Chapter 15 Dolphin Sound_1

Before clocking out in the evening.

Lin Yuan finally finished listening to 106 vocal performances.

After listening to these 106 voices, Lin Yuan was more profoundly aware of why Qin Continent was the most renowned Land of Music on Blue Star.

One by one, they were incredible singers!

Even though the list of 106 singers Zhao Jue sent over consisted of newbie artists, most of whom hadn't even debuted yet, their skill levels far exceeded Earth's average quality.

And after looping through these voices, Lin Yuan successfully identified three potential candidates to try singing "Big Fish."

This was absolutely beyond his expectations.

That evening, Lin Yuan called Zhao Jue and revealed his preliminary choices.

"Wang Ping, Jiang Kui, Wei Xiaoxin..."

Hearing Lin Yuan slowly read out these names, Zhao Jue asked, "Your choices seem to be all newbies who haven't debuted yet?"

"Yeah."

*This kid, very suspicious.*

*Could it be that he's targeting newbies because they ask for less pay?*

Suppressing his doubts, Zhao Jue said, "I'll notify these three tomorrow to meet you at the recording studio. You can test their vocals, and once you've finalized the choice, we'll proceed with recording. But just a heads up, passing the company's review process is entirely up to you. If the review doesn't pass approval, recording is pointless."

"Got it."

The call ended.

The next day, at the recording studio on the ninth floor of the company building.

Wang Ping, Jiang Kui, and Wei Xiaoxin, three newbies, sat upright on the chairs near the entrance, looking like job seekers waiting for their interviews—faces full of nervousness.

"Glug glug glug glug glug."

Trying to keep her voice in optimal condition, Jiang Kui had already drunk over half a bottle of water.

However, drinking water didn't ease her nerves—

Last night, her agent suddenly informed her that she'd be auditioning at the company today because Xian Yu might choose her to sing his new song.

*Upon hearing the news, Jiang Kui was so excited she barely slept a wink all night.*

*She never thought that, after less than a year at the company, an opportunity to debut would suddenly appear.*

*It felt like hitting the lottery or receiving a heavenly gift pack.*

*And to top it off, the composer was Xian Yu!*

It wasn't even the end of November yet, and Xian Yu's "Life Like A Summer Flower" remained firmly at the top of the Rookie Chart, already pulling ahead of the second-place song by a gap of three million downloads!

That alone spoke volumes about Xian Yu's skill level.

Now that her debut song might involve a collaboration with Xian Yu, how could Jiang Kui not be over the moon?

Being new, Jiang Kui didn't yet understand that not every song by a composer maintains the same level of quality, nor did she grasp the importance of a key company checkpoint called song review.

All she knew was that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she had to seize!

Jiang Kui wasn't alone in her feelings.

Like Jiang Kui, Wang Ping and Wei Xiaoxin, also newbies, were grappling with similar thoughts.

As the three waited nervously.

The elevator doors opened, and Lin Yuan arrived on the ninth floor. The studio staff recognized him immediately and stepped forward with smiles: "Teacher Admirable Fish, you're here."

"Admirable Fish?"

The three newbies simultaneously looked in Lin Yuan's direction, surprised at how young he was. Most successful composers were over 30 years old.

There were composers under 30, but they were exceptionally rare.

"Thank you."

Lin Yuan nodded at the staff and then said, "Who's Wang Ping? Come in first. Let's test your voice."

"That's me!"

Wang Ping immediately stood up.

He was the only male among the three.

Lin Yuan nodded again and entered the control room of the recording studio with the studio staff. He casually sat in a chair by the mixing console and put on headphones.

"Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish."

Wang Ping stepped into the soundproofed recording room, took a deep breath, and introduced himself, "My vocal range is d1 to d3, a falsetto tenor."

"Alright."

Lin Yuan said, "You have sheet music and lyrics in front of you. Take three minutes to prepare and sing two lines from the chorus. I'm looking for a clean and pure ethereal tone."

"Got it."

Wang Ping spent three minutes preparing before singing the first two lines of the chorus: "The waves silently drown out the nightfall, spilling across the far edges of the sky..."

After the two lines, Lin Yuan then instructed, "Skip the main verse. Let's hear another two lines from the chorus, specifically: 'Afraid you'll fly too far, afraid you'll leave me behind, more afraid you'll forever remain right here.'"

To demonstrate, Lin Yuan sang these lines himself.

Although doctors had claimed he couldn't sing anymore, Lin Yuan still managed to hum a few lines in a lower key without issue.

The so-called "can't sing" restriction wasn't absolute—it simply meant he couldn't practice like professional singers, nor could he belt out high notes that he used to excel at, as his vocal cords couldn't sustain that level of strain.

"Understood, Teacher Admirable Fish."

Following Lin Yuan's instructions, Wang Ping complied once again.

