@iml337rofl Anyone who's playing ragtime and doesn't want the watch flopping about as the left hand moves back and forth rapidly, and also doesn't want to remove it.
Tom Brier is an inspiration. :] Coming from a young rag time pianist. I learned the original of this song this summer. As of now its perfectly fine in its original key, but I hope to be able to own this song one day as Mr. Brier does..
i mean this man really really motivates me sooo much and takes my interest in this instrument to a whole new level.....i watch his videos every single day over and over again...thanks sooo much for showing the world tat such awesome pianists exist!so what does mr.tom do??is he like americas best and most wanted pianist or something?!cheers from bangalore india :D
Well he's got me beat... I can only do the first two sections in what.. Ab, Db, Eb, F, and... C, I think. That third section is just the worst props to you for playing that! :^)
This music is also a heck of a lot more fun to play switching keys in the middle of the song! :D
@krusie0 Adam Swanson and Frederick Hodges do that when they play it together. Check video ID "icNlrH4-t10" for one example performance, and "pF65oNWZOck" for one of Adam doing the key-changing arrangement solo.
Always fun to watch these. If you need me I'll be at my piano lesson, struggling to play two sixteenth notes with my left at the same time as I play one eighth with my right. :)
@Zoltar567 F# would be like playing in G-flat (six flats), which is occurs from time to time in ragtime tunes (the second half of Joseph Lamb's "Excelsior Rag" and the first half of Max Keenlyside's "One for Mom" come to mind immediately). B, however, is like playing in C-flat (seven flats), which is nearly unheard of. The second half "One for Mom" is the only thing I can think of, other than a brief bit of Blaze & Brier's "The Stygian Waltzes" which is in the relative A-flat minor.
@Keeper1st Thank you for the reply. I feel like thinking of B Major as C Flat would make things easier, as simply everything is flat, rather than thinking in 5 sharps. Either way Tom is a machine. That's some serious transposition skill.
I'd like to thank Ron (and VBR and a few others) for understanding that what other musicians want to see in piano videos is the HANDS. It's very frustrating to see distance shots or just the head, or the audience. We want to see how he puts his fingers where they s'posed to be. I think I'm beginning to understand: The wristwatch subtly hides the extra left hand.
As for transposing... Sight transposing from 4 flats to 3 sharps is trivial. But what he's doing is something else.
what is his tehnic of transposing ? ... I to got the maple leaf rag memorised but what does he know that enables him to do this ? ... I'm guessing he knows all of the chords , inversion and degrees and that's how he simply thinks in a different key ? please awnser
@kutibotond Yeah, you've pretty much got it. He knows the chord sequence and is capable of thinking about them in Roman numeral terms rather than specific names. I've seen him read music (which he had played before but not memorized) on a piano that was a semitone flat, so he played the keys a semitone sharp to compensate (for he was playing with a band), just reading and transposing in his head in real time.
@martiniman777 I don't know about "genuine". Modern piano design wasn't really finalized until the late 1800s, so most pianos that the original ragtime pianists played on were fairly new.
@FBfan477 It's 92 years old and it sits in a public place getting played every day. Even when it has been tuned, it's out of tune... Some of the pegs just don't hold enough tension anymore or don't work at all, as I understand.
Why I can't find videos of Jelly Roll Morton songs played by him? One fucking JRM song, please? Maybe Big Foot Ham, The Crave, King Porter Stomp, Perfect Rag or Finger Breaker.
@Makenor13 Don't think I've ever heard Tom play any Jelly Roll. So many other pianists do an excellent job at that. It's like why he practically never plays Joplin. There's plenty of other ragtime out there that he can present from his collection -- stuff that nobody plays -- so there's no need for him to spend time playing stuff that everyone else plays.
i can play maple leaf the rag too....but of course in the original scale......but did this guy play it in the different scales on the spot or did he already know it in advance...
@HYrohith He's just deciding to do it on a whim. I've seen him read music with a band on a piano that was a semitone flat, so he had to transpose everything up a half step in his head while reading. It was pretty amazing.
Tom Brier HAS to be the top rag-time pianist alive today! I cannot get enough of his playing. Joe "Fingers" Carr would certainly be a big fan of his if he was still alive. Well done Tom! Thanks for posting.
@Keeper1st Yay!! I am very glad to hear you'll be there. Maybe there'll be another drunk guy from Chicago! You'll have to bring your Tom Lehrer book just in case. =P
Scott Joplin is said to have played this in A. It was published in A-flat however. Tom has an excellent feel for this style whatever the key. The rhythms should flow like a rapper and not ooze like European salon music. Too many videos on YouTube show people playing rags at half-speed (4/4 instead of 2/4) Joplin generally indicated a tempo of quarter note=100.
