1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Celine Dion herself felt more and more excited the more she sang. Although the melody is simple, it is easy to resonate with people.

She seemed to understand why Y asked him to sing this song, because this song really suited her very well.

Y must have heard her sing "The Power of Love" and "The Power of Dreams" and has some understanding of her.

After singing the score several times, she began to sing along with the lyrics.

When the lyrics and notes combined together, Celine Dion suddenly felt tears welling up in her eyes.

At the same time, she also found that it was not as easy to sing as she had imagined with the lyrics.

This song is obviously one of those that is easy to listen to but difficult to sing. The difficulty lies not only in the pitch but also in the rhythm.

This seemingly simple rhythm is actually unusual and has many variations.

When René Angeli heard Celine Dion singing along with the lyrics, his eyes lit up. He thought it would sound good with the lyrics, but he didn't expect it to be so good.

This was when Celine Dion had just received the lyrics. If she had been given a little more time to familiarize herself with the lyrics and polish them, I believe she would have been able to better bring out the charm of this song.

Not to mention that this is a cappella. If it were accompanied by an arrangement, the listening experience would be several levels higher.

René Angeli has also figured out something at this moment. The technique used in this song Y is very clever. This simple and restrained arrangement of notes can express deep emotions, which definitely requires technique.

In the second half of the song, try to use two groups of semitones to form the backbone notes and wander in the melody.

In the second half, the chorus begins, the emotions progress rapidly, and the melody becomes more uplifting, unlike the long and broad one at the beginning.

In an instant, a high octave comes out, immediately forming a contrast in emotion and atmosphere, which is fluent yet has a sense of pause.

Earlier, René Angeli was still saying that this song weakened the rhythm and strength, but the second half was completely different, and the rhythm began to show large fluctuations.

The music goes from calm to passionate, and the flame of emotion is burning fiercely.

Along with the lyrics, René Angeli heard the pursuit of ideals and yearning for freedom in the song, and he felt like he was flying in the wind.

Perhaps to enhance the emotion, Y changed the key of the music from F to A at the end, moving it up three degrees, and it suddenly soared up.

The emotions that were originally surging undercurrents now surged in like a tide, majestic and heart-wrenching.

……

Ten minutes later, while Celine Dion was taking a break, Zhou Yan asked, "Is there anything you need to ask?"

Celine Dion shook her head. "Not yet. If there is any problem with my singing, please feel free to point it out."

"Well, I'll tell you if you have any questions after you go in. For now, just sing according to your own understanding."

"Okay." Celine Dion nodded and couldn't help but praise, "This song is really well written. Although I haven't seen the movie yet, I can already imagine the scenes of the movie."

Zhou Yan smiled and complimented him, "You sing very well, too."

René Angeli also came over and said, "This song is very cleverly written. I just listened to Celine singing it a cappella a few times and already felt tears welling up in my eyes. I believe it will sound even better with the addition of instruments. Mr. Y, this arrangement..."

"I have already written the arrangement. If I have time later, I will definitely record it."

René Angeli looked around and found that there was no one else here except the four of them.

This confused him a little, because if they wanted to record an arrangement, there should be a band here.

Seeing the confusion in René Angeli’s eyes, Zhou Yan smiled and said, “Since it’s just a demo, I’ll record the arrangement by myself.”

"You are alone—"

René Angeli opened his mouth wide, then nodded and said, "I understand."

He had heard before that Zhou Yan was good at many musical instruments, but he didn't expect him to be so good. At the same time, he also felt that he still had little experience.

Not long after, all the musical instruments Zhou Yan wanted were delivered, and Zhou Yan tried them one by one.

When he tried the Irish whistle, René Angeli asked curiously, "Is this an Irish whistle?"

"Well, it is an Irish whistle indeed."

He didn't expect that René Angeli had good eyesight and recognized the Irish whistle at a glance.

René Angeli nodded, thinking that he had not heard wrongly, this song did have the flavor of traditional Celtic music, otherwise Y would not have used an Irish whistle.

The Irish whistle is a traditional Celtic musical instrument with a very long history.

Although many people cannot recognize the Irish whistle, this instrument has a very high status in Celtic music and is a very common instrument.

