Is Amateur Piano Recording This Hard?

[Thomas_A]

Youtube suggested this video last night which sounds quite nice:

I don't see any microphones. So is it recorded in far field?

I wonder how the algorithm of Youtube recommendations work...

 

[goat76]

as I posted upthread earlier - "if she's actually playing that piano part - I'm a tomato"...

the recording sounds ok - probably the sampled piano sound / maybe the piano itself recorded prior to the shoot (who knows?) - however the performance fakery is simply insulting... it's just more utoob 'not real' showbiz nonsense/crap...

In the video Amir posted, the power cable to the digital piano is clearly visible underneath the piano in the side shot, and the size of the digital piano is just to make it look like the real thing, it's just a piece of furniture.

The video takes are as people have mentioned a separate thing with multiple takes just to get some movement to the video, just like a professional would have done it.

I'm sure she is the one who really played the musical piece which was probably recorded on a USB stick, and after that mixed digitally in a DAW with a piano plugin where it's possible to choose the type of piano and the reverb of some sort of concert hall.
That's what I used when I recorded my daughter playing her digital piano. A really nice Roland FP-30 with 88 weighted keys that feel exactly like playing on a real piano, recorded over a USB cable to Reaper (DAW) and a plugin program called Addictive Keys. I think the result gets convincingly good, and there's really no other way to record a digital piano anyways.

From about 6 minutes in the video below you can hear him playing and trying out different settings with the Addictive Keys program.

 

[computer-audiophile]

#104

Simply terrible. Everything very artificially exaggerated. None of it corresponds to my ideal of beauty. I find the jingling ridiculous. Pure kitsch imo. I hope I'm allowed to write it that way and it's translated correctly without it becoming a netiquette violation.

 

[amirm]

I wonder how the algorithm of Youtube recommendations work...

Simple: it knows I am a man of good taste!

 

[amirm]

as I posted upthread earlier - "if she's actually playing that piano part - I'm a tomato"...

That would certainly explain why it sounds so clean to me. Much like that Addicted to Piano Plug-in. I could tell the video production was quite high quality so makes sense that they did the same with midi capture and synthesis.

 

[thecheapseats]

In the video Amir posted, the power cable to the digital piano is clearly visible underneath the piano in the side shot, and the size of the digital piano is just to make it look like the real thing, it's just a piece of furniture.

if it's an acoustic piano that has a disklavier system installed - an ac cord could certainly be hanging - not necessary for the shoot...if it was 'playing back', the keys would be moving by themsevles - that's how the system works - that's not the case...

if it's a piece of furniture (your words) with a keyboard - a digital piano - it is not a disklavier system...

...I'm sure she is the one who really played the musical piece which was probably recorded on a USB stick, and after that mixed digitally in a DAW with a piano plugin where it's possible to choose the type of piano and the reverb of some sort of concert hall.

you're sure? she's the one playing?... ok... not sure how such certitude might be made on you part - but ok... and a daw with a plug in? - mixed with reverb - ok... you sure?... again you seem very sure... I'm very familiar with the current state of vst plug-in tools for reproducing piano sounds 'inside the box' and reaper's one of many fine programs...

so let me make a comment that I'm sure of... she is a lovely woman and the vid has production value, certainly... the piano sounds ok- whatever it is...

however watching her 'play' - her hamfisted technique is atrocious - no pianist plays flat wrist-to-forearm with no-arch in their flat straight fingers - it's simple not possible to get enough leverage to actuate the capstan at the bottom of the wippen to move the hammer and srtike the sting effectively on a horizontal piano action... I know a human prop when I see one...

a few minor points - been a professional studio musician (union local 47, L.A.) for over fifty years - pianist/anything with a keyboard - have been recorded on thousands of hours of music recordings and film scores, and have worked as an orchestrator, conductor and producer - grammy nominations (back when they meant something) as a player... I own a personal use recording studio that's been operating since the early eighties and my recording piano is a Yamaha 7'6" C7 ordered with a custom Renner action, factory installed by yamaha before it left the factory in hamamatsu almost forty years ago...

...That's what I used when I recorded my daughter playing her digital piano. A really nice Roland FP-30 with 88 weighted keys that feel exactly like playing on a real piano...

sincerely - the best of luck to your daughter... music education is one of the most wonderful gifts you can give her...

 

[thecheapseats]

That would certainly explain why it sounds so clean to me. Much like that Addicted to Piano Plug-in. I could tell the video production was quite high quality so makes sense that they did the same with midi capture and synthesis.

she could have played 150-clams in the original performance - and fixed them after the fact with a midi editor... whose gonna' know?... pay no attention to the man/woman/computer behind the curtain... : )

 

[computer-audiophile]

she is a lovely woman

Is she?
Sorry again here. To me she seems like physically modified. The means are known: silicone, botox, hyaluron...
However, the fake - in every respect - seems to be widely accepted in society today. Perhaps I represent an outsider's opinion.

 

[thecheapseats]

Is she?

I was trying to be gracious before I criticized her... I am not an animal...

 

[RayDunzl]

Some of you are terrible.....

You're pretty difficult sometimes yo' self.

 

[RayDunzl]

Real Piano remote recording:

A (the) microphone is visible at 1:20

 

[computer-audiophile]

irecording piano is a Yamaha 7'6" C7

This is a widely accepted 'gold standard' in recordings studios.