@MooPotPie Alas, that old piano never holds tune for more than a few seconds. If I recall correctly, some of the tuning pegs are even broken now. It gets a lot of abuse, sitting as it does in a public place. But it has signatures inside of dozens of ragtime musicians who have been there to play it, which is pretty cool. I do have videos of Tom playing on better pianos, at least, including a Steinway and some Yamahas.
@niggyd32z A couple years ago he had to combine the two. He played with a band at a venue where the piano was a semitone flat. So he had to read the music but play it in a different key on the fly. It was pretty awesome. Sure, he couldn't improvise as much and did have flubs here and there, but it still amazed everyone.
This is by far the BEST maple leaf rag I have ever heard in my life. His playing is so refreshing, crisp, clean, and musical. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful music with the world, and I hope to play good like you one day. BRAVO!!!
I'd love to see a video of Tom playing Joplin's Sugar Cane rag. I think Tom's just the guy to give that tune the life and spirit it needs. Too many other pianists read the "don't play too fast" instructions on the sheet music and, out of fear of playing too fast I suppose, play it too slowly.
@Harmonyww Oh by the way, "sutterchip" recently posted a video of Tom playing Joplin's "Leola" which you may like to hear. Not a rip-roarin' tune like Sugar Cane, but another of Joplin's rewrites of Maple Leaf.
By the way, B-major is actually the key Chopin recommended to begin with, as C-major would be the most difficult due to the bone structure of the human hand. It's true, B-major is an easier scale for some things, but for this it's much more difficult because of the way you have to play in between the sharps/flats.
God-tier awesome skills. I can only aspire to be this good.
Maybe someday, I'm 16 and I'm practicing Maple Leaf RAg but I only have 49 keys so it's difficult because I have to practice hands seperately. Mainly, the left hand is like wtf because of all the unisons and chords. Still, after a few days practice it becomes more natural.
A-natural is a bit easier to play, but your fingers have to spread wider. Still haven't gotten the left hand down though in A natural.
@S0ryiu I have thought that too. Certainly there are other contemporary ragtimers with wikipedia pages. But I think Tom would feel it a bit awkward to be so recognized (even if he is one of the most prolific ragtime composers of all time).
Haha Great job really like listening to this. i didn't like the G but that doesn't mean Tom wasn't doing great. at last i didn't like 1 part #t=7m34s..
@lukphonp Yeah, it would! If you go to the YouTube channel "meredithanthraxelrod" you can see a recently posted video of another ragtime pianist friend of mine playing a ragged-up version of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer on a calliope.
As someone who has been playing piano for 16 years, I must say that Tom is my hero and I hope I can be half as good as him some day. Keep up the good work!
How do the videos of him not have more views? His is an extraordinary talent. Not many people can break out a song in 3 different keys and then a waltz. He always looks like he's having a blast, improvising everything. He is the epitome about what music should be. Just having fun, no matter what your playing level.
@7StringsofWonder That's precisely why he has said that he doesn't want to make music his career. It would then be a job. He'd rather not make music because he HAS to -- only because he WANTS to.
@DeDroa Heh, at the beginning of the "Ragtime Party -- The Entertainer" video, someone jokes, "Do it in D minor, just to trick 'em!" and Tom obliges for a few bars, with Larisa Migachyov joining in.
Ron, I'm always impressed by Tom's waltz rendition of tunes. Often, it's just a small exerpt at the end of a clip. A few videos shows entire waltz, but honestly, it would be nice to hear them more often in complete version. At least, it's my own egoist decision! Tom's is probably one of the best thing (in terms of entertainment and meaning) that ever shown up on YouTube because of you effort.
@sailormatlac I do have a video of him playing "The Stygian Waltzes"... and "In the Good Old Summer Time" (though he switches from 3/4 to 2/4 at the end). tdub1941 has a video called "Tom Brier makes up a gorgeous waltz" where for a few minutes Tom improvises a waltz off the top of his head. Those are some good examples that I can think of at the moment.
@sailormatlac I once heard him play a tune at a Christmas-themed set (can't remember which -- might have been Santa Claus is Coming to Town) in 2/4 (march and tango rhythms), 3/4, 6/8, and 5/4. Also heard him do something like that to "Hello! Ma Baby" once. It is something to behold, but of course you never know when it's going to happen. He just will do it on a whim when he's having fun.
@PhantomKode Last year, Tom had to play with a band at a venue where the piano was a semitone flat. So he had to read the music and play it a semitone sharper than written, right on the spot. Incredible.
