[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDHEi2Ku13Q]Coldplay - Viva La Vida (Live at Glastonbury 2011) - YouTube[/ame]

 

He's playing it so low down, he can't be getting those heavenly, high string parts out of it.

I can't say I'm sure, but I think he is miming.

In fact if you watch Lost (I think it's from Glastonbury as well), you'll see Guy doesn't actually play the drumming part and he is miming...

So I suppose it's the same there.

Having seen them up close twice last month, I would say that he is miming and not actually playing the keyboard.

This is massively, massively disappointing.

the bell has a sensor to it so when will hits hit a bell sound is heared.

You don't actually hear the real bell,

I think there are quite a few of these

(drum parts in Violet hill to, if I'm right)

This is massively, massively disappointing.

 

..:nod:..

I always knew it. I mean, I never expected them to really play this. So yes, I wasn't much disappointed when I discovered it.

well since its not a full sized keyboard he could have put (say the 4th or 5th octave (the one with middle c)) down low so he could play even higher notes throughout the rest of the song. just a guess. but yeah its very disappointing. they mime for lovers in japan too

Well, "miming" suggests that they're not playing at all. I'm sure Johnny really is playing the right notes, just as Guy is truly drumming on Lost!. But what comes through the speakers is a different, fuller sounding track.

He's playing it so low down, he can't be getting those heavenly, high string parts out of it.

Mmm, not necessarily. It's possible it could be "miming", but it's also possible it could be real. For example, when I'm playing the chords for Fix You on my digital piano, when I play with the percussion organ tone (to match the song) I have to play it in a different octave than if I play it with the piano tone. Different tones sound higher or lower when playing the same keys so it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's real.

The keyboard does make sound though, as heard during their performance in Paradiso, The Netherlands. If he is miming, why would there be any sound at all in the first place?

 

The sound is out of synch on this video, but it's only for demonstrating purposes and I couldn't find a better one.

At around the 1 minute mark :)

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3FwPYMHSF0&feature=related]BNN Presents Coldplay (part 3) - YouTube[/ame]

This is massively, massively disappointing.

 

Yes. :nod:

Well, "miming" suggests that they're not playing at all. I'm sure Johnny really is playing the right notes, just as Guy is truly drumming on Lost!. But what comes through the speakers is a different, fuller sounding track.

 

Guy is surely not drumming on lost! on this video at galstonbury, around 0:30, you can see clearly that he stop drumming but the sound continues :lol:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZTt06jBSgM]Coldplay - Lost! (Live at Glastonbury 2011) - YouTube[/ame]

Guy is surely not drumming on lost! on this video at galstonbury, around 0:30, you can see clearly that he stop drumming but the sound continues :lol:

 

Will is drumming, too. Because Guy stops to talk to a roadie, there may have been sound issues with his drums.

Will is drumming, too. Because Guy stops to talk to a roadie, there may have been sound issues with his drums.

 

that's a good point ;)

Guy is surely not drumming on lost! on this video at galstonbury, around 0:30, you can see clearly that he stop drumming but the sound continues :lol:

 

Right. There's a pre-loaded track being pumped through the speakers. But Guy is actually playing the drums (most of the time). We just don't hear it.

Erm he's not miming but he's clearly playing the keys. It's just we can't hear them over those strings.

 

How could anyone think he was producing string like sounds from those keyboards?!

It's a MIDI keyboard connected to a custom keyboard rig (there was a video on here awhile back that showed about 3 full racks of outboard units just for keyboard sounds. That means that where Jonny (or Chris or whoever) is playing on the keyboard has no bearing whatsoever on what sounds are produced. The sounds "assigned" to each key are controlled by the midi units in the offstage racks and are customized for each song as needed. That's what Miller's job primarily is, he builds and oversees the band's keyboard gear. It's the same principal with Will's bell for VLV he's actually playing the bell, but the sound is processed through midi to achieve a different/better sound than could be produced by the metal bell itself under stage conditions. Just because the sound is run through an effects loop, doesn't mean the band aren't playing their instruments.

Erm he's not miming but he's clearly playing the keys. It's just we can't hear them over those strings.

 

How could anyone think he was producing string like sounds from those keyboards?!

 

 

With a high end sampling keyboard rig, you absolutely could produce string sounds. Not sure if that's what Jonny is doing live, but with the right gear and technical know how, it absolutely can be done.

It's not the string sound anyway that is supposed to be coming from the keyboard, it's the other sound. So if people are comparing the string timing with him playing I don't think that's the appropriate comparison. Not sure how to describe it, it's kind of like a metal percussion "ting ting ting" sound.

The MIDI theory above is the truth.

edit: forget that. This:

 

 

It's a MIDI keyboard connected to a custom keyboard rig (there was a video on here awhile back that showed about 3 full racks of outboard units just for keyboard sounds. That means that where Jonny (or Chris or whoever) is playing on the keyboard has no bearing whatsoever on what sounds are produced. The sounds "assigned" to each key are controlled by the midi units in the offstage racks and are customized for each song as needed. That's what Miller's job primarily is, he builds and oversees the band's keyboard gear. It's the same principal with Will's bell for VLV he's actually playing the bell, but the sound is processed through midi to achieve a different/better sound than could be produced by the metal bell itself under stage conditions. Just because the sound is run through an effects loop, doesn't mean the band aren't playing their instruments.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid31183220001?bclid=31196924001&bctid=31268882001

 

Above is the link to the series of videos where Miller explains and demonstrates the keyboard gear.

 

He explicitly says at one point that Jonny is playing the keyboard riff in VLV.

 

Chris was using some sampled keyboard parts, but according to Miller in the clip, only in songs where he was playing something else.

It's a MIDI keyboard connected to a custom keyboard rig (there was a video on here awhile back that showed about 3 full racks of outboard units just for keyboard sounds. That means that where Jonny (or Chris or whoever) is playing on the keyboard has no bearing whatsoever on what sounds are produced. The sounds "assigned" to each key are controlled by the midi units in the offstage racks and are customized for each song as needed. That's what Miller's job primarily is, he builds and oversees the band's keyboard gear. It's the same principal with Will's bell for VLV he's actually playing the bell, but the sound is processed through midi to achieve a different/better sound than could be produced by the metal bell itself under stage conditions. Just because the sound is run through an effects loop, doesn't mean the band aren't playing their instruments.

 

wow, nice explanation, thanks :)

No Problem. :)