How could I tell? I don’t know I just… could. I have a good ear I guess hahaha.

It took me a couple of bars to realise it…
But I think it was a combination of hearing something shift in the music (an audio cue), but not really knowing what at first (see below), combined with a visual cue of when she paused, and a narrative cue that they set up prior explaining that he speaks best through music, that meant I knew he’d listened to her request (or perhaps he’d always planned it) and started to play something different and was thus now speakingwith his music.
So I knew to listen for something he was saying through this action.
Then I guess I was actively trying to listen for whatever it was and leading me to realise it was happy birthday.

But what was the initial audio cue? What was it? I actually did a bit of research here haha.
I went back and relistened, and went “is that a key change?”, and because I don’t have perfect pitch, I downloaded an app to find out. And yeah, it modulates.
It changes key, from the key of the Moonlight Sonata (C# Minor) to a Major key (E Major) for Happy Birthday. I think that was a big audio cue for me cos I have a pretty good ear for picking up modulation shifts. I definitely heard that the first time and was like “what’s going on?”, on top of the visual and narrative cues.
Beyond that I don’t really know how to explain how or why I recognised that is was Happy Birthday exactly. It’s definitely an arrangement for the piano and not really how you’d sing it, so maybe that would throw one off.
Maybe it helps that I know Happy Birthday better than the Moonlight Sonata?
Maybe it helps that I’d seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Eotw3IxN4 ?
Maybe I’ve binged way too much of music-theory youtube?
I don’t know how to explain how I recognised the chords. I just did.
It was her birthday, he speaks through music, she likes Moonlight Sonata, she’s just had a horrible reveal dumped on her, he attempted to say Happy Birthday to Jung Kyung, but erased it, he speaks best through music… ergo… “Oh, that’s Happy Birthday and this is a beautiful scene.”

(that I kind of want to break down more now hahaha because it’s actually a really good example of show don’t tell, and using narrative setup and visual and audio storytelling to build and reveal more about characters)

@sicarius Thanks for this essay! (Really, I mean it, it must’ve taken a while to write.) I caught the narrative and visual cues, the key modulation from minor to major and the fact that he was no longer playing Moonlight Sonata, but somehow just didn’t manage to identify the deconstructed Happy Birthday.

But yes, I totally feel the part about showing and not telling. When Joon-young tells Song-ah about the silence he remembers from his first competition at the start of ep 3, he didn’t need to say “I felt incredibly lonely”. That scene went straight to my heart.

(P.S. @13infamyss Sorry for hijacking your post I hope you don’t mind!)

No worries, you’re welcome! I’m sorry I can’t tell you more about why it was obvious to me haha.

Mmm there are some really nice scenes, aren’t there.

@sicarius

Maybe it helps that I know Happy Birthday better than the Moonlight Sonata?

I’m not sure what to do with the fact that I was able to recognize Moonlight Sonata but not Happy Birthday 😆. Especially since Happy Birthday in Korean is my Covid hand washing song and I’ve sung it in my head a bazillion times since March.
I heard the change in music, but I think I was just assuming he switched to another classical piece and I wasn’t able to think outside of that box. That in combination with the fact that this is a pretty piano version that is not blatantly obvious. After Toki’s post alerted me, I rewatched it and could definitely make out Happy Birthday that time and ahh what a lovely scene!

That video was great btw. LOL.

Happy Birthday Toki! 😘 Joon Young is a special boy!