Chopsticks in ragtime on two pianos, unplanned & unrehearsed

[TheOneAndOnlyMrH]

The one person who disliked this video was a Klingon...

[FImMbO]

MY ears, they don't comprehend the awesome. TOO MUCH AWESOME. <3

[Birdnest12]

I just couldn't love this more!!! I am with DanStJH...green with envy!!



[DanStJH]

It makes my fingers hurt! But it is so awesome! I am green with envy of their mad skills!

[TheGilbeeno]

Love how Adam tries to finish it like 5 times but Tom just keeps adding new melodies to confuse him :D

[btbuster1]

This makes me smile every time I watch it!!!

[SatanisaBeaverShark]

Lol, at the end, he was like "No! We're DONE!"

[gmmix]

One of the best! FIVE STARS and added to my list of favorites.

[Keeper1st]

@gmmix Be sure to check out the "redux" video response to this, when they did Chopsticks again a couple years later.

[crankatorium]

@Keeper1st hi, could you tell me about how old Adam Swanson is now?

[Keeper1st]

@crankatorium Adam is 19 now. He was 16 or about to turn 16 when this video was recorded.

[Senseman]

Astonishing. Thanks for posting this!

[eeplebert]

nobody who has seen musicians improvising together can doubt the existence of at least trace levels of telepathy.

[MrRagtimefan]

AWESOME!!!! both masters of improvisation!

how can i learn to improvise like that? is there maybe a book or something that would help? 

[Keeper1st]

@MrRagtimefan It just comes from a lot of dedication to the music, studying recordings (and, in Tom's case, piano rolls), and so forth. How they do it off the top of their heads is a mystery. I can sometimes make a new arrangement of something direct to paper (such as a couple videos I posted this past week), at least, but nowhere near the quality that these two can do right at the keyboard in real time.

[vladinho7]

they are both really good. Great job.

[Octary]

should have played the opening to mike tyson's punch out, real classic

[Damoskinos]

This is Fantastic

[isambo400]

what is that song Tom plays where the left hand plays the melody at 2:33?

[Keeper1st]

@isambo400 The same thing he started at 1:30 -- a Trio section he made up on the spot, only this time he's switched to put melody into the left hand. They keep playing that until Adam introduces "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" then when Tom joins into that, Adam plays "Tiger Rag" on top of it since it has the same chord sequence.

[BoboBublz]

Not a single dislike, and for good reason.

Most enjoyable music I've heard in a while :)

[Drum3r541]

This is entirely WAAYYYY too distracting, but screw my paper, this is amazing!

[Crimmyblues]

"I was in a hotel lobby when a concert broke out"

[Keeper1st]

@Crimmyblues Well, this wasn't the lobby. