The Gospel of Practice
A pastel gray wide jogger pants with a subtle blue tint, a white long-sleeve tee with the sleeves rolled up, and a small silver necklace. It was a comfortable outfit, as if she had just stepped out for a casual stroll in the neighborhood. The only difference from a casual walk was the black guitar in her hand.
“Suyun-ah?!”
Ha Suyun, who walked in with her long hair fluttering, grinned and waved toward the source of the high-pitched shriek, which undoubtedly belonged to a female fan. A massive wave of cheers erupted in response.
Asano Shohei, who was originally scheduled as today's sole guest, spoke up with a playfully hurt expression.
“Ah, now I'm getting jealous. Wasn't I supposed to be the star of this seminar?”
“You were the one who told me to come, sir.”
“My goodness, it seems I've been bitten by the very dog I brought along.”
The two shared a laugh after exchanging the banter in Japanese. Suyun then sat down on the prepared chair and rested her guitar on her thigh. While a staff member brought over a cable, a Yamaha employee holding a microphone asked a question.
“Uh, Guitarist Ha Suyun?”
“Yes?”
“You weren't scheduled to appear at all... and we didn't receive any prior notice. What brings you here so suddenly today...?”
“Ah, it's all because of this gentleman. I just came back to Korea yesterday to take care of some business, and he insisted we do this seminar together since he was hosting one today. I still wasn't planning on showing up, but...”
Saying so, Suyun temporarily placed her guitar on the stand next to her and picked up a new model resting beside Asano.
“Once I saw Yamaha's latest model, I just couldn't resist. Of course, when it comes to guitars, Fender is king! But that's purely emotional. Truly smart consumers buy Yamaha. Right?”
“Exactly! Smart consumers buy Yamaha! As expected of a top guitarist, you know your stuff! But the instrument you play is a Fender...”
“That's because I'm not very smart.”
Laughter erupted at Suyun's deadpan reply. Setting the guitar back down, Suyun finished answering the employee's question.
“Anyway, I came because he invited me. He's done a lot for me, so it was hard to say no. It worked out since I happened to be in Korea.”
“I see! Well, since you're already here, would you mind...?”
“Sure. If there's anything I can do to help the attendees, I'll do my best to teach them.”
“Thank you!! Everyone, please give a big round of applause for Guitarist Ha Suyun!!”
Another wave of applause filled the room. While Suyun smiled faintly and bowed, a fan in the audience pulled out his phone and wrote a post on a guitar community.
A flurry of comments flooded the post. The fan stared at his screen with a satisfied grin before slipping his phone back into his pocket.
Soon, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight bathed the stage... as the two began to play.
Blue Moon Harmonics' signature track, Under the Moonlight.
Behind Asano's lead guitar, which began to sing in a low, resonant tone, Ha Suyun's rhythm guitar naturally fell into place. Listening to the performance of the two masters, the fan nodded along.
I'm going to learn so much today.
To meet his idol after only a year of playing guitar as a hobby. Feeling as though he had checked off a major item on his bucket list, he stared at the stage with absolute determination, resolved not to miss a single word spoken today...
The performance concluded, and the seminar began in earnest.
Fitting the theme of "From Beginners to Experts: The Mindset of a Guitarist," Asano Shohei shared his thoughts on what it meant to be a guitarist and an artist.
“Some of you here might play guitar as a hobby. Some might aspire to be professionals, and some might already be working pros. Everyone is at a different level, but there is one thing that is crucial regardless of your level. It is to clearly define what you want.”
“If you're a hobbyist, for example, it might be 'I want to play songs by my favorite band.' If you're an aspiring pro, it might be 'I want to build a portfolio strong enough to get hired for session work.' If you're a working pro, it might be 'I want to make a successful album with my guitar playing...'”
“If you don't define it clearly, you'll only end up hurting yourself. For instance, someone who has played as a hobby for a year might see a video online of someone claiming, 'I've been playing for three months!' and feel discouraged. 'I've been playing for a year, but you're already at that level in just three months?' In reality, playing guitar isn't a competition, so there's absolutely no reason to feel hurt.”
These were the words of a man who had spent decades at the forefront of one of Japan's top rock bands. Faced with the weight of truth forged through real-life experience, the audience couldn't help but nod in sincere agreement.
But that wasn't all.
“I have a question. I started playing guitar as a hobby, but I've recently decided to pursue it professionally. However, I'm not sure how I should practice from now on or how to take the next steps toward going pro.”
“A very good question. Hmm... If it were me... Every guitarist has strengths and weaknesses. As for someone who doesn't have any... well, I don't think anyone like that exists, except perhaps for the strange person sitting next to me.”
Laughter and applause erupted instantly. While Suyun shrugged her shoulders, Asano continued.
“Though in reality, even Ha-san probably has weaknesses. Anyway, since I don't know your current skill level, I can only speak in generalities. If you have strengths and weaknesses, it is crucial to develop your strengths. I don't know what kind of professional you want to be, but ultimately, an artist is defined by their unique characteristics.”
Because it was a free promotional event hosted by a corporation, some had worried the seminar might feel half-hearted or superficial. However, thanks to Asano Shohei's sincere answers, the atmosphere grew increasingly passionate.
But there was another side to the stage.
The genius of a generation. A guitarist who had made a name for herself in two countries within just a few years of picking up the instrument, and whose fame was steadily growing worldwide through YouTube: Ha Suyun.
Since Suyun played like a prodigy who had also put in decades of blood, sweat, and tears, it was obvious she possessed immense talent, and it was equally obvious that her standards would be vastly different from those of ordinary people. Yet, the audience still held high expectations for her. They hoped she would offer a clear, definitive solution to their guitar-related struggles or personal dilemmas.
And Suyun did indeed deliver a crystal-clear answer. The only problem was that it was based entirely on her own standards.
“I have a question for Suyun-nim. You often say that practice is the only answer when it comes to the guitar, right?”
“Correct.”
“But practice also has to be efficient, doesn't it? So I was wondering how you personally practice, and how you would recommend others to practice...”
“Hmm. That's a good question. Well... basically, when I decide to sit down and 'practice,' I usually play for about fifteen to sixteen hours.”
“Excuse me?”
The questioner blurted out in disbelief at a number that defied all common sense. Even Asano Shohei, a fellow advocate of hard work, looked equally stunned. The audience fell into a collective state of shock, wondering if they had misheard.
“And I set a schedule. The foundation is physical conditioning. Picking... and the left hand, things like pull-offs. I do separate exercises to build those techniques. Movement is generated by muscles, and muscles remember through movement. Strengthening both the left and right hands... though, of course, it's crucial to do it in a way that avoids injury. Once I've done that conditioning, I start practicing in earnest. For example, if I decide to work on chords today, I'll spend four hours on chords. Two hours on scales. If I want to create some usable licks, I'll invest time into that. That's the general idea.”
“Uh...”
“So ultimately, it boils down to two things: physical conditioning and technique. It doesn't matter how many hours you put in. Even if you can play the solo to Master of Puppets perfectly at 60 BPM, it's completely useless if you can't keep up with the original track. So, practice. Work out, and hone your technique.”
And the rest of her answers followed a remarkably similar pattern.
“My left wrist hurts when I hold the guitar.”
“Then you need to practice holding it in the correct posture more, don't you?”
“I'm not sure where to pick. It sounds a bit muddy...”
“Practice finding the sweet spot.”
“I've listened to all the songs you've composed. They're all incredibly good. Could you tell us how you go about writing songs?”
“Creation is ultimately about analyzing existing works and reinterpreting them as your own. Therefore... you must practice analyzing existing music.”
Practice, practice, practice.
She did offer some other technical advice, like: “People think a guitar sounds the same no matter where you strike the strings, but the tone actually varies subtly. Whether you pick over the pickups, over the neck, or near the bridge... you have to decide based on the tone you want to create.” But in the end, she wrapped it up with: “And that's why you have to practice.”
Uh... what can I even say to that...
Watching Suyun preach her gospel of absolute practice, the fan felt his admiration for her shatter slightly—not entirely, but just a bit. Actually, there was nothing to shatter. Suyun was acting exactly as she did on her streams and self-produced content. Her emphasis on practice was completely on-brand. It was classic Suyun.
When he opened Twitter, he saw the reactions of others who were in the same room. They were being brainwashed as if subjected to subliminal messaging.
This is terrifying...
Yet, even as he thought that, he found himself planning to go straight home, wash up, and start practicing. Was it because he had resolved not to miss a single word spoken today, just as he had promised himself at the start? It was the power of forced brainwashing...
After the seminar ended, Suyun signed autographs for the crowd that rushed forward (one person even asked if her obsession with practice was just a concept). Afterward, she sipped her iced coffee and stared out at the empty hall. Staff members were busy packing up the gear.