It’s just that many people who don’t know much about Celtic music always mistake the music played by Irish whistles for bagpipes.

The Irish whistle, like the Chinese bamboo flute, has high and low notes, and the pitch depends on the length of the flute body, which is a bit similar to the bamboo flute.

In fact, the sound produced by musical instruments is a physical phenomenon, which relies on vibration. Instruments like the flute rely on air vibration, so the principles are similar.

Zhou Yan was holding an alto Ab Irish whistle in his hand. This size is quite common among Irish whistles. The length is in the middle range, and the songs that can be played on it also cover most of the popular music.

Zhou Yan was not familiar with the Irish whistle and had not had much contact with it before.

However, this whistle is very easy to play. Even ordinary people who have never learned a musical instrument can quickly get the hang of it, not to mention an old player like Zhou Yan.

In fact, in Ireland, many folk flute and bagpipe players started with whistles, which shows that it is indeed easy to get started with the whistle.

This flute is also called the penny whistle because many street performers in Ireland used to play whistles to earn a few pennies.

Zhou Yan fumbled with the whistle for a while and tried to play the prelude of "My Heart Will Go On".

Celine Dion, who was pondering the music score, suddenly raised her head and looked straight at Zhou Yan who was playing the whistle.

René Angeli, who was standing next to her, was also looking at Zhou Yan with surprise in his eyes. The melody of the song Zhou Yan was playing was also very simple, but under the high and unworldly tone of the Irish whistle, it became very ethereal.

René Angeli knew a little more about Irish whistles than most people because he had previously followed a female musician named Joni Meaden.

This young female musician is of Irish descent and is famous for playing the six-hole whistle. She also formed a women's band that specializes in Celtic music.

René Angeli has listened to all the albums released by this orchestra, especially the "Irish Whistle" released this year, which he likes very much.

Hearing the whistle played by Zhou Yan reminded René Angeli of Joni Meadon. Celtic traditional music always has the power to cleanse people's hearts. René Angeli guessed that the whistle played by Zhou Yan should be the prelude of "My Heart Will Go On". He couldn't help but smile because the prelude was so consistent with the melody of the song.

Excellent musicians are always able to do more than just the melody of the song, and Y-chou certainly won't disappoint.

At this point, René Angeli already knew that the song was a success.

There are two reasons why he was so active in bringing Celine Dion here. One is naturally because of Zhou Yan’s talent. Celine Dion is now in the rising stage of her career and needs to work with a top musician like Zhou Yan. Another reason is that Jeff Nordesa hinted that his new song might be a song from "Titanic".

"Titanic" had a budget of more than 100 million US dollars and was a movie that became famous before it was even filmed. It would definitely be a good thing for Celine Dion if she could sing the theme song of this movie.

Before, of these two reasons, René Angeli may have valued the latter more. After all, it is not 100% certain that a song Zhou Yan writes for someone will become popular, but the theme song of "Titanic" will definitely be popular.

At this time, René Angeli's thoughts changed.

Now he feels that even if "My Heart Will Go On" is not the theme song of "Titanic", it will still be popular with the public.

The key is that this song is so suitable for Celine, as if it was tailor-made for her.

At this time, Reni Angeli also sighed at their good luck. They were on vacation in their hometown when such a big gift package fell from the sky.

After Zhou Yan finished the prelude, the other three people at the scene applauded, but Zhou Yan was not satisfied because there were big problems with the pitch during his first performance.

The pitch of a musical instrument like a flute is definitely not as good as that of an instrument like a piano when it leaves the factory. There will be more or less deviations, and the quality of the whistle in his hand is not very good, so the problem is naturally even bigger.

It is not convenient to adjust it, but you can still make some adjustments through technical means, such as adjusting the fingering and breath. If the pitch is low, you can strengthen the breath and push the note up. If the pitch is high, you can change the fingering to adjust it.

In other words, Zhou Yan has good ears, and he has been playing the flute for so many years, so he has very good breath control, so he was able to adjust to these problems relatively quickly.

He tried a few more notes in the middle, and by the second time, Zhou Yan had already adjusted the pitch.

After finishing, Zhou Yan turned to look at Celine Dion and said, "You study it for a while, I will come up with the arrangement."