@isambo400 That left-hand stuff is found in the "Played by Scott Joplin" piano rolls that were issued in 1916. Whether they truly are inventions of Joplin or the work of the roll arranger is a matter of debate.
@Keeper1st I can't tell you how much I love these videos. I'm a guitar playing metal head so I don't understand the subtleties of rag time or piano playing - but I know a virtuoso when I see one; let alone one that can sight read as well as he can play from his head
I've observed carefully the various videos of Tom's playing now, and it's not the beard. It's the extra left hand, the extra fingers, and the length of those fingers. Oh, and for sight reading, it's the extra eyes. His thick eyeglasses allow him to store up more notes ahead than other pianists can.
Still, though, I'm baffled by how a sight reader can improvise. The two skills are supposed to be mutually exclusive. Maybe it IS the beard after all.
@amazing763 It's a shame I have no videos of Tom from the '90s when he was clean-shaven but just as good at sight-reading... THEN what would people say? Heheh.
@mathsquadforlife Obviously the hand positions are completely different for every key. B is difficult because ragtime is usually in flat keys, but B has five sharps. It's difficult to think of F# as a V chord, and so on.
@giorgiopicker Last year, Tom played for a band on a piano that was a semitone flat. So he just played everything a half-step higher than written, even as he read the pages of tunes he hadn't memorized.
@isambo400 If you enter "temptation rag sheet music" into Google, the second result is from UCB Libraries Digital Sheet Music Collection. It has the whole score.
The waltz version really stand out... I wonder what it would be if Tom played it a second time after a first improvisation. He never cease to amaze me. It's hard to feel bad when hearing ragtime isn't!
After he made the waltz portion up on the spot, I'd almost challenge him to make a rag out of the Legend of Zelda main theme, based off of the original 3 channel midi from some of the older Nintendo games.
haha excellent!.. curious though... is he playing the bass line in part B in a different key? I thought so by the looks and sounds of it but wasn't quite sure..
@LudwigVonKoopa64 No, the left hand is based on the "played by Scott Joplin" piano roll, which has some different things in it than what's in the sheet music. Whether it's actually how Joplin played it or not is up to debate.
It's worht noting that the roll you speak of is the Connorized roll. Joplin recorded MLR for two companies; the performance he did for the other company, UniRecord, is essentially a near-perfect representation of what Joplin played.
Is this wicked awesome or what
baldytch 1 week ago
who wears a watch over a long sleeved shirt ...
iml337rofl 1 week ago
@iml337rofl Anyone who's playing ragtime and doesn't want the watch flopping about as the left hand moves back and forth rapidly, and also doesn't want to remove it.
Keeper1st 1 week ago 8
you should try and get him to play it in 7/8 !
Henry1993bc 1 week ago
Tom Brier is an inspiration. :] Coming from a young rag time pianist. I learned the original of this song this summer. As of now its perfectly fine in its original key, but I hope to be able to own this song one day as Mr. Brier does..
SeanLovesPiano 1 month ago
i mean this man really really motivates me sooo much and takes my interest in this instrument to a whole new level.....i watch his videos every single day over and over again...thanks sooo much for showing the world tat such awesome pianists exist!so what does mr.tom do??is he like americas best and most wanted pianist or something?!cheers from bangalore india :D
HYrohith 1 month ago 5
@HYrohith He's actually a computer programmer for city government.
Keeper1st 1 month ago 2
@HYrohith Are you me?
KHquick 1 month ago
Well he's got me beat... I can only do the first two sections in what.. Ab, Db, Eb, F, and... C, I think. That third section is just the worst props to you for playing that! :^)
This music is also a heck of a lot more fun to play switching keys in the middle of the song! :D
krusie0 2 months ago
@krusie0 Adam Swanson and Frederick Hodges do that when they play it together. Check video ID "icNlrH4-t10" for one example performance, and "pF65oNWZOck" for one of Adam doing the key-changing arrangement solo.
Keeper1st 1 month ago 2
Always fun to watch these. If you need me I'll be at my piano lesson, struggling to play two sixteenth notes with my left at the same time as I play one eighth with my right. :)
scopeeyevideo 2 months ago
we should all grow neck beards
zerrubabbel 2 months ago
B is the hardest key? Wouldn't something like F# be harder? I'm no pianist.
Zoltar567 2 months ago
@Zoltar567 F# would be like playing in G-flat (six flats), which is occurs from time to time in ragtime tunes (the second half of Joseph Lamb's "Excelsior Rag" and the first half of Max Keenlyside's "One for Mom" come to mind immediately). B, however, is like playing in C-flat (seven flats), which is nearly unheard of. The second half "One for Mom" is the only thing I can think of, other than a brief bit of Blaze & Brier's "The Stygian Waltzes" which is in the relative A-flat minor.
