19 : Air on the G String 20: Part No.
19 : Air on the G String Part No.
19
Air on the G String
“Alright, let’s listen to the final piece, Autumn by Vivaldi.” Upon seeing the viewers teasing about his poor teaching skills non-stop, Gabriel felt so embarrassed that he wanted to cover his head with a tin—but wasn’t sure if tins still existed in this planets era for him to use.
He could only sigh upon thinking.
At this moment, he could only change the conversation’s topic.
“In that era, autumn was considered the harvest season.
It was a very peaceful time in that period.
After people had been working hard on their crops for a long time, their effort finally bore fruit.
Besides, autumn was also a time when people would gather and throw a celebratory event to celebrate.
That’s why this season doesn’t have nature’s harshness like the previous three.
Therefore, the music focuses on joy and festivities.
In the middle section, it represents the people resting in the refreshing afternoons after all the festivities…” Gabriel explained the details of the song as always.
“…And in the final part of Autumn, just like other seasons, there’s a fast-paced section, but this one doesn’t signify a storm.
It’s about a hunting scene—a leisure activity of human in that era.
The violin mimics the animal being hunted, and the quick, staccato rhythm captures the flee, it clearly shows the emotion of the one being chase after.
Therefore, it is full of the fear of death, which they couldn’t escape it in the end.
It’s a fascinating piece, right?”
Gabriel concluded with a smile that no one could see, since it was behind the cute bear sticker.
[After hearing the streamer’s explanation, I really want to hear the full piece to see how it is.]
[There’s hunting?
I feel pity for the animals.]
[That was the story of thousands of years ago.
The lives of the people in the past had many beautiful and terrifying stories.]
[We can’t judge them by today’s way of thinking.]
[Streamer, I want to hear the song already]
[So excited.
I think this one might be the easiest.]
[I think this one will be the easiest too.]
[Maybe it’s easy, but I still can’t play it.]
The viewers, who listened to Gabriel’s story till the end, were waiting for the final performance in excitement.
And when the bright melody of Autumn was played, everyone was stunned by its seemingly easy melody, when it was not easy at all.
The dynamics might have seemed easy, like Spring, but the trick of harmonic sounds caused the melody to convey the dancing so vividly that everyone felt like being at a lively ball.
Small smiles gradually appeared on the faces of the viewers as they were drawn into the cheerful rhythm till the end of the first section.
What pulled them out of the spellbound state of the celebration wasn’t an aggressive or intense melody, but rather the depiction of a peaceful afternoon nap.
What clearly captivated everyone’s attention was the muted violin playing, aimed at reducing echoes.
It caused the sound to not reverberate.
Therefore, this was a performance that truly conveyed the villagers’ peaceful slumber.
The most challenging thing of this part was controlling the bow’s pressure, which required extremely high skill on controlling hand pressure.
The piece concluded with the final segment, where the tempo increased to represent a hunt, filled with gunshots, hunting dogs, and the death.
[Now I’m not so sure this piece is the easiest.
Even if it is, it’s still tough for me.]
[I liked the first part; it was fun.
But the next part was so slow that I wanted to sleep.
Definitely fitting for a part that depicts a nap.]
[I almost fell asleep in that second part too.]
[I’m really impressed with the second part.
It seems easy, but I know well that to play it like that is harder than how I think it will be.]
[I want to play the violin, but it seems like there’s no piece I can play.
Sobbb.]
[Streamer, do you have any songs I can casually listen to, like Canon in D?
I prefer that style.]
[The Four Seasons’ melodies are so intense; I could barely breathe when I listened to them.
I, too, want something easier to listen to.]
[Streamer, don’t you have any other easy-listening classical pieces, like the ones in the clips you posted?]
Seeing these messages, Gabriel felt uneasy.
“Everyone wants to hear something simple, right?
Actually, there are plenty of classical pieces like that.
But I chose The Four Seasons by Vivaldi because there are many people interested in playing the violin, so I thought it would be good if there are the songs that they can play to practice their skills.
Besides, I wanted to play the songs that depict the nature on Earth…”
When he saw that some people didn’t like classical music, Gabriel tried to explain, expressing his sincerity.
However, it was something understandable, since this kind of music had deep meanings.
It was not something that one could easily connect to just by listening.
[Don’t overthink it.
We all have things we like and dislike.
But I liked it.
I got a lot of inspiration from your playing, streamer.]
[That’s right.
I want to go back and read more about Earth’s history.]
[If you listen to it continuously, it would be pretty enjoying.]
[I love it so much.
It seems different from synthesized music, especially the performance that is full of emotions.
It made me so stunned that I was gaping.]
[I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it either.]
Gabriel scanned the messages from the viewers for a long while, seeing so many pouring in.
People shared their diverse opinions about the piece, which made the young man happy that there were so many people listened to the songs he played, even if some didn’t enjoy it.
“In that case, I’ll play another easy-listening piece similar to Canon in D.
The piece I’m going to play is Air on the G String by Johann Sebastian Bach.
It’s another beautiful melody from the Baroque era, the same period as Vivaldi.”
Seeing increasing requests for different kinds of music, Gabriel decided to play this song within just a split second.
“Many might wonder why it’s called G String.
It’s because this piece was later adapted specifically for the violin.
Therefore, this entire piece is played using just one violin string, which is this one, G String.”
Gabriel still explained the details of the song, just like usual.
At the same moment, he used his fingers to pluck the G string, the highest string on the violin, several times to demonstrate it clearly.