As expected, Wang Ping's voice was beautiful, perfectly handling both verses and choruses.

Lin Yuan gave a nod. "Next, let's tackle the humming section, near the song's end, where the high-pitched tones come in."

In "Big Fish," there was a breathtaking segment of vocal humming. Pop culture enthusiasts often referred to this as "dolphin sounds," though professionally, the term "dolphin" wasn't used.

The technical name for dolphin sounds was the "whistle register."

This technique involved powerful air vibrations produced through a minuscule gap between the vocal cords and throat—a highly demanding, ornamental singing style that reached the limits of human vocal frequency.

Aside from "hyoid bone" techniques, no singing method surpassed the whistle register in pitch, making this segment the most challenging part of the song.

"Ah-ah-ah~ ah-ah~ ah-ah-ah~ ah-ah~"

Wang Ping's attempt was clearly forced, failing to actually embrace a whistle register and landing instead on what might be considered a "dolphin-lite" rendition.

Lin Yuan decisively stopped him: "You're overly tense—you need more relaxation. Also, this part doesn't use falsetto techniques; can you avoid falsetto entirely for this section?"

"I can't…"

Dejected, Wang Ping shook his head. His vocal range wasn't wide enough, and managing the whistle register proved to be too much for him.

"Thank you."

Lin Yuan said, "Please ask Wei Xiaoxin to come in."

"Alright, thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish."

Wang Ping left with his head down.

Soon, Wei Xiaoxin entered the soundroom.

After a brief introduction, the audition process repeated the same steps.

From her performance, it was clear that Wei Xiaoxin was better than Wang Ping; she even effortlessly hit the whistle register segment.

However, Lin Yuan still frowned after hearing her performance.

While Wei Xiaoxin barely managed to qualify, singing a whistle register beautifully was an entirely different concept—

Plenty of artists could handle the whistle register, but why was Earth's Vitas so universally praised by professionals and non-professionals alike?

An important reason was Vitas' uniquely beautiful tonal quality.

Timbre was something born of genetics, difficult to alter through practice. While Wei Xiaoxin's overall tone was fine, her whistle register didn't meet Lin Yuan's higher standards.

*Non-professional listeners might not pick up on the difference.*

*But Lin Yuan's ears immediately picked out the disparity compared to the original version.*

He sighed internally and said, "Thank you. Could you send in the next person?"

To be honest, performers like Wei Xiaoxin could be improved through post-production sound editing.

She met Lin Yuan's minimum standards for a "tool vocalist."

But Lin Yuan preferred not to overburden the sound engineers if he could find a more polished candidate.

"Thank you, Teacher."

A disappointed Wei Xiaoxin left the room.

Next was Jiang Kui.

A petite young woman walked in, fumbling clumsily as she adjusted the mic stand's height—this immediately drew chuckles from the staff.

"Hello, teachers."

Looking embarrassed, the petite girl said, "My name is Jiang Kui, and my vocal range is g2 to c6..."

"High C for a female voice?"

One recording engineer raised an eyebrow.

Another engineer commented, "That's quite a wide range. Whistle register shouldn't be an issue—though it remains to be seen if her timbre meets Teacher Admirable Fish's expectations."

"Let's begin."

Lin Yuan repeated the requirements from earlier.

"Got it."

The petite girl cleared her throat before starting her performance.

The initial verses posed no issues, and she was evidently better than the previous two candidates. Her voice carried not only a clarity and radiance but also an unmistakable touch of what might be described as a male vocalist's tonal characteristics—a rare, natural vocal gift.

"Excellent."

Lin Yuan praised her: "Let's proceed with the humming segment as well. Remember, I need the whistle register, not falsetto techniques."

With those words, Lin Yuan felt nervous.

If this girl didn't qualify either, he'd have to rely on post-production fixes or resort to hiring established artists—

*But then how much of the profit pool would be left for him?*

*Maybe editing would be more cost-effective after all?*

As Lin Yuan furrowed his brow in thought, the girl's humming began, graceful and luminous whistle tones resonating in his ears.

Lin Yuan's eyes lit up.

He knew he wouldn't need to share profits with established artists.

The third "tool vocalist" had passed!

The two recording engineers exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

In terms of overall vocal quality, this petite girl outshined the others entirely, leaving them pale in comparison.

Lin Yuan remarked, "Your name is Jiang..."

The girl quickly chimed in: "Jiang Kui, my name is Jiang Kui!"

Lin Yuan nodded and decisively concluded, "Alright, Jiang Kui. I'll send you the full sheet music later. Please familiarize yourself with the song as much as possible—our official recording is scheduled for next Saturday."

"Alright, thank you, Teacher!"

Jiang Kui discreetly made a "V" gesture behind her back, her face unable to hide her joy and excitement: "I'll do my very best!"