Keeper1st 2 months ago
@Keeper1st Thank you for the reply. I feel like thinking of B Major as C Flat would make things easier, as simply everything is flat, rather than thinking in 5 sharps. Either way Tom is a machine. That's some serious transposition skill.
Zoltar567 2 months ago
A - 0:09
G - 2:47
B - 4:10
B (waltz) - 6:50
opertinicy 3 months ago 4
Comment removed
opertinicy 3 months ago
I'd like to thank Ron (and VBR and a few others) for understanding that what other musicians want to see in piano videos is the HANDS. It's very frustrating to see distance shots or just the head, or the audience. We want to see how he puts his fingers where they s'posed to be. I think I'm beginning to understand: The wristwatch subtly hides the extra left hand.
As for transposing... Sight transposing from 4 flats to 3 sharps is trivial. But what he's doing is something else.
amazing763 3 months ago
Tom is officially the only person I've ever seen who can pull off a neckbeard and wear his watch on the outside of his sleeve, and make it awesome.
One of the most brilliant pianists I've ever seen C:
xellphy 3 months ago
goddamnn B key. only people who have ever played piano realize how insane anything is in B....
haxorus313 3 months ago
He is like the mozart of Ragtime
chrisXDfull 3 months ago
He's such a boss, he doesn't care about turtlenecks, he needs to see his watch, he has places to be!!
josephd183 3 months ago 2
@josephd183 That isn't a turtleneck; it's a collared shirt.
Keeper1st 3 months ago
@Keeper1st I think he might be talking about how his watch is over is shirt like it would not normally be
powersjonni 3 months ago
what is his tehnic of transposing ? ... I to got the maple leaf rag memorised but what does he know that enables him to do this ? ... I'm guessing he knows all of the chords , inversion and degrees and that's how he simply thinks in a different key ? please awnser
kutibotond 3 months ago
@kutibotond Yeah, you've pretty much got it. He knows the chord sequence and is capable of thinking about them in Roman numeral terms rather than specific names. I've seen him read music (which he had played before but not memorized) on a piano that was a semitone flat, so he played the keys a semitone sharp to compensate (for he was playing with a band), just reading and transposing in his head in real time.
Keeper1st 3 months ago
@kutibotond he has experience...
zerrubabbel 2 months ago in playlist Favorite videos
He needs to tour.
TubePunch30 3 months ago
I love Tom Brier. He's simply awesome
MrY0lk 4 months ago in playlist Tom Brier Ragtimes 2
what makes the key of B hard?
Tyuo2010 4 months ago
@Tyuo2010 Thinking in so many sharps when you're used to thinking in flats.
Keeper1st 4 months ago 9
@Tyuo2010 B-major has 5 sharps; whereas A♭ major (the original key-signature as written by Joplin) has 4 flats
opertinicy 3 months ago
i love the sound of a very aged piano, it give the song a"genuine rag" feeling.
martiniman777 4 months ago
@martiniman777 I don't know about "genuine". Modern piano design wasn't really finalized until the late 1800s, so most pianos that the original ragtime pianists played on were fairly new.
Keeper1st 4 months ago
How can a guy be so good ?
Solcius123123 4 months ago
@FBfan477 It's 92 years old and it sits in a public place getting played every day. Even when it has been tuned, it's out of tune... Some of the pegs just don't hold enough tension anymore or don't work at all, as I understand.
Keeper1st 5 months ago 8
G would be easier than the original key... but B? Couldn't imagine! Kudos!
Bud2Roe 5 months ago
You don't get to be that good without challenging yourself.
MrsHanson007 5 months ago
Why I can't find videos of Jelly Roll Morton songs played by him? One fucking JRM song, please? Maybe Big Foot Ham, The Crave, King Porter Stomp, Perfect Rag or Finger Breaker.
Makenor13 5 months ago
@Makenor13 Don't think I've ever heard Tom play any Jelly Roll. So many other pianists do an excellent job at that. It's like why he practically never plays Joplin. There's plenty of other ragtime out there that he can present from his collection -- stuff that nobody plays -- so there's no need for him to spend time playing stuff that everyone else plays.
Keeper1st 5 months ago
@Keeper1st Are you friend or relative of him?
Makenor13 5 months ago
@Makenor13 A friend through ragtime.
Keeper1st 5 months ago
i can play maple leaf the rag too....but of course in the original scale......but did this guy play it in the different scales on the spot or did he already know it in advance...
