A piano expert has weighed in on what could have happened with Taylor Swift’s keyboard when it became ‘possessed’ during a recent concert on her Eras tour.
The pop superstar, 33, looked visibly shocked when her piano started playing on its own while she was about to begin Red (Taylor’s Version) on Sunday as she shouted to the crowd: ‘I didn’t play that!’
As the piano continued to make sounds, horrified Taylor covered her face and questioned if it was just her who was hearing it, asking fans: ‘Oh my god, do you hear that? Is that happening for you guys too?’
Now piano technician Joe Wieneck, who works with the New York Piano Academy, has shared some theories about what went wrong with Taylor’s piano at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
A piano technician has weighed in after a recent gig on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour took a spooky turn this week when her ‘possessed’ piano began playing by itself
He said while it was hard to tell what kind of instrument it was exactly, it appeared to be a hybrid piano or keyboard that had playback functionality.
‘It’s possible it had like a case that makes it look like a piano, but it’s a hybrid piano or a keyboard that has some sort of playback unit,’ Joe told DailyMail.com.
‘My best guess is there was some misfiring or malfunction of that playback on that keyboard.’
As for how that playback system worked, the expert said: ‘Like those old player pianos from early 20th century, it can play off a recording or like a roll.
‘But modern pianos obviously have electronics and computerized ways to control the piano or keyboard to play itself without somebody pressing the keys.’
‘Inside… there’s another way to activate… the whole mechanism that creates a string to sound, to vibrate.’
During the creepy moment, Taylor explained that the piano would have malfunctioned due to water damage from the rain when she played an entire three-and-a-half-hour show at Gillette Stadium in the wet earlier this week.
‘[The water] has clearly broken my keyboard because [the keyboard] was literally underwater, so this is broken.’ she told fans.
What’s going on? The pop superstar, 33, was visibly shocked when her keyboard began playing during Red (Taylor’s Version) as she shouted to the crowd: ‘I didn’t play that!
‘I didn’t know how any of the instruments were working last night. So this is broken, I’m just gonna get the guitar. It’s gonna be fine.’
And Joe said water damage was definitely a possibility if it was some type of hybrid piano and the drenching would have interfered with its electronics.
However, a source close to Taylor’s tour insisted to DailyMail.com that the keyboard is not equipped with a playback feature, saying that the piano malfunctioned as a result of rain – and nothing more.
‘There was water that built up under the key(s), due to the rain the night before, that made the contact sensor malfunction,’ the insider shared. ‘The keyboard used is not programmable for playback.’
Still, the malfunction sent fans into a frenzy, with trolls accusing her of ‘fake’ playing the piano, sparking fans to hit back.
The show must go on! Taylor played an entire three-and-a-half hour show at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in the pouring rain earlier this week
Piano technician Joe Wieneck said water damage was definitely a possibility if it was some type of hybrid piano and the drenching would have interfered with its electronics
Fans were forced to defend Taylor after trolls accused her of ‘fake’ playing the piano despite her explanation about the technical difficulty
One defender said: ‘If you think of all people Taylor Swift doesn’t play piano on her own then you need therapy.’
‘Why are people hating on Taylor Swift over a piano? You’re that bored?’ another wrote.
One comment read: ‘People will say that the piano was lip syncing but I say mother.’
‘Not y’all hating Taylor Swift over a broken piano,’ someone else wrote.
Meanwhile others were convinced it was one of Taylor’s famous Easter eggs.
‘Guys we’re getting a haunted music video for haunted tv,’ one person wrote.
‘HAUNTED (TAYLOR’S VERSION) IS COMING YOU GUYSSS (sic),’ another added.
‘It’s an EASTER EGG,’ a third TikTok user simply said.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk