Mr. Roboto (Instructional keyboard cover)
This is my instructional keyboard cover of Styx' "Mr. Roboto", which I am posting under the "fair use" doctrine. This song is definitely one of Styx' most recognizable tunes. It makes heavy use of a vocoder (a device which can be used to create "robot" voices). This is the most challenging song I have done to date, because there are so many different parts and sounds being used. You will notice that, in parts of the video, I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be doing...LOL There are patch changes all over and I constantly need to be aware of where my hands need to be at all times. It's totally crazy and we haven't even played it live, yet.
I wasn't even sure I would be able to pull off this song with my band...at least, without sequencing it. This YouTube performance makes use of a MIDI drum track (in order for me to keep time), but there will be no backing tracks when we play it live. Our bass player will play the chords which occur during the verses with his feet, using MIDI bass pedals.
For the live version, I have created a small sequence for the descending bell-like synth in the middle part. I will have two measures to match the tempo before I launch it, or it will be a train wreck.
As you can tell, there are many different sounds for this song. You will hear a low Taurus-like synth sound in the beginning. I am playing that with my feet. I programmed portamento into it, so you will hear it glide down and octave before the vocoded part comes in.
The extreme left two notes of the Fantom X7 keyboard are zoned to a string part, which you can hear in the lead up to the verse. To the left of that, is a synth bass sound, which I play in alternating octaves with my left hand.
To the right of that, is a sawtooth patch which is used in the beginning, as well as a bell-like synth sound, which is used throughout the song.
On the upper keyboard (Roland JV-90, being used to controller the Fantom X7), I have a chirpy synth sound zoned on the left (which is used during the descending synth interlude the in middle of the song). To the right of that, I have another sawtooth patch (which is played during a few parts of the song and also at the end). To the right of that, I have an Eastern-sounding pan flute sound (which is doubled up in 5ths, I believe). And, on the extreme right of the JV-90, I have another, different, pan flute sound, with each of those notes being sampled, separately, due to there being harmonies for each note (I only have so many hands...LOL).
