Adam Swanson performs a medley "Alexander's Ragtime Band"

[magictouch115]

Hellooooo Reddit!

[AstanteInnocente]

@magictouch115

Hi Magictouch115!

[maxfisher9]

This kid is smoking Hot !!

[LudwigVonKoopa64]

theres nothing wrong with his speed on this song.. i think it sounds just fine!

[perfectbudgie]

Never heard this before.  Incredible!

[tdub1941]

Thanks for watching!

[Featureman]

I am amazed the piano can keep up with the demands of his fingers. Adam is great.

[carrotville]

Hard to believe he's only been playing piano 5 years.

[ragtimist]

It's funny that someone commented that the speed of Adam's version of the song (influenced by his good friend and mentor Johnny Maddox) loses the soul and feeling of the tune. Alexander''s Ragtime Band has soul and feeling? I could understand saying that about Bethena, but Alexander's Ragtime Band? And they did play the tune this fast back in the day. They played it slow, fast and half fast!

Adam is the best.

[treewindle]

Personally I prefer my ragtime slow but I spose its to each man their own

[treewindle]

Now now theres no need to get antsy, I'm just calling it as I see it

[tdub1941]

Based on your preference for slowed down tempos, I wonder if you might also be a member of the STOA?

[treewindle]

To be honest I have no idea what the STOA is. Please explain?

[treewindle]

Too fast! Much much too fast!

[tdub1941]

It's funny how it seems the only people that respond about Adam playing this tune "too fast" are mediocre piano players that can't begin to play this fast!

[UltimaXG2]

@tdub1941 So if a guy plays Beethoven 27 2 at 80bpm, he's not playing it at a distasteful speed, rather, the listener lacks the technical skill to play it that fast, ergo, he's wrong? :/

[tdub1941]

@UltimaXG2

Wrong or right depends on the players astrological sign and horoscope. Also, gender and racial considerations need to be accounted for. And in some cases whether or not the player is a vegetarian or Amish.

RagJazzMonkey Tom

[tisbon3]

Wow! that's fast! and with no mistakes, too. how does he do it?

[tdub1941]

It is amazing to watch this young whippersnapper when he's at the piano!

He does work some miracles!

Thanks for watching.

RagJazzMonkey Tom

[SuperNoob09]

our marching band is playing Alexander's Ragtime Band in our halftime show, and it alot slower! when i looked it up youtube and heard the original versions, i was really surprised!

[david1972a]

Fanstastic!

[slipknot555133]

i heard him play this in homeroom....like everyday....and about every other one of his contest songs haha hes a great musician he plays veryyy loud though i dont think he can play soft its pretty funny

[steverabb]

Too fast?? Heck no! A definite adrenalin raiser. Don't change a thing, that's his style! He did it great!! I love it. Thanks, Tdub for posting.

[tdub1941]

You are clueless, and obviously don't know a thing about the history of this tune.

I tried to get Adam to play it faster, but he said he likes this slow tempo better. Any slower than this is for folks that are too old to handle this tempo, or they are smoking Marijuana.

So what is your problem? Age or Grass?

RagJazzMonkey

[myplace9]

much too fast. Like somebody on speed. You lose the whole soul and feeling for the song.

[theformalcomputer]

Heard Adam play this at the Indianapolis Ragtime Festival August 08 and loved it!

Glad to see it is on youtube! Morgan's Grandma

[tdub1941]

Hello Morgan's Grandma!

Thanks for the comment.

Yup, I love to hear that Adam play the piano!

I might get to hear Morgan in Sacramento?

RJMonkey

[audie1292]

;-; He used to go to my school. I really miss him.

[USAmathias]

it was way to fast!! but he's awsome to play!!

[tdub1941]

Yes Adam is an awesome player, but it's funny that you think he's too fast, because I've been encouraging him to try to speed it up a bit. I don't like it when he plays slow like this one and I think he is capable of speeding it up to maybe twice as fast as he was playing it here.

RagJazzMonkey

Tom Warner

[USAmathias]

hehe ok, but in the time when that was "in", they did'nt play it that fast :P still awsome though ;)

[tdub1941]

Yeah, OK, but how they may have played it then makes no difference. Different folks like to do things differently. Music is an art form and as such deserves to be messed with. Loois Armstrong said, "Never play the a thing the same way twice." Leave orthodoxy to the european classical music and expect that American music is gonna sound a lot different from different artists. It's OK, get used to it. Take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning.

RagJazzDOCTORMonkey

Tom warner

[KawhackitaRag]

Well, some did. I recommend you go check out the Mike Bernard video titled "1912 amazing piano recording: "The Battle of San Juan Hill". You can try searching Youtube for that, or it is on the channel of Keeper1st

[earlhines1]

Please don't do that, let him play at his own speed because you maybe sacrificing other important things in his piano playing, it's not how fast he plays but how he places the notes

[tdub1941]

Not to worry. Adam is his own man, and will perform songs the way he likes albeit fast or slow. I'll take em any way he wants to dish em out!

RJMonkey

[camycam178]

@earlhines1 To some it is about speed of music. I think this is perfect, I wouldn't be able to watch it if it were slower.

[KawhackitaRag]

Remember also that Adam will be competing in the World Championship Old-Time Piano-Playing Contest in Peoria IL in less than a week, and they really go for the fast flashy stuff there. It's perhaps a bit more congenial than some ragtime era "ragtime contests" where they were practically out for blood!

[Keeper1st]

Adam introduces this performance by mentioning how he learned the arrangement from a woman who played during the era (I don't recall the details). This is quite authentic, as recordings from the era will bear out.

[tdub1941]

Well, I hope that Adam takes a look at these now and then to see all of the nice remarks that people leave about his remarkable piano skills!

Thanks,

RagJazzMonkey

Tom Warner

[GLPhotoFan]

WELL DONE Adam! It is gratifing to see someone of your generation appreciating these great old American classics, and the ragtime genre. The Johnny Maddox arrangement/style didn't escape me either.