TTIG Chapter 8

[Vocal Training]

 

Shengyao Media’s headquarters consisted of two interconnected “Gemini Towers,” A and B, linked by aerial bridges. Tower A housed offices, while Tower B contained dance studios, piano rooms, recording studios, and other facilities where the company’s singers produced their albums.

 

Xu Baichuan led them to the fifth floor of Tower B. At the end of the hallway was a door labeled “FTM Practice Room.”

 

“This will be your exclusive dance practice room from now on,” Xu Baichuan explained as he opened the door and ushered them inside. “I applied for this space from the company—it’s reserved just for you. No one else will come in to disturb you.”

 

The practice room was spacious with mirrors covering three walls and included a private changing room and storage area.

 

An exclusive practice room—definitely VIP treatment! Fu Fei’s eyes sparkled with excitement; it was as if he had stumbled upon premium gear while wandering through beginner village.

 

Xu Baichuan turned to address the group: “Mo Xun and Xiao Fei have been dancing since childhood; Junwen has solid dance fundamentals too. Yinnian and Tang Che are lagging behind in dance—you two need to work hard to catch up. Follow whatever schedule the dance instructor sets for you.”

 

Both Fang Yinnian and Tang Che nodded simultaneously: “Understood.”

 

Xu Baichuan then led them to another room on the opposite side of the hallway. “This is where your vocal lessons will take place. Today, from 2:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon, Teacher Qiao will be here to teach you.”

 

He glanced at his watch and added, “I have to head out now. Wait here for Teacher Qiao. I’ll send the class schedule to Mo Xun shortly.”

 

With that, the manager hurriedly turned and left.

 

A few moments later, Mo Xun received the schedule from Xu Baichuan and forwarded it to the group chat.

 

The schedule was packed:

 

– Monday to Friday: They would attend their regular school classes during the day and then return to the company for evening lessons:

 

– 8:00–9:00 PM: Dance class

 

– 9:00–10:00 PM: Vocal class

 

– Saturday:

 

– 8:00 AM–12:00 PM: Etiquette class

 

– 2:30–5:30 PM: Vocal class

 

– 7:00–10:00 PM: Dance class

 

– Sunday:

 

– Daytime: Vocal class

 

– Evening: Dance class

 

The schedule was so tightly packed it felt even more intense than the final stretch of senior year in high school.

 

Tan Junwen couldn’t help but sigh. “Ugh, classes at 8 AM on weekends? That means we’ll have to get up by 7 or earlier! This is going to kill me…”

 

Mo Xun replied, “At least classes end by 10 PM, so you can go straight to bed afterward. When I was abroad, we often trained until midnight or later—I only slept four or five hours a day.”

 

Tan Junwen looked at him in surprise. “Are trainees overseas really that intense?”

 

Mo Xun gave a wry smile. “The competition is fierce, and the pressure is relentless. Even with all that effort, very few make it to debut.”

 

Fu Fei scratched his head. “Honestly, it’s pretty competitive for trainees here too. In Shengyao’s current batch of trainees, there were over twenty of us. In the end, only Mo-ge and I got selected for debut. Some are still waiting for opportunities, but most have already given up.”

 

The group fell silent.

 

The entertainment industry was inherently ruthless. Many kids joined companies as trainees with dreams of stardom but spent years training without ever getting a chance to debut.

 

At least they were now on the verge of debuting—just being chosen by the company made them incredibly lucky.

 

As the fortunate ones who had been selected, how could they not cherish this opportunity? How could they face those who had been eliminated if they didn’t give it their all?

 

Tan Junwen quickly adjusted his mindset and looked at Mo Xun with rare seriousness. “I’ll do my best to overcome my habit of sleeping in—I won’t drag you guys down.”

 

Mo Xun patted him lightly on the shoulder with a smile. “That’s great—if you slack off, I’ll make sure to keep you in check.”

 

—

 

At exactly 2:30 PM, a familiar figure appeared at the end of the hallway.

 

It was Teacher Qiao Anhua. Today, she wore a blue dress with her hair neatly tied into a bun at the back of her head. She exuded an elegant and intellectual aura. In her forties, Qiao Anhua was Shengyao Media’s go-to vocal coach and had taught many well-known singers.

 

The five members had attended her lessons before during their time at the company and immediately greeted her respectfully upon seeing her. “Hello, Teacher Qiao.”

 

Qiao Anhua walked up with a warm voice and asked, “So you five have officially formed a group now?”

 

Mo Xun replied politely, “Yes, Teacher. Starting today, we’ll be attending classes together.”

 

Qiao Anhua smiled faintly. “I see. Some of you were even recommended by me and Director Xu.”

 

The five froze simultaneously.

 

They suddenly remembered that during their first meeting as a group, Tang Che had questioned Xu Baichuan about why Fang Yinnian was chosen as the lead vocalist. Director Xu had answered that Fang Yinnian was personally selected by Teacher Qiao Anhua from the vocal department.

 

Teacher Qiao handpicked Fang

 

Yinnian as the lead vocalist?

 

Does that mean it was Teacher Qiao who recommended Fang Yinnian for this boy band?