[Playing with just one string?
Are you boasting, streamer?]
[How could it sound good like that?]
[Exactly.
Even with four strings, it’s tough enough.
How can you play multiple notes with just one string?]
[Seeing the streamer’s confidence like that, I’ll be watching to see!]
[Really just one string?
Now I want to hear what this song will be like.]
[I hope playing with just one string makes it easier.
I really want to play at least one classical piece.]
[Hearing that the streamer is playing this on one string makes me so excited.
I’m all ears!]
Air on G String was the final piece Gabriel intended to perform this day, so he aimed to deliver his best.
As mentioned, this piece is played entirely on the G string, therefore, it was an ideal exercise for someone who had just started playing the violin for sure.
This was another reason Gabriel chose this piece—he wanted to show people of this era that classical music wasn’t difficult to listen or hard to connect with like how they thought it would be.
Air on G String is considered a beautiful and easy-listening piece.
It’s firm, yet, in a way, it can still shake the emotions of listeners depending on the musician’s playing style.
If vibrato (the technique of finger vibration) is applied to each note during the performance, it can evoke deep emotions in the audience.
Naturally, Gabriel was one of those who enjoyed playing the song with these techniques.
He liked to intensify and draw out the emotions, so his rendition of this piece incorporated more tricks than the standard version.
He added vibrato, added notes, and transitioned between high and low tones, making the listeners felt the shake in their hearts.
It made them feel a sense of longing, as if they were exhausted from yearning for something.
Of course, playing the piece as originally composed didn’t involve that many complicated tricks like how Gabriel had just played.
That’s why this is another suitable piece for beginners to practice controlling the tone, and its varying tempo helps new violinists learn to convey emotions through music.
Therefore, deep down, Gabriel hoped everyone would appreciate this song, which had beautiful melody, like he did.
[Ah… I feel like I’m in heaven againnnn.]
[How did the streamer turn a seemingly simple piece into something so complex and challenging?]
[He said it’s not hard, but no matter how I look at it, it is hard.]
[I’ve always wondered what caused that trembling sound.
Now I understand that it’s from vibrating the fingers.
The previous pieces were too fast for me to notice.]
[I love the way the streamer draws out the bow in a long move.
It’s so fluid and charming I can’t look away.]
[I want to play this piece.]
[At my wedding with my future husband, I definitely need to add this song.
It’s so romantic.]
[Why does everything the streamer plays look so easy?
But when I try to play, it turns out that the sound is off-key, and it is extremely ear-piercing.]
[I’ll wait for another streamer to teach it.
This will definitely be the first song I’ll ever manage to play.]
[It’s a slow song, but there are so many tricks.]
[Oh, I’m going to cry—it’s so beautiful.]
The viewers’ comments came pouring once again in after Gabriel finished playing, catching him off guard.
He looked at the flood of messages as if he were a startled rabbit.
He had never expected that people would love this song so much.
“So, does that mean nobody wants to hear me play anything harder?” Gabriel joked.
[Not trueeee.
I love everything you play, streamer.]
[There are even more difficult pieces?]
[I thought these were hard enough already.
You have something even tougher, streamer?]
Seeing so many questions like this, Gabriel let out a laugh.
He laughed a little.
“Of course, there are.
The works of Niccolò Paganini.
Let me play one for you—it’s a short song called Caprice No.
5.” Since time was running short, he picked a short song to play for them, which seemed suitable for the situation.
Caprice No.
5 is known as one of Paganini’s most challenging pieces.
It’s filled with advanced techniques and requires rapid finger movement, switching between high and low notes in what musicians of the past called The Trill.
This demanded extraordinary speed from the violinist.
Even though the performance lasted only a few minutes, it was enough to put numerous techniques into it, causing the hearts of the viewers on the other side of the holographic screen to drop.
They were gaping at the song played with eccentric techniques.
The image of the young man playing the violin with intense energy.
He controlled the bow as it bounced across the strings, producing a melody that seemed strange and not so pleasant to hear.
However, it was so mesmerizing that the people didn’t dare to blink even once.
When they moved their eyes to look at the long, slender fingers that pressed the notes so fluidly like waves, the people got goosebump because of his hand speed that could be called the speed of the devil.
No one could even track what notes the person before them was playing.
It all happened so fast that no one could keep up.
And when the performer pulled the bow down sharply at the end, it created a powerful, high-pitched sound that shook everyone’s emotions.
Unfortunately, the wonderful performance ended in just two and a half minutes.
The song ended, but the audience didn’t.
They were left stunned, their senses scattered!
“Everyone?” Gabriel called out, noticing the sudden silence in the chat.
Had everyone left?
The performance was so terrible that they couldn’t bear hearing it, right?
Luckily, he had prepared himself for this thing, so he wasn’t too disappointed.
With that thought, Gabriel sighed.
“Alright, I’ll go now.
See you next week.
Bye-bye!” Seeing no response from the viewers, Gabriel hurriedly ended the stream.
He didn’t pay any attention to the number of millions that frozen before him—it was as if they were just ordinary numbers.
Well, he was in hurry to go and draw a picture!
His abrupt end to the stream snapped the stunned viewers back to reality.
They were bewildered, did not even know what had happened, since the bizarre performance was still replaying in their minds.
Besides, they kept going on and on to the point that they couldn’t shake it off their heads.
Once they regained their composure, everyone was shocked once again when they found one final message on their screens in large letters:
Streaming has ended.
Is it over?
Where’s the streamer?
Where did he goooooo?!