In general, Yamaha also builds very large grand pianos, some of which sound quite wonderful. I have heard this many times. Also at concerts in Japan. Unfortunately, we do not have a suitable place for a real grand piano at home today. The 'most beautiful' piano sound I know is from Fazioli or I also find the heavy sound of Bösendorfer quite good. Artificially you can easily reproduce such sampled sounds today, I have also played around with it. But I prefer the live experience and real instruments.

 

[thecheapseats]

Real Piano remote recording:

A (the) microphone is visible at 1:20

a nine footer...

 

[thecheapseats]

Real Piano remote recording:

A (the) microphone is visible at 1:20

real hands - real chops...

 

[thecheapseats]

Real Piano remote recording:

A (the) microphone is visible at 1:20

this is what a real pianist looks like when they're playing, btw...

 

[computer-audiophile]

Real Piano remote recording:

A (the) microphone is visible at 1:20

Thanks for the video. I like this workshop atmosphere! This is really taken from life!
A few years ago I visited a local piano manufacturer. The company Förster. It is only 20 minutes drive from here.

 

[goat76]

if it's an acoustic piano that has a disklavier system installed - an ac cord could certainly be hanging - not necessary for the shoot...if it was 'playing back', the keys would be moving by themsevles - that's how the system works - that's not the case...

if it's a piece of furniture (your words) with a keyboard - a digital piano - it is not a disklavier system...

you're sure? she's the one playing?... ok... not sure how such certitude might be made on you part - but ok... and a daw with a plug in? - mixed with reverb - ok... you sure?... again you seem very sure... I'm very familiar with the current state of vst plug-in tools for reproducing piano sounds 'inside the box' and reaper's one of many fine programs...

so let me make a comment that I'm sure of... she is a lovely woman and the vid has production value, certainly... the piano sounds ok- whatever it is...

however watching her 'play' - her hamfisted technique is atrocious - no pianist plays flat wrist-to-forearm with no-arch in their flat straight fingers - it's simple not possible to get enough leverage to actuate the capstan at the bottom of the wippen to move the hammer and srtike the sting effectively on a horizontal piano action... I know a human prop when I see one...

a few minor points - been a professional studio musician (union local 47, L.A.) for over fifty years - pianist/anything with a keyboard - have been recorded on thousands of hours of music recordings and film scores, and have worked as an orchestrator, conductor and producer - grammy nominations (back when they meant something) as a player... I own a personal use recording studio that's been operating since the early eighties and my recording piano is a Yamaha 7'6" C7 ordered with a custom Renner action, factory installed by yamaha before it left the factory in hamamatsu almost forty years ago...


sincerely - the best of luck to your daughter... music education is one of the most wonderful gifts you can give her...

I see no reason at all that she’s not the one who played the piano for the recordings, and even if you believe she’s totally incapable of playing the piano for whatever reason that is (too beautiful or too fake), it’s so easy nowadays to make 20 takes of a recording and make a perfect Frankenstein by choosing the best parts (pun intended).

What she does with the piano keys and her fingers in the video recording is not important, that’s obviously many take from different angles for the video itself, and not the actual take for the audio recording. It all is just parts of the whole video/audio production presentation.

Do you find the actual audio of the piano playing to be extraordinarily good in any way, or what is it that you find so hard to believe that she’s the one who played the piano for the recording?

 

[thecheapseats]

This is a widely accepted 'gold standard' in recordings studios.

In general, Yamaha also builds very large grand pianos, some of which sound quite wonderful. I have heard this many times. Also at concerts in Japan. Unfortunately, we do not have a suitable place for a real grand piano at home today. The 'most beautiful' piano sound I know is from Fazioli or I also find the heavy sound of Bösendorfer quite good. Artificially you can easily reproduce such sampled sounds today, I have also played around with it. But I prefer the live experience and real instruments.

with pianos, it's all about how they are voiced - but you have to have a great instrument to start with - steinway, yamaha, any of the great pianos... have played Bose's in the uk and europe - again, fine insturments... scoring stages in L.A (some have both steiways and yamahas available)- but typically steinways simply because they've been there so long (pre-wwii) and have been maintained so well... generally yamaha are popular in music recording studios because they go 'boom' when ya' hit em - less so with kawais - but again it's how they are voiced - a craft unto itself...

 

[PierreV]

That's a Yamaha CLP 765. I have one (earlier model, in black).
I could simply load and fake what she plays on it.

In fact, I did that on occasions when I had contractors in the house. They were very impressed.

And, no, I won't record a video for you guys, as I definitely miss some essential misdirection material/fleshware!

 

[thecheapseats]

I see no reason at all that she’s not the one who played the piano for the recordings...

I do...

... and even if you believe she’s totally incapable of playing the piano for whatever reason that is (too beautiful or too fake), it’s so easy nowadays to make 20 takes of a recording and make a perfect Frankenstein by choosing the best parts (pun intended).

the whole thing is fake utoob nonsense... believe what you want... you like fake stuff? - fine with me...
20 takes isn't playing the piano - it's drooling without skill...

...What she does with the piano keys and her fingers in the video recording is not important,...

not important?... ummm yeah, it kind of is...
it's billed as a piano performance - when in fact it is not... it's cheap eye candy - nothing more...

Do you find the actual audio of the piano playing to be extraordinarily good in any way, or what is it that you find so hard to believe that she’s the one who played the piano for the recording?

extraordinarily good - no - it's too wet... I said earlier the piano sound was ok...
there's great - there's 'not great' - ok is the latter...