:-O
HYrohith 6 months ago
@HYrohith He's just deciding to do it on a whim. I've seen him read music with a band on a piano that was a semitone flat, so he had to transpose everything up a half step in his head while reading. It was pretty amazing.
Keeper1st 6 months ago 3
@Keeper1st WOAH!!!no comments xD
HYrohith 6 months ago
Watched all his vids... Awesome.... ill never give up playing piano xD
tobias11122 6 months ago
I would love to hear Tom play Zelda Trailer..it would be epic
prince223681 7 months ago
Tom Brier HAS to be the top rag-time pianist alive today! I cannot get enough of his playing. Joe "Fingers" Carr would certainly be a big fan of his if he was still alive. Well done Tom! Thanks for posting.
2n918 7 months ago
WOW! Now THAT's talent!!!
btbuster1 7 months ago
That was one night I will never forget! So much fun.
wilscool 7 months ago
@wilscool And next weekend we get to do it all over again!
Keeper1st 7 months ago
@Keeper1st Yay!! I am very glad to hear you'll be there. Maybe there'll be another drunk guy from Chicago! You'll have to bring your Tom Lehrer book just in case. =P
wilscool 7 months ago
@Keeper1st challenge him to play the death waltz :D
epsguy23 7 months ago
I think he keeps his fingers' stores of pure ragtime in his epic neckbeard...
hi19hi19 7 months ago
i've just realised i can play this in any key i want to as well, thank god for transposition on my yamaha
Henry1993bc 8 months ago 2
Scott Joplin is said to have played this in A. It was published in A-flat however. Tom has an excellent feel for this style whatever the key. The rhythms should flow like a rapper and not ooze like European salon music. Too many videos on YouTube show people playing rags at half-speed (4/4 instead of 2/4) Joplin generally indicated a tempo of quarter note=100.
I just wish they'd tune that d*** piano!
MooPotPie 8 months ago
@MooPotPie Alas, that old piano never holds tune for more than a few seconds. If I recall correctly, some of the tuning pegs are even broken now. It gets a lot of abuse, sitting as it does in a public place. But it has signatures inside of dozens of ragtime musicians who have been there to play it, which is pretty cool. I do have videos of Tom playing on better pianos, at least, including a Steinway and some Yamahas.
Keeper1st 8 months ago
Thats so amazing!!! Simply inspires me to keep trying the piano!
L0rdDeLtA 8 months ago
6:19 "Ahh, SHIT"
rubbajeepz 8 months ago
How is this guy NOT famous? I mean he has more chops than Ben Folds and Tim Minchin!!
DerHellRazor 8 months ago 3
1 person can't play the piano
burningangel0x0 9 months ago
His ability to transpose to a different key and play on the fly is almost as amazing as his sight reading talents. it boggles the mind
niggyd32z 9 months ago
@niggyd32z A couple years ago he had to combine the two. He played with a band at a venue where the piano was a semitone flat. So he had to read the music but play it in a different key on the fly. It was pretty awesome. Sure, he couldn't improvise as much and did have flubs here and there, but it still amazed everyone.
Keeper1st 9 months ago
@Keeper1st Wow his piano talents are really inspirational / and motivational, it makes me work twice as hard to get better a reading music.
niggyd32z 9 months ago
This is by far the BEST maple leaf rag I have ever heard in my life. His playing is so refreshing, crisp, clean, and musical. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful music with the world, and I hope to play good like you one day. BRAVO!!!
MusartJD 9 months ago
omg, that b waltz version was so beautiful! it's a shame it was only a brief bit! :(
krimskrams 9 months ago
What does he do for a living?
sausagesnail 10 months ago
@sausagesnail He's a computer programmer for city government.
Keeper1st 9 months ago
I think Tom earns those tips!
GladosApertureScienc 10 months ago
Awesome! Perfect Playing!
maxwel411411411 10 months ago
Tom Brier is the man, love his talent and eccentric wit and genius.
JohnnyJazz365 10 months ago
I think it's a combination of the beard+wearing your watch on the outside of your shirt! That's the trick!!!
BambisaurusRex 10 months ago
I'd love to see a video of Tom playing Joplin's Sugar Cane rag. I think Tom's just the guy to give that tune the life and spirit it needs. Too many other pianists read the "don't play too fast" instructions on the sheet music and, out of fear of playing too fast I suppose, play it too slowly.
Harmonyww 10 months ago 3
@Harmonyww I so agree! Sugar Cane is a rompin' stompin' rag so often played drearily.
Keeper1st 10 months ago
@Harmonyww Oh by the way, "sutterchip" recently posted a video of Tom playing Joplin's "Leola" which you may like to hear. Not a rip-roarin' tune like Sugar Cane, but another of Joplin's rewrites of Maple Leaf.