 

The group felt a wave of curiosity rising within them.

 

Qiao Anhua entered the classroom after inputting the password, turned on the lights, and said, “Come in. This is your first vocal lesson together as a group, and the content will be different from what you’ve done before.”

 

The five followed her into the classroom.

 

Shengyao Media, being a company rooted in music, placed great importance on the vocal skills of its artists. The vocal classroom was one of the most professional in the industry, equipped with advanced recording equipment.

 

The new classroom was spacious enough for all five of them to stand comfortably without feeling cramped.

 

Qiao Anhua handed five sheets of sheet music to Mo Xun and said, “Captain, distribute these.”

 

Mo Xun noticed that each sheet had a name written on it and that the scores seemed slightly different for each person.

 

Without taking time to examine them closely, he distributed the sheets according to the names and watched as everyone quickly placed them on their music stands.

 

Was the teacher asking them to sing together? The group lowered their heads and started studying their individual scores seriously.

 

A moment later, Qiao Anhua picked up a conductor’s baton and said, “I’ve taught you all about reading sheet music before. Now, follow my rhythm and let’s try singing this segment together.”

 

The sheet music she had given them was for the chorus of “Never Forget,” a popular ballad by diva Xie Shiqi. Coincidentally, Mo Xun and Fang Yinnian had listened to this song in the car just days ago.

 

The score only included a short excerpt from the chorus.

 

As Qiao Anhua raised her baton gently, all five began singing simultaneously:

 

“Never forget, never forget, no matter how time wears away at us, the memory of you remains unchanged…”

 

“Stop,” Qiao Anhua said abruptly.

 

The five were sweating nervously—What kind of sheet music was this? It sounded like they were collectively off-key!

 

Qiao Anhua turned around and pressed the playback button. “Put on your headphones and listen to the recording.”

 

All five put on their headphones. The professional equipment had recorded their singing perfectly. Upon listening to the playback, they realized how chaotic it sounded—everyone was singing in their own key. It wasn’t harmonious at all; they were completely out of sync.

 

However, amidst the chaos, Fang Yinnian’s voice stood out clearly.

 

If you removed the other four voices and listened only to Fang Yinnian’s part, you could hear a distinct main melody.

 

Fang Yinnian hadn’t gone off-key—in fact, his singing was excellent.

 

Xie Shiqi’s songs were known for being challenging to sing. While they sounded simple at first glance, her choruses included numerous modulations and vocal transitions that were difficult for most people to replicate.

 

Fang Yinnian was already familiar with this song and even nailed the tricky transitions in the second part of the chorus flawlessly.

 

Qiao Anhua asked them calmly: “Do you know what it means to be a lead vocalist?”

 

Fu Fei eagerly raised his hand and answered: “Does it mean having the most parts in team songs?”

 

Qiao Anhua replied: “That’s true for some groups. In those cases, everyone sings a segment—one person sings their part, then another sings theirs—and there’s little difference between lead vocalists and non-lead vocalists. After all, many boy band idols don’t have particularly distinctive voices.”

 

The group fell silent.

 

Qiao Anhua’s words hit home. Many idols indeed lacked unique vocal qualities. For idol boy bands, what mattered most was whether their stage performances were synchronized and visually appealing—fans and audiences didn’t have high expectations for their singing abilities.

 

Without watching their performances on stage, if you closed your eyes and listened solely to their songs, it would be hard to tell who was singing or how many people were involved—their voices often sounded indistinguishable from one another.

 

If you didn’t watch their stage performances and simply listened to their songs with your eyes closed, you wouldn’t be able to tell who was singing or how many people were involved—their vocal tones all sounded similar.

 

However, despite the chaotic group singing earlier, it was still possible to distinguish differences in their vocal tones.

 

Mo Xun’s voice was deep and captivating, Tan Junwen had a slightly raspy and sensual tone, Tang Che’s voice was cold and aloof, while Fu Fei’s was bright and sunny.

 

But Fang Yinnian’s voice stood out as the most beautiful.

 

His tone was rich and full, gentle yet clear, with a textured quality that made it perfect for ballads. His singing had the ability to resonate deeply with listeners, creating a “cleansing” effect for the ears.

 

A similar vocal tone could be found in one of the legendary kings of the music industry. While Fang Yinnian was still an unknown rookie and far from matching the skills of such a veteran, his natural vocal tone was his greatest strength—something he was born with.

 

Qiao Anhua explained, “In your group, all five of you have highly distinctive vocal tones. Fang Yinnian is the lead vocalist because his vocal projection is the strongest. As you might have noticed in the earlier segment, when multiple voices are blended together, Yinnian’s voice stands out due to its strong vocal pressure. It becomes the most prominent sound, naturally taking on the role of the main melody.”

 

“I’ll play it again so you can hear it more clearly.”

 

The earlier recording played once more, and everyone listened carefully through their headphones. Sure enough, Fang Yinnian’s vocal pressure overpowered the other four voices, making them sound like background harmonies.

 

The other four: “…”

 

Who would’ve thought that Fang Yinnian, who was so mild-mannered and easygoing in personality, would have such powerful vocal projection when he sang?

