So you even offer this kind of service!”

“Usually, those who come here to record accompaniment are newcomers or underground singers,” Old Lu explained, noticing Su Chen’s puzzled expression.

“After recording, they sing it themselves to check the effect.”

“If you, as the composer, can’t sing, I’ll find someone here to try it for you!”

“Though they’re not amazing singers, they’re among the best we have here.”