The lingering melody still echoed in the air.
It stretched endlessly.
As Lu Qing walked out of the Grammy Guitar Shop, the bald man behind him even forgot that his student was still waiting in the classroom. He directly escorted Lu Qing to the door and handed him a business card with both hands—
"My surname is Yang. Please add me on WeChat when you have the time! You're a master. I want to improve."
"I'm not a master."
Lu Qing didn't turn around.
He simply took the business card, waved his hand behind him,
then pocketed the Orange cable and a handful of picks that had been replaced with small turtles, and strolled leisurely out of the pedestrian street.
"Alas."
—「I couldn't resist.」
He still couldn't help it.
Although,
he wasn't playing an electric guitar.
But he did touch the guitar.
And it was someone else's guitar.
"Well, the 6000 yuan Xiaomei is just passable. It can barely bring out half the effect of the song, even if you're doing your best. After all, it's a domestic all-solid guitar, and the craftsmanship is what it is."
He sighed softly,
"But to be fair, being able to play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' smoothly is still worth praising."
In Lu Qing's eyes, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" wasn't the one with the melody 1155665 (dodososolalaso), but the ultra-10-level difficulty fingerstyle piece—Like A Star.
He had thought that since he hadn't played the guitar in a long time, picking it up again to perform a piece of this difficulty would likely be a bit bumpy.
However, "muscle memory doesn't lie."
The hours he had poured into it, eight hours at a time, the over 2000 repetitions of the single song,
allowed him to play the entire piece flawlessly, even with an empty mind, purely by relying on his finger muscle memory, with his eyes closed.
This wasn't an exaggeration; it was something that could genuinely be achieved—
"Extensive practice builds absolute truth."
Fingers develop muscle memory through years of playing. Any piece played enough times will flow effortlessly, even without thinking—
Just enjoy the music.
About fingerstyle.
It's not just broadly defined as "playing an instrument with your fingers."
Instead, it refers to a specific guitar playing style—
One person, one guitar, simultaneously producing the sound of an entire band.
That is, "multi-part playing by one person."
This style became popular among guitar enthusiasts because there are too many lonely and introverted people, making it awkward for them to sing in front of others. Thus, "playing and singing" became a barrier for this group—
Therefore, fingerstyle, which requires only playing and not singing, gradually became a mainstream in folk guitar,
standing opposite classical solo pieces.
Lu Qing didn't have much feeling about this stylistic divide,
even though he was a self-taught player and didn't mix with the conservatory crowd. But Uncle once said—
"Truly accomplished musicians are often broad-minded."
It was because of this statement
that Lu Qing didn't curse at Yang Zai in the dorm, even when the latter's headphones blared out "Sword! Cutting Snowy Winged Falcon!" or "Thunder! This mighty cultivation makes the heavens collapse and the earth shatter with my Gold Hammer"—such cringe-worthy "lyrics" (if they could even be called that),
he could barely hold back, unlike Wen Le, who would immediately throw a plastic Sprite bottle in response.
Speaking of his connection with fingerstyle,
it was necessary to go back a few years,
when he had just started learning the guitar, still a middle school student, attending the Asian fingerstyle guitar master Mr. Koshimae's tour in China.
It was a day at the Tiancheng Grand Theater,
his second teacher, Teacher Li, took him to see his idol Mr. Koshimae's concert.
Teacher Li was an interesting character—
Although he graduated from a music academy, his behavior was extremely rebellious.
He majored in classical guitar but insisted on practicing fingerstyle every day, even buying a 20,000 yuan prestigious guitar—Taylor 714ce,
enjoying the strange pleasure of pouring Pepsi into Coca-Cola.
Back then, Teacher Li said, "When we learn to play, we can't just learn to play."
"Learning guitar, certainly can't just learn guitar."
It was hard to understand.
Until he finally explained it:
"Since you like guitar, you must explore acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, within acoustic guitar, you have to master folk guitar, classical guitar (not necessary for self-taught), and even playing and singing, only then can you be considered a qualified 'guitar enthusiast.'"
At that time, Lu Qing hadn't met Uncle yet, so hearing Teacher Li's words was like a heavy hammer hitting his heart,
accidentally planting a terrifying seed—
"Got it, Brother Li wants me to be a multi-talented musician."
This was the heartfelt advice from the 26-year-old Teacher Li during his year of graduating and being unemployed.
Although now,
Teacher Li had gone into selling sofas and no longer played the guitar.