Although Celine Dion can record without accompaniment, it would be much more troublesome. It would be better for Zhou Yan to make the accompaniment first and then let Celine Dion sing to the accompaniment.

Due to limited conditions, Zhou Yan did not pay too much attention. He went in and took out several instruments that would be needed, then mixed them together to make the accompaniment.

Although Zhou Yan was very efficient, it took him more than four hours to finish the accompaniment because there was no one to help him.

It’s not that he didn’t want to ask for help, the key issue involved confidentiality. It was not convenient for them to ask someone they didn’t know to help, so he did all the work by himself.

While Zhou Yan was busy, Celine Dion was also not idle. She was studying how to sing the song better.

Of course, she didn't dare to sing too much, for fear that she would have voice problems when it came time to actually record.

By the time Zhou Yan finished everything, it was already past seven in the evening, but they did not choose to eat, but continued to record Celine Dion's singing.

Both parties have similar ideas and want to start recording as soon as possible.

Although there is still time tomorrow, if we don’t start recording tonight, no one knows if any unexpected situations will occur tomorrow.

Maybe Celine Dion didn't get used to sleeping in the hotel in Dartmouth tonight, and will catch a cold and have a hoarse voice tomorrow?

Since Celine Dion's voice is in good condition today, they might as well speed up the process and record a segment. If they can't record it today, they can record it tomorrow.

When the recording started, Zhou Yan first listened to Celine Dion singing it.

While Celine Dion was singing, Zhou Yan was writing something in a notebook. After she finished singing, Zhou Yan handed the notebook directly to her.

Celine Dion took the score and took a look at it. She was stunned because the questions Zhou Yan recorded were so detailed. There were notes for every sentence from beginning to end.

Which sentence should be emphasized and which should be weakened is clearly written in the notebook.

After recording so many songs, this was the first time Celine Dion encountered such a situation. It was as if Zhou Yan already had a standard model in his mind, and the differences between her and the standard model were marked on it.

But Celine Dion also has a feeling that this standard model fits her quite well.

Especially after she sang it according to what Zhou Yan had marked, this feeling became even more obvious, as if Zhou Yan had written this song for her. Zhou Yan knew her singing habits very well and understood how she could sing the song well.

René Angeli was also very surprised. He thought he knew Celine Dion best. After all, he had been coaching Celine Dion for so many years, and he was familiar with the characteristics of Celine Dion's singing.

The changes made by Zhou Yan show that he has a very thorough understanding of Celine Dion.

René Angeli sighed to himself that he had been shocked again and again by Zhou Yan today.

It was also the first time that René Angeli felt like there was one person who was in control musically.

René Angeli has seen many musical geniuses, popular, classical, traditional, and rebellious, but never one like Zhou Yan, and no one who could achieve such terrifying control as Zhou Yan.

Under Zhou Yan's training, Celine Dion sang "My Heart Will Go On" perfectly in just one hour.

This is also the first time that Celine Dion has digested a song so quickly. She even felt confident that there would be no problem even if she started recording the official version now.

And this feeling also made her feel very magical.

Y was just like a magician, using incredibly magical techniques to create a song out of nothing. She was just a part of this big magic trick and didn't need to put in too much effort. She just had to follow Y's instructions.

After recording for just over an hour, Zhou Yan nodded and said to Celine Dion, "That's it."

Celine Dion came out excitedly, "Can I listen to it?"

"Okay, but you have to wait a moment. I need to make a few adjustments."

"no problem."

It was already this late, so she certainly didn't mind waiting a little longer.

About half an hour later, Zhou Yan waved to Celine Dion, and when Celine Dion came over, Zhou Yan handed her the headphones.

Celine Dion took a deep breath, put on the headphones Zhou Yan handed her, then held her breath and waited quietly for the music to start.

Soon, as Zhou Yan pressed the play button, the ethereal sound of an Irish whistle, like the song of a thrush, sounded, and Celine Dion's heart trembled.

Then when she heard her own voice sounding amid the accompaniment, a thin layer of mist formed in her eyes. When she was recording just now, she herself did not realize that it sounded so beautiful.

Perhaps many years later, Celine Dion will still be unable to help but think of this ordinary night in Dartmouth, when she shed tears for the first time while listening to herself singing in the recording studio. (End of this chapter)