From Jonathan Lee, who grew up playing a broken piano, to the next generation of musicians who can play a good guitar when they are rich, it is recognized that the guitar will always be "made in the West", specifically, a western brand guitar produced by the Oriental factory. This made Jonathan Lee feel sorry. "I always feel that since we can create so many songs that we are familiar with, we should also have our own guitar brand, which is truly recognized and accepted by our musicians." .
Jonathan Lee is determined to change this situation. As early as 1997, he left Taiwan Province to save his visit to Canada, which is famous for its top-notch handmade guitar manufacturing. Many musicians live in the mountains and are self-sufficient, just like living in seclusion. Jonathan Lee soon discovered that this lifestyle of musicians was not a gesture of returning to nature. In fact, it is almost determined by the proximity and understanding of the wood needed to make a good piano. In the next five years, Jonathan Lee frequently traveled between Taiwan and Canada, from material selection to piano design to post-production, and devoted himself to studying every process.
At the age of 45, Jonathan Lee officially decided to start making his own brand "Li Guitar". He settled in Shanghai and rented a small factory in a town less than 70 kilometers from Shanghai. After more than four months of exploration and tuning, three prototype guitars of the first generation of "Li Guitar" came out. "I think my understanding of music, piano and life has reached the point where I can play the piano." Jonathan Lee said that he stressed that he was not playing with tickets, and his mentality and skills could stand the test. Jonathan Lee said that "making guitar" like him, if regarded as a hobby, may cost more money than playing sports cars and golf. But he's different. He's tired of playing with things, but he doesn't care about his career. Making guitar is his new career for the rest of his life.
So far, three prototype guitars have been kept in the piano cabinet in Jonathan Lee. "There must be impossible. When you can't, just look at them. " The biggest difference between the hand-made "Li Guitar" and the OEM production on the factory assembly line is that even though the materials, production procedures and basic techniques of the two pianos are exactly the same, the sound of the two pianos is still very different. "Wood has life. It passes through your hand at different times and temperatures, and the texture will be different. " Of course, the same pianist has different understanding of the piano at different stages and States. The "torture" of "manual" rival artists can only be realized by those who really do it. I remember that in the two years when "Li Guitar" just began to accept orders from friends and peers, it was his daily routine to make guitars at the workbench at 3 am every day. "I didn't expect that my first dream from childhood could come true and become a carpenter."
In all the links, the selection of wood is the first and decisive step. "Emil Wakin Chau's piano, Mayday's piano and Chen Qizhen's piano all use different materials." Driving to the forest in the suburbs of Beijing to feel the wood has become an important part of Jonathan Lee's life. For Jonathan Lee, it is very important to return to nature-not just the timber yard. "A tree has grown for 65,438+000 years. If you cut it down to make a piano, it should be worthy. You should make guitars to regenerate wood, not just do it. "
In Jonathan Lee's view, although each guitar has several pieces of wood and six strings, each guitar has its own temperament. So he likes to name his piano. He made a piano called Shenshi, because when he did it, he remembered his youth, and so many guitar teenagers said that they loved music. After decades, how many people are still insisting? "I don't mean to criticize. I want to tell young people who want to learn guitar that every dream deserves to be treated with caution, and they can't start easily and give up easily. In that case, our dreams will be worthless. " Another piano, for example, he called it "dormancy"-"On the way to the finish line, there are as many temptations as difficulties. At this time you need to calm down and' sleep'. Don't give up, don't change your mind. "
Jonathan Lee's rigorous attitude.
Jonathan Lee's "backstage"
Chen Yuhao
On Christmas Eve, I went to Tianjin to watch Jonathan Lee's concert.
On a cold winter night in the north, nearly ten thousand people met their youth in the music of their eldest brother, or sighed or cried.
In the Chinese music scene, there are not many artists who have this ability. In addition to being talented, they also have one common feature: they are serious about life, and even have a little axis.
I went backstage before the performance that day. First, I met Jonathan Lee's royal musician Mike.
Mike said that Jonathan Lee was never late for rehearsal. "Every time we arrived, he prepared musical instruments, plugs and so on."
Because we haven't sung for seven years, some songs are inevitably unfamiliar.
Many times, Jonathan Lee would ask the band to "do it again". "Even if half a chord is not aligned, he will wave his hand and repeat the whole song from beginning to end." Mike said.
Later, with the permission of my agent, I went to the artist lounge.
Pushing the door in, several young assistants are chatting there.
In the corner, a man with white T-shirt and gray hair is holding a guitar and sweeping the strings crazily.
After about five minutes, he stood up and showed his famous teeth: "This piece of music is a bit difficult, but it needs more practice."
As a hall-level figure and guitar master in Chinese music, this sentence comes from Jonathan Lee's mouth, which is somewhat shocking.
As a performance reporter, I spend too much time backstage.
Before the performance, many singers were either busy making phone calls or taking photos with various fans. Self-deprecating "practice more" has never been heard.
Modesty and concentration are the most praised places in Jonathan Lee.
In order to make a world-class guitar, Jonathan Lee collected high-grade precious wood all over the world, and put his rigor and delicacy of music and life into every detail of the piano making process.
At present, of the ten handmade guitars in Jonathan Lee, seven or eight are generally smooth, and the remaining two will go to two extremes, and both the best and the dross may appear. "Therefore, audition is the most tense moment in my piano production," he said himself.
In fact, Jonathan Lee doesn't need to live in this way.
As the "godfather of pop music", his name is the golden signboard.
With the word "Jonathan Lee", he can enjoy the rest of his life in luxury. But as a musician who specializes in guitar, it is his wish to make a world-class guitar by himself one day.
"China exports about 8 million to100000 guitars every year, but China's guitars are always cheap and good in the world. None of the guitars made in China have reached the world-class level. I am not satisfied. " This is the declaration of Jonathan Lee and the floor.