Keeper1st 10 months ago
Has Tom lost a bunch of weight?
chcrco 10 months ago
@chcrco He's always been rather thin.
Keeper1st 10 months ago
Anyone recall the Robot Chicken sketch where the monk is playing this on a grand with a lady laying on top of it?
gyrrakavian 11 months ago
By the way, B-major is actually the key Chopin recommended to begin with, as C-major would be the most difficult due to the bone structure of the human hand. It's true, B-major is an easier scale for some things, but for this it's much more difficult because of the way you have to play in between the sharps/flats.
FrosDOwnz 11 months ago
God-tier awesome skills. I can only aspire to be this good.
Maybe someday, I'm 16 and I'm practicing Maple Leaf RAg but I only have 49 keys so it's difficult because I have to practice hands seperately. Mainly, the left hand is like wtf because of all the unisons and chords. Still, after a few days practice it becomes more natural.
A-natural is a bit easier to play, but your fingers have to spread wider. Still haven't gotten the left hand down though in A natural.
FrosDOwnz 11 months ago
So isn't it about time someone made Tom a wikipedia page?
S0ryiu 11 months ago 57
@S0ryiu I have thought that too. Certainly there are other contemporary ragtimers with wikipedia pages. But I think Tom would feel it a bit awkward to be so recognized (even if he is one of the most prolific ragtime composers of all time).
Keeper1st 11 months ago
@Keeper1st lets do it anyways
littleamigo926 11 months ago
@S0ryiu Ol' wiki-stick-in-the-muds have some beef with some baloney called notability. Lemme tell ya, this is notable as hell.
markthewhalekiller 3 months ago
could you ask him if he can play "bethena - a concert waltz" and make a few variations on that? that would be divine!
krimskrams 11 months ago
I'd really hate to be that 1 guy who dislikes this. Either his life is completely amazing or utterly terrible beyond belief
isambo400 1 year ago
genius!
Leif3 1 year ago
THIS GUY IS SAVAGE!!!!
SlappyCuhrothers 1 year ago
7:34 excuses.
my508server 1 year ago
Haha Great job really like listening to this. i didn't like the G but that doesn't mean Tom wasn't doing great. at last i didn't like 1 part #t=7m34s..
my508server 1 year ago
Is Tom self-taught? If so, HOW...IN...THE HELL?!?!? So Godlike!!!
EddieLowFilthSlayer 1 year ago
@EddieLowFilthSlayer He had a piano teacher at a young age (after he'd already begun picking out tunes on his own, I think).
Keeper1st 1 year ago
Since his this good at the piano does he play other instruments?
NetrexCO 1 year ago
@NetrexCO I've never heard him mention playing any other instruments.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st it would be very interesting to see/hear him play ragtime on other keyed instruments like a harpsichord :)
lukphonp 1 year ago
@lukphonp Yeah, it would! If you go to the YouTube channel "meredithanthraxelrod" you can see a recently posted video of another ragtime pianist friend of mine playing a ragged-up version of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer on a calliope.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st thank you for sharing :]
lukphonp 1 year ago
@lukphonp .... oh deary me what next ,,, on a marimba ?
fingerscarr 11 months ago
Is that a kryptonite piano? Because a mere mortal piano could not take in all of Tom Brier's awesomeness.
75egcg 1 year ago
As someone who has been playing piano for 16 years, I must say that Tom is my hero and I hope I can be half as good as him some day. Keep up the good work!
JewClawClan 1 year ago
This man is a piano playing god.......
miserablepianofreak 1 year ago
How do the videos of him not have more views? His is an extraordinary talent. Not many people can break out a song in 3 different keys and then a waltz. He always looks like he's having a blast, improvising everything. He is the epitome about what music should be. Just having fun, no matter what your playing level.
7StringsofWonder 1 year ago 3
@7StringsofWonder That's precisely why he has said that he doesn't want to make music his career. It would then be a job. He'd rather not make music because he HAS to -- only because he WANTS to.
Keeper1st 1 year ago 4
IT will be great if he played in minor key :D
Martiumx 1 year ago
@Martiumx Alas, I didn't think to suggest that! He could have; I've heard him do it on the spot to a tune.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st he would make alot of money then
felinec 1 year ago
@Keeper1st But wouldn't it be great to wake up every morning going to a job you know you're going to do something you love? Excited to do it?
Of course, there are psychological compunctions, but there's something to be said about doing something you love for a living.
