CUS's Magical Piano

[Blackwolf]

Classy act, Amtrak!

http://youtu.be/D9BOTXFCpQA

 

[lo2e]

Hahaha, I love it!

 

[CHamilton]

Thanks! That made me smile.

Here's the same video, embedded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9BOTXFCpQA&feature=youtu.be

 

[pianocat]

Probably a Yamaha Disklavier. Cute, even if staged. What drives me bonkers is the series of wrong notes at 1:52+ with the Mozart piano Sonata in A excerpt.[Hard to believe it would be sampled with inaccurate pitches, but who knows.] Let's hear someone play some holiday music for the passengers, "live" !

 

[Anderson]

Awesome!

 

[CHamilton]

I'd like to see Stanley the Piano in CUS, too! http://stanleypiano.com/

http://vimeo.com/45830194

 

[Bob Dylan]

Awesome!!!!!!!

And aren't you Glad the Jerk on the Cell Phone isn't your Boss, Co-Worker, Husband etc. etc.

 

[the_traveler]

Let's hear someone play some holiday music for the passengers, "live" !

I agree!
The Providence airport during the holidays does have a piano played live for the travelers. It would be nice if Amtrak did that in Chicago or some other station.

 

[gmushial]

Probably a Yamaha Disklavier. Cute, even if staged. What drives me bonkers is the series of wrong notes at 1:52+ with the Mozart piano Sonata in A excerpt.[Hard to believe it would be sampled with inaccurate pitches, but who knows.] Let's hear someone play some holiday music for the passengers, "live" !

Ever so heartening to have someone here that would catch such

( K.331, Allegretto )

 

[gmushial]

Classy act, Amtrak!

http://youtu.be/D9BOTXFCpQA

And who says Amtrak isn't a classy organization Delightful... wish there was more than 4 minutes of it.

 

[tim49424]

Cute, even if staged.

It likely was staged, similar to a stunt on the classic series "Candid Camera". However, the concept is really cool and if it were possible, would be quite a novelty for passengers (like me) that have layovers at Union Station.

 

[CHamilton]

Oh Magical Piano, You Fill My Heart With So Much Joy

Ok, so the piano isn't magical, it's being played remotely by a pro while folks from the marketing consultancy Rob Bliss Creative film the whole thing for Amtrak. And yes, everyone in this video is almost certainly an actor. It's got a very staged vibe. So what? That it's so evocative despite its fakeness only proves how elemental the concept of self-playing piano is to our psyche. Or at least to our sense of joy.

 

[gmushial]

Oh Magical Piano, You Fill My Heart With So Much Joy

Ok, so the piano isn't magical, it's being played remotely by a pro while folks from the marketing consultancy Rob Bliss Creative film the whole thing for Amtrak. And yes, everyone in this video is almost certainly an actor. It's got a very staged vibe. So what? That it's so evocative despite its fakeness only proves how elemental the concept of self-playing piano is to our psyche. Or at least to our sense of joy.

Maybe... or, maybe several hours of open camera edited down to four minutes... but the Disklavier, if you've seen one in action, is pretty good at picking up and following along (per little girl in the first minute)... but since it has a remote, probably the come'hither pieces were selected by somebody nearby and watching. ... somehow the "shut up" "demand" doesn't looked staged. Either way: still fun.

 

[CHamilton]

Okay, but it's still fun.

Magic Piano Viral Video Is Fake, Say Redditors

Reddit users are claiming that a viral Christmas video that appears to show passers-by interacting with a remote controlled piano is fake — in that the passers-by are played by actors.
The YouTube account RobBlissCreative uploaded a video called "Chicago's Magical Piano" earlier Thursday, earning more than 200,000 views. The video, supposedly sponsored by Amtrak, captures travelers in Chicago's Union Station playing with a remote-controlled piano, dancing and performing duets.

About two hours after it was shared on Reddit, a user named schwagro claimed in thecomments that the video was fake. Schwagro posted a link to a notice about an Amtrak casting call for a video in Chicago's Union Station with a "magical piano around Christmastime that seems to be truly alive."