 

A singer with strong vocal pressure doesn’t need to shout or strain their voice to dominate a melody. With just a natural delivery, their voice can overshadow others, turning them into backup singers.

 

In this earlier group performance, since Fang Yinnian had stayed on pitch while singing, the combined sound didn’t feel off-key. Instead, it sounded like the other four were harmonizing to support him. However, the harmony itself had been somewhat chaotic.

 

Qiao Anhua smiled and explained further: “The sheet music I gave you was actually harmony scores—each of you had a different key.”

 

The group compared their sheets and realized she was right. The five sheets were indeed different. Fang Yinnian’s score was in the original key of the song, while the other four had been transposed into different keys.

 

So it wasn’t that they had been off-key earlier—they were singing in harmony.

 

Qiao Anhua continued: “This was your first attempt at harmonizing. It’s easy to be influenced by Fang Yinnian’s vocal pressure and unconsciously follow his key. The key is to block out distractions from your teammates and focus on singing your own part.”

 

She raised her baton again. “Let’s try it again. Yinnian, start by setting the main melody.”

 

Setting the pitch without any instrumental or accompaniment support wasn’t easy.

 

However, Fang Yinnian had excellent pitch accuracy. Since he was also very familiar with this song, he quickly found the correct key with just two softly sung notes.

 

He began singing the first line.

 

By the second line, Qiao Anhua gestured for the others to join in.

 

This time went much better—each person followed their own sheet music and completed the harmony successfully, with only a few notes slightly off-key.

 

Qiao Anhua pressed playback again. “Listen to it—what do you think?”

 

The five of them: “…”

 

It was an incredibly magical harmony.

 

Fang Yinnian’s gentle yet textured lead vocal clearly conveyed the song’s main melody. Mo Xun and Tan Junwen’s deep bass tones, Tang Che’s cold and sharp voice, and Fu Fei’s warm and sunny timbre added layers of color to the harmony.

 

Together, it sounded beautiful.

 

It was almost as if the harmony came with a built-in reverb effect.

 

Teacher Qiao smiled in satisfaction. “Your voices blend very well. Together, they create a magical chemistry.” She removed her headphones and looked at the five of them. “Now do you understand why Xu insisted on putting the five of you together in a group?”

 

The five exchanged glances, their hearts beating wildly.

 

At first, they hadn’t understood Xu Baichuan’s seemingly odd decision—why would he form a boy band with Fang Yinnian, who had a ballet background, and Tang Che, who came from a rock band? Both of them were weak in dance compared to trainees. Wouldn’t it have been better to pick more experienced dancers?

 

But now it was clear that Xu had a unique vision for this boy band.

 

Unlike groups that focused on dance and whose vocals were indistinguishable from each other, their group had voices with strong individuality. They could experiment with harmonies and emphasize singing as their core strength.

 

Qiao Anhua asked, “Did Xu explain the meaning behind FTM to you?”

 

Fu Fei eagerly answered, “He said F stands for Fang Yinnian and Fu Fei, T stands for Tan Junwen and Tang Che, and M stands for Mo Xun.”

 

Qiao Anhua chuckled softly. “And what does FTM mean when combined?”

 

The group looked at each other in confusion. Fu Fei hesitantly said, “It represents… us?”

 

Qiao Anhua smiled. “It stands for For The Music—born for music.”

 

The five: “Huh???”

 

What?! Xu had completely misled them! Who knew FTM had such a deeper meaning?!

 

Qiao Anhua continued, “Your group has two members who could debut solo as powerhouse vocalists. Fang Yinnian and Tang Che both received S-rank ratings for vocal talent in our internal evaluations. While Tang Che is positioned as the secondary vocalist in FTM, his vocal ability would be considered overwhelming in most other boy bands.”

 

Tang Che: “…”

 

“When the boy band project was first proposed, the concept brought up by the chief planner was to create a vocal-focused group. Our company doesn’t have experience producing boy bands, but we can leverage our strengths in music and use vocal ability as the primary criterion for forming a team.”

 

The five: “………”

 

During this vocal lesson, they finally understood why Fang Yinnian was chosen as the lead vocalist and why Tang Che was included in the group.

 

The five of them weren’t just a typical boy band—they were a group born for music.

 

They were a vocal-centric group.

 

This explained why it didn’t matter if the lead vocalist or secondary vocalist struggled with dance—their focus was on music.

 

Qiao Anhua looked at the five rookies with a smile and said, “The boy band market is highly competitive, but most groups have KTV-level singing skills. Many don’t even dare to sing live—they just lip-sync.”

 

“You must always perform live. Only by relying on unique voices, solid singing skills, and the ability to sing and dance live can you carve out a path that other groups cannot replicate.”

 

“I can’t help you with dance training. But for vocal lessons, my standards will be extremely strict. You must listen carefully—there will be a weekly evaluation, and anyone who doesn’t pass will have to stay up late for extra practice.”

 

“All of your songs will incorporate harmonies—duets, trios, quartets, and full-group harmonies. Rich and layered harmonies will enhance the depth of your music.”

 

“Remember, when you’re on stage—”

 

“Your teammates’ voices will be your best accompaniment.”

 

 

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