Crezth 1 year ago
@7StringsofWonder Ohohoh what about D minor
DeDroa 1 year ago
@DeDroa Heh, at the beginning of the "Ragtime Party -- The Entertainer" video, someone jokes, "Do it in D minor, just to trick 'em!" and Tom obliges for a few bars, with Larisa Migachyov joining in.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
Ron, I'm always impressed by Tom's waltz rendition of tunes. Often, it's just a small exerpt at the end of a clip. A few videos shows entire waltz, but honestly, it would be nice to hear them more often in complete version. At least, it's my own egoist decision! Tom's is probably one of the best thing (in terms of entertainment and meaning) that ever shown up on YouTube because of you effort.
sailormatlac 1 year ago
@sailormatlac I do have a video of him playing "The Stygian Waltzes"... and "In the Good Old Summer Time" (though he switches from 3/4 to 2/4 at the end). tdub1941 has a video called "Tom Brier makes up a gorgeous waltz" where for a few minutes Tom improvises a waltz off the top of his head. Those are some good examples that I can think of at the moment.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st Oh yeah, and I have a video of him sight-reading a waltz by Max Keenlyside called "One For Dad".
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@sailormatlac I once heard him play a tune at a Christmas-themed set (can't remember which -- might have been Santa Claus is Coming to Town) in 2/4 (march and tango rhythms), 3/4, 6/8, and 5/4. Also heard him do something like that to "Hello! Ma Baby" once. It is something to behold, but of course you never know when it's going to happen. He just will do it on a whim when he's having fun.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
wow.... that was pretty aMaZiNg!!!!!!
ReturnOfTheStienway 1 year ago
I just don't understand how anyone's brain can work that fast! My head would explode if i tried to play piano like that!
PhantomKode 1 year ago
@PhantomKode Last year, Tom had to play with a band at a venue where the piano was a semitone flat. So he had to read the music and play it a semitone sharper than written, right on the spot. Incredible.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st: Wow! Gotta love Tom!
PhantomKode 1 year ago
New style - watch on top of your sleeves. I love Tom, he's amazing! And just for that fact my watch now will also be on top of my sleeves.
AssimilateThis85 1 year ago
youtube.com/watch?v=9xbkovCQMmc tell him to try this one out
gingervirtuoso 1 year ago
4:28 "A MISTAKE"
haha that gets me every time
josiah566 1 year ago
Very Very Very Impressive !!! How is it possible ??? This man is a GOD of Ragtime...
VivaTuttiMusica 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
whats the technique called when he plays the notes quickley into the melody 0:39 is it a frill? i wanna learn but dont know what its called
Henry1993bc 1 year ago
whats the technique called when he plays the notes quickley into the melody 0:41 is it a frill? i wanna learn but dont know what its called
Henry1993bc 1 year ago
@Henry1993bc It's just grace notes. I don't recall there being any particular term for sliding into a note like that with grace notes.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Henry1993bc thats the common place to add frill in this song it seems. What gets me is his left hand the second time through the B section.
isambo400 1 year ago
@isambo400 That left-hand stuff is found in the "Played by Scott Joplin" piano rolls that were issued in 1916. Whether they truly are inventions of Joplin or the work of the roll arranger is a matter of debate.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st I can't tell you how much I love these videos. I'm a guitar playing metal head so I don't understand the subtleties of rag time or piano playing - but I know a virtuoso when I see one; let alone one that can sight read as well as he can play from his head
bce5150 1 year ago
Oh god that was awesome. I love this guy.
WormyLeWorm 1 year ago
I've observed carefully the various videos of Tom's playing now, and it's not the beard. It's the extra left hand, the extra fingers, and the length of those fingers. Oh, and for sight reading, it's the extra eyes. His thick eyeglasses allow him to store up more notes ahead than other pianists can.
Still, though, I'm baffled by how a sight reader can improvise. The two skills are supposed to be mutually exclusive. Maybe it IS the beard after all.
amazing763 1 year ago
@amazing763 It's a shame I have no videos of Tom from the '90s when he was clean-shaven but just as good at sight-reading... THEN what would people say? Heheh.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
if you like flats C flat is the way to go haha!
scottjop656 1 year ago
Yesssssss...I get to hear Tom Brier play my favorite rag!!
elPacaManca 1 year ago
@elPacaManca you should watch the "3 pianos on fire" version of this, also posted by keeper1st. it's a blast!
bonesplitter1337 1 year ago
Stay down Tom, thanks, you made my day.
oldtoothlesslion 1 year ago
what is the exact difference when playing in A or G or B? like is the hand positions different or something? why is B considered the most difficult?
mathsquadforlife 1 year ago
@mathsquadforlife Obviously the hand positions are completely different for every key. B is difficult because ragtime is usually in flat keys, but B has five sharps. It's difficult to think of F# as a V chord, and so on.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st oh okay, i understand now thanks
mathsquadforlife 1 year ago
i would love to see him play cool cool mountain theme from mario 64
guycrosswell 1 year ago
@guycrosswell great shout!