One of the examples given in the notice is that an actor might "play 'Chopsticks' ... and we turn it into a duet," which is exactly what happens to a young girl at the beginning of the video.

 

[railiner]

Piano music is fine.....but IIRC at Penn Staion, NY, they used to have various different choirs from local schools perform live late afternoon concerts thruout the holiday season for shopper's, commuter's, and long distance traveler's.....now that's class..........

Even the Port Authority Bus Terminal does that.......

 

[Railroad Bill]

Okay, but it's still fun.

Magic Piano Viral Video Is Fake, Say Redditors

Reddit users are claiming that a viral Christmas video that appears to show passers-by interacting with a remote controlled piano is fake — in that the passers-by are played by actors.
The YouTube account RobBlissCreative uploaded a video called "Chicago's Magical Piano" earlier Thursday, earning more than 200,000 views. The video, supposedly sponsored by Amtrak, captures travelers in Chicago's Union Station playing with a remote-controlled piano, dancing and performing duets.

About two hours after it was shared on Reddit, a user named schwagro claimed in thecomments that the video was fake. Schwagro posted a link to a notice about an Amtrak casting call for a video in Chicago's Union Station with a "magical piano around Christmastime that seems to be truly alive."

One of the examples given in the notice is that an actor might "play 'Chopsticks' ... and we turn it into a duet," which is exactly what happens to a young girl at the beginning of the video.

Yes, there is always somebody who wants to claim Santa Claus isn't real :unsure: . We can just believe the video is real and enjoy it anyway

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

That is brilliant marketing.

 

[tim49424]

Okay, but it's still fun.

Magic Piano Viral Video Is Fake, Say Redditors

Reddit users are claiming that a viral Christmas video that appears to show passers-by interacting with a remote controlled piano is fake — in that the passers-by are played by actors.
The YouTube account RobBlissCreative uploaded a video called "Chicago's Magical Piano" earlier Thursday, earning more than 200,000 views. The video, supposedly sponsored by Amtrak, captures travelers in Chicago's Union Station playing with a remote-controlled piano, dancing and performing duets.

About two hours after it was shared on Reddit, a user named schwagro claimed in thecomments that the video was fake. Schwagro posted a link to a notice about an Amtrak casting call for a video in Chicago's Union Station with a "magical piano around Christmastime that seems to be truly alive."

One of the examples given in the notice is that an actor might "play 'Chopsticks' ... and we turn it into a duet," which is exactly what happens to a young girl at the beginning of the video.

Yes, there is always somebody who wants to claim Santa Claus isn't real :unsure: . We can just believe the video is real and enjoy it anyway

Weird....I was just thinking the same thing. :hi: Wait....Santa Claus isn't real? I shouldn't have tried to debunk things earlier. :blink:

 

[JeffW]

Probably a Yamaha Disklavier. Cute, even if staged. What drives me bonkers is the series of wrong notes at 1:52+ with the Mozart piano Sonata in A excerpt.[Hard to believe it would be sampled with inaccurate pitches, but who knows.] Let's hear someone play some holiday music for the passengers, "live" !

Ever so heartening to have someone here that would catch such

( K.331, Allegretto )

Actually, Disklavier (I think it was through this) can connect remotely to another piano or keyboard. My suspicion is that the pianist was sitting somewhere else where they could get a good view of the action (particularly the angry businessman!). They definitely have some jazz training! And while I agree about the Mozart, perhaps it was symbolic about the fact that we never quite "get all of our notes" when we're rushing. My various piano teachers would be very disappointed...

 

[lo2e]

And while I agree about the Mozart, perhaps it was symbolic about the fact that we never quite "get all of our notes" when we're rushing.

That was my thought too - to demonstrate the panic that ensues when you're rushing to catch a train and how things might not be "perfect" when doing so.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

So the video was staged, Right? But CUS did have a magic piano for a period longer than the filming of the video. It would be nice to have something during a stressful travel day.