This didn't stop Lu Qing from continuing on the path his teacher had laid out,
especially after hearing Mr. Koshimae's solo concert.
...
That day, the sky was clear and bright.
It was the time for Teacher Li's "last lesson"—the appreciation class.
He took Lu Qing to the grand theater, each paying 460 yuan
for tickets bought from scalpers, then entered the elegant stereo small auditorium, nervously and excitedly sitting together,
along with hundreds of other guitar enthusiasts, stretching their necks in anticipation of Mr. Koshimae's live performance.
That day was Lu Qing's first time attending a live concert.
The first time he truly felt the real charm of the guitar.
"One person, one guitar, standing on the stage, under the spotlight, that confident look, is everything."
—【With a guitar in hand, all is possible.】
Whether it was "Big Blue Ocean" or "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," both pieces struck something deep within him, leaving a lasting impression.
During the encore, Mr. Koshimae played "Those Summer Clouds."
Then,
he broke down.
—【Fell in love with the melody.】
He fully experienced the magic of music.
...
If the technical admiration was just the first stage,
the master's charisma could be seen as the second stage,
then the day the concert ended, when the host announced on stage, "Please don't leave, we have a lucky draw—every row number 8 and 18, congratulations, you are today's lucky audience, you can later line up backstage to take a photo with Mr. Koshimae or get his signature."
【Such perfect timing and conditions are the third stage to becoming a 'guitar demon'.】
...
At that time, Teacher Li's seat was number 9.
Lu Qing looked behind him,
oh no.
It was number 8.
—The reason for the heart-wall between him and Teacher Li was that simple.
Mr. Koshimae was his idol, yet he couldn't shake his idol's hand.
Instead, it was his "student" who got the chance.
"Little Lu, you... you... you... Ah! You mustn't wash your hands for 10 days!"
"..."
The envy in Teacher Li's eyes was real,
he really wanted to take a photo with his idol, having practiced his idol's pieces every day, those 200 yuan authentic sheet music collections, he had played through at least seven or eight of them, each piece difficult enough to scare off beginners.
Even a "veteran amateur" with five years of playing and singing experience couldn't handle it.
Unfortunately, there was no way to cheat at the venue, the seat number was the seat number, and he couldn't transfer this photo opportunity to Teacher Li.
Thus,
things took a different turn.
...
Mr. Koshimae's "hug" was warm.
Although he was close to 40, he was very well-maintained at the time.
A charming uncle.
Truly immersed in "music," a young and handsome uncle.
It's said that,
people who are constantly bathed in "music"
look 10 years younger than others.
Lu Qing believed that this seemingly unreliable myth could be perfectly reflected in Mr. Koshimae.
That day, he kindly shook hands with Lu Qing,
stammered out "nihao" in broken Chinese,
and finally, gave him a big hug.
Teacher Li stood not far away,
jealously took a photo with his phone—
this photo of him shoulder to shoulder with the master.
This was, in a way, a form of commemoration. It was also the sole driving force that would propel him to practice relentlessly and delve deeply into fingerstyle guitar over the next five years.
The "inner drive" that surpassed all else.
If, by some chance, time could be turned back,
Would the current him still choose to, during his three years of middle school, go to great lengths and devise countless strategies to run for the position of president of the school's music club, all under the recommendation of his senior? He had taken over the club she had single-handedly built.
Every afternoon during self-study classes, regardless of whether the sun was shining brightly or hidden behind clouds,
He would carry his first LAG guitar and sneak to the music hall,
completely immersed, sitting in front of the empty stage of the grand auditorium,
pulling back the curtain,
spending four hours each day,
indulging in the solitude that surrounded him,
enjoying that "solo concert for one."
...
If he hadn't met "her" later, would he have possibly given up on fingerstyle guitar under the overwhelming sense of loneliness,
and decisively thrown himself into "rock" instead?
What would he have become if he had continued down the path of fingerstyle guitar?
Lu Qing didn't know.
He just took a deep breath.
In the blink of an eye,
he found himself standing at the entrance of his apartment building.
"How fast."
"The scenery along the way, always seems so blurry."
He muttered to himself.
...
A moment later.
Stepping into the elevator,
he straightened his appearance,
repressed his smile.
He mentally reminded himself:
"Well then, today I've already let it all out. The 'desire' that had been building up inside me has been released."
"So, from now on, I mustn't touch the guitar, mustn't watch performance videos, and definitely mustn't, under my sister's persuasion, get my hands on 'Zhenye Shang'—"
Unless,
unless...
"She can really beat me with her true skills."
……
……