Henry1993bc 1 year ago
ahh, i really hope that tip cup is over filling, you should set up an online tip through pay-pal, i would honestly like to tip him online!
Henry1993bc 1 year ago
@Henry1993bc Those who wish to give Tom a tip online can simply purchase one of his CDs from CDBaby, I guess!
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st will do :)
Henry1993bc 1 year ago
after hearing this im going to make an attempt to learn this, and fail along the way, but hopefully have a decent time hahaha
Henry1993bc 1 year ago
HEY ! Now we may play together!
wild!
giorgiopicker 1 year ago
@giorgiopicker Last year, Tom played for a band on a piano that was a semitone flat. So he just played everything a half-step higher than written, even as he read the pages of tunes he hadn't memorized.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st
that's dedication,
guess that's how twas supposed t b once,way before tech age,
love this stuff
i used t read a lot "once" now it's quite painful n slow...
did you check my rags?whenever:) !
I'd b flatterd
All the best
(and whenevere you feel like please play me morton's "mamanita"!)
giorgiopicker 1 year ago
can tom play the temptation rag? I love that piece, and am making an MPC if I find good music. I cant find a free one with all the parts :(
isambo400 1 year ago
@isambo400 If you enter "temptation rag sheet music" into Google, the second result is from UCB Libraries Digital Sheet Music Collection. It has the whole score.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
The waltz version really stand out... I wonder what it would be if Tom played it a second time after a first improvisation. He never cease to amaze me. It's hard to feel bad when hearing ragtime isn't!
sailormatlac 1 year ago
Fantastic! Cool video!
Tom is phenomenal.
RagJazzMonkey Tom
tdub1941 1 year ago
Tom is cool!
PhantomKode 1 year ago
oh duh.. i didn't even read that hes playing it in different keys each time haha.. interesting!
LudwigVonKoopa64 1 year ago
@LudwigVonKoopa64 Heh, yeah, he's playing in three different keys -- none of them the original.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
I enjoyed this a lot! What skills Tom has. :-)
cebukid70 1 year ago
I was in such a bad mood until I watched this video. Now I'm not. :)
omigoshwayde 1 year ago
Amazing as ever!
After he made the waltz portion up on the spot, I'd almost challenge him to make a rag out of the Legend of Zelda main theme, based off of the original 3 channel midi from some of the older Nintendo games.
maxepane 1 year ago
Yet another video that made me stare in disbelief.
wazkatango 1 year ago
this was on jimmy whites snooker: cueball on th dreamcast i love it
frostyere1440 1 year ago
His playing is so spiritually uplifting! It's aways a pleasure to hear Tom play. It may not be flawless, but it always makes me laugh.
Great video as always. Thanks for sharing!
DaveyYzermans 1 year ago
haha excellent!.. curious though... is he playing the bass line in part B in a different key? I thought so by the looks and sounds of it but wasn't quite sure..
LudwigVonKoopa64 1 year ago
@LudwigVonKoopa64 No, the left hand is based on the "played by Scott Joplin" piano roll, which has some different things in it than what's in the sheet music. Whether it's actually how Joplin played it or not is up to debate.
Keeper1st 1 year ago
@Keeper1st
It's worht noting that the roll you speak of is the Connorized roll. Joplin recorded MLR for two companies; the performance he did for the other company, UniRecord, is essentially a near-perfect representation of what Joplin played.
ragtimemax 1 year ago
...and all of us mortals watch and shake our heads in disbelief. Great idea with suggesting the waltz!
And thank you as always for sharing.
MellowCypriot 1 year ago 12
Amazing!
AceWissle 1 year ago
I swear to god it's all in the beard. That's why I'm growing one.
jawharp1992 1 year ago 41
@jawharp1992 no the trick is to wear your watch over your shirt^^
molbac 1 year ago 13
@jawharp1992 Just like Samson in the bible, If you cut off his beard, he will lose his piano skills. lolz
SuperChaosControl 11 months ago
@SuperChaosControl Heh... you might think that, but he was just as good before he grew the beard. So it's still a mystery!
Keeper1st 11 months ago
@Keeper1st Haha, still can't explain it. oh wells. dont be surprised if he wakes up and his beard is gone.
SuperChaosControl 11 months ago
Been waiting for this!
GrumpyTurtleV 1 year ago
Now if only the people had been quiet!
isambo400 1 year ago