I'm pretty sure it's activated by a pedal. Or magic.

mikeyaddict said:

His penis.

He can really tickle those ivorys with that.

mikeyaddict said:

His penis.

Genius

His stage pianos usually aren't real pianos. They're typically keyboards in a piano shell. They are used as props. He's been doing that for years. He could easily have the piano and strings sounds layered. I haven't heard the shows, so I don't know what the string sounds are doing. He might have someone offstage triggering a recording of some string part or he might have somehting at his feet as has been suggested.

[Edited 2/23/16 7:33am]

steakfinger said:

His stage pianos usually aren't real pianos. They're typically keyboards in a piano shell. They are used as props. He's been doing that for years. He could easily have the piano and strings sounds layered. I haven't heard the shows, so I don't know what the string sounds are doing. He might have someone offstage triggering a recording of some string part or he might have somehting at his feet as has been suggested.

[Edited 2/23/16 7:33am]

When was the last time he used a real piano?

Maybe during the Lovesexy tour? Or was that also a piano shell with a keyboard inside?

The last time I saw him play a real piano must´ve been that fake New Year´s Eve Rave DVD where he played that futuristic looking Schimmel piano but that doesn´t count because it wasn´t a tour.

I also saw a shell of the Schimmel piano at the 2002 celebration.

To clarify, the strings are only occasionally used and when they are they are quite soft. It's not the standard piano/strings preset found on most keyboards (which would sound rather corny).

Aha. I heard it and wondered how/what it was.