“Hmm. It felt like people were a bit disappointed in me.”
“Isn't that obvious? Given how you answered...”
“Was there something wrong with my answers?” Suyun asked back.
She had actually toned down her usual harshness compared to how she answered people online, so what was the issue? If anything, she felt a bit unsatisfied that she hadn't given more thorough answers... Wait, did she use to think like this in the past?
At her question, Asano stared at her as if to ask if she was serious. Well, I suppose only someone with that kind of mindset could achieve such monstrous skill in just a few years, Asano thought, convincing himself.
“More than that, there was one thing I found a bit disappointing.”
“What's that?”
“No one asked me about my guitar tone. I'm actually quite confident in that.”
“Ah... Ha-san, your guitar tone is heavily modeled after David Gilmour, isn't it?”
At Asano's words, Suyun nodded. Though she had tweaked it slightly recently, her guitar tone was fundamentally rooted in David Gilmour's sound.
“Maybe that's why.”
“What do you mean?”
“Anyone who would come all the way here to ask about tone would already have some basic knowledge of it. They probably already know your tone is a copy of Gilmour's.”
“Hmm...”
Suyun twirled a strand of her hair. Is that really why? Because my tone is just a copy? At the end of that train of thought, she recalled a comment she had seen recently.
'But isn't her tone lacking individuality?'
“I said it during the seminar earlier. I truly believe you are a guitarist with no weaknesses, Ha-san. From basic technique to your own unique style of playing, you have everything.”
Asano recalled his earlier statement. In all honesty, Ha Suyun possessed everything. Except for one thing.
“But if you ask whether you have your own signature tone, I don't think you're quite there yet.”
“Is that so?”
“A great artist isn't made simply by being good at something. They become truly great when they create something uniquely their own. Of course, you've already created something unique, but there is a path for you to become even greater.”
If Ha Suyun could craft a signature tone that was instantly recognizable and made everyone want to copy it, no other guitarist of her generation could ever claim to be better than her.
“Give it some thought. For example... stepping away from Fender and trying a different guitar might be one way. Not a high-end session guitar, but something with a completely different color.”
Asano offered this advice to guide her toward an even higher plane of artistry.
Watching Asano leave after saying goodbye, Suyun slung her gig bag over her shoulder, called a taxi, and pondered.
My own signature tone. Something uniquely mine...
Was it finally time to develop something like that? But deciding she had to deal with the mountain of work right in front of her first, Suyun raised her hand to hail the approaching taxi.
Summer Sonic 2027, which Group Sound was scheduled to perform at, was just around the corner.
Summer Sonic. Held simultaneously in Osaka and Tokyo, it was one of Japan's massive rock festivals, inviting truly world-class global artists.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Metallica, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Queen, Blur...
An event that invited artists who had left their names not just in rock, but in the very history of music.
Korean artists had also been invited in the past. Starting with Seo Taiji in 2001 and Nell in 2008, numerous Korean rock bands had graced the stages of Summer Sonic, including Galaxy Express, Guckkasten, Glen Check, Kiha & The Faces, and Jaurim.
But even though other Korean bands had performed at Summer Sonic before, it didn't diminish the significance of Group Sound taking that very stage. Because this was a signal flare. A signal flare announcing the official beginning of Group Sound's global activities.
User_A: Isn't this practically their first big gig?
User_B: They've played live houses a lot, but this is their first time in front of a crowd of over a thousand.
User_C: They performed on the radio before.
↳ User_D: Radio and festivals are totally different.
User_E: I'm actually really excited.
User_F: Looking at the videos uploaded by Korean fans, their stage quality seems incredible.
↳ User_G: Which video?
↳ User_H: youtube.com/djoi1j2~~
↳ User_I: This is amazing.
↳ User_J: Incredible.
↳ User_K: And they're only in their second year? Seriously, what are Japanese bands even doing?
↳ User_L: It's not that Japanese bands are bad, these guys are just monsters.
Group Sound's Japanese fans shared their excitement as they eagerly awaited Summer Sonic, posting fan art filled with anticipation and tweeting their support. And the members, watching all of this...
“Wouldn't it be cool if we structured the stage like this?”
“I suppose so.”
They were designing the performance to give the audience the ultimate experience, focusing not just on the music but on the overall show. By leaving a deep, unforgettable impression on the crowd through this opportunity, they hoped to draw even more people to their upcoming live tour.