Dragon's Origin

Chapter 375 New Instrument (Part 2)

Wang Sheng carefully examined the guitar in his hand.

Though it only took a day or two to make, the craftsmanship was absolutely top-notch.

The moment Wang Sheng touched the guitar, he could tell that it was a finished product that had been carefully polished before being handed over. Judging from the level of detail, it must have been carefully polished using the handheld polishing machine Wang Sheng had just created, making it exceptionally smooth.

The guitar's dimensions were exactly as Wang Sheng had described. The edges were perfectly joined, a clear sign of a top-quality masterpiece. The size of the soundbox panel was precisely controlled; a gentle pluck of the strings produced a pleasant sound.

With Wang Sheng's current hearing, if he said an instrument's sound was pleasant, it was practically a top-tier instrument. Moreover, the most outstanding aspect of this guitar wasn't even these details.

The strings weren't the metal strings Wang Sheng had seen on Earth, but the sound they produced was exactly as he remembered. The non-metal strings had an added benefit: they didn't cut the fingers, allowing it to be played without a pick. Of course, using a pick was a playing technique and had nothing to do with the strings.

After praising the guitar's craftsmanship and the materials of the panels and strings, Wang Sheng began pressing the strings, testing each note one by one. He occasionally turned the knobs on the guitar, loosening or tightening the strings. After some tuning, he finally achieved the effect he wanted.

Then, Wang Sheng sat down on a chair, cradling the guitar, and played a simple, beginner-level "Romance de Amor" for everyone.

As the simple, melodious tune rang out, both Grandmaster Yu and the imperial musicians listened attentively. The timbre of this instrument was different from the plucked instruments they had used before. The soundbox was larger, and the sound was gentler.

After playing the piece, Wang Sheng felt the piano key path in his Yuan Soul space move forward another step. On a whim, he improvised a solo, feeling an indescribable sense of ease.

When Wang Sheng finished playing, everyone nodded in approval. Although the piece was simple and the tempo wasn't fast, it was a classic, and the delicate emotions it contained were very touching.

"So that's how it's played," Grandmaster Yu quickly understood the playing method after watching for a while. When Wang Sheng handed the guitar back, he couldn't help but press the strings and test each note.

"Grandmaster's skills are indeed extraordinary," Wang Sheng gave Grandmaster Yu a thumbs up. "Impressive!"

Grandmaster Yu simply smiled, testing each note without paying attention to anything else. After testing every string, Grandmaster Yu began to replicate the tune Wang Sheng had just played.

The rhythm and pitch were perfect. After Grandmaster Yu played it once, Wang Sheng was completely stunned. What could Wang Sheng say? He had only heard it once, then tested the notes once, and accurately replicated the piece Wang Sheng had played. Even though "Romance de Amor" had a slow tempo and a simple score, it was still his first time touching it!

A grandmaster is a grandmaster; one can't judge them with ordinary standards.

Wang Sheng's previous solo was improvised, and Grandmaster Yu seemed to have noticed, so he didn't replicate that part. Instead, after casually playing a few notes, he suddenly improvised a short passage.

This improvisation left Wang Sheng even more dumbfounded. Wang Sheng had seen this kind of improvisation many times, but Grandmaster Yu had learned it perfectly without any instruction, immediately imitating Wang Sheng's demonstration.

The key was that the grandmaster's improvisation not only incorporated the guitar's timbre but also contained some classical charm of this world, seamlessly blending the two. This alone demonstrated Grandmaster Yu's profound skill and understanding of various music and cultures.

Needless to say, Wang Sheng was speechless except for giving all the thumbs up, full of admiration. Speaking of which, Wang Sheng's hearing was only slightly enhanced, but to reach the level of Grandmaster Yu, who could immediately point out problems after hearing a bit of ensemble playing, still required further enhancement. Wang Sheng could only identify single instruments; his ensemble skills were not yet up to par.

"This thing is very interesting," Grandmaster Yu began to comment. "The sound is gentle, not as cold as the pipa, and it's suitable for many more pieces. However, the notation method still needs to be studied."

Back at Grandmaster Yu's house, Grandmaster Yu already knew that Wang Sheng definitely couldn't write music, otherwise, he wouldn't have just hummed without being able to notate it.

The imperial musicians were also fortunate enough to witness the debut performance of a brand-new instrument, and they were all curious. After Grandmaster Yu played it, he smiled and handed the guitar over to the chief musician, who was staring eagerly, so he could experience it himself.

The musicians took turns playing it, and some had already begun to consider it. This new instrument was brought out by Changsheng Marquis and personally made by Grandmaster Yu. Perhaps it would have a great future, so should they switch gears and learn this guitar?

While everyone had different thoughts, Wang Sheng had already fallen into deep thought.

Judging from the effect of making the guitar, it was helpful for Yuan Soul upgrades, at least one instrument was worth listening to ten instruments here. But Wang Sheng was also very clear that the further he went, the more difficult it would be to improve the Yuan Soul. Relying on constantly bringing out new instruments didn't seem practical.

Because Wang Sheng was a warrior, he hadn't been exposed to many Western instruments. The guitar was one, and another was the piano.

Wang Sheng didn't learn the piano from a young age, and he hadn't systematically studied playing it. Only once, during a mission, Wang Sheng needed to disguise himself as a piano tuner to approach a target and complete the mission, so before the mission, Wang Sheng had crammed the structure and tuning methods of the piano.

The latest novel is first published on 69shuba.com!

As for the various violins, violas, cellos, basses, trumpets, trombones, flutes, saxophones, clarinets, oboes, and so on, Wang Sheng had heard, seen, and knew their names, but to say that he knew their internal structure and could make them, even though Wang Sheng could deeply dig into his memories on Earth, it would definitely not be an easy task to make them.

In addition, Wang Sheng suddenly felt that since his Yuan Soul space had a standard piano key path, should he make the piano, known as the "king of instruments" on Earth? Anyway, he knew the structure of upright and grand pianos, and with Grandmaster Yu's help, it should be possible.

"Should I make the king of instruments?" Wang Sheng muttered to himself as he thought deeply.

"King of instruments?" Grandmaster Yu's ears were extremely sharp, and he heard clearly, immediately questioning, "Besides the guqin, what other instrument dares to be called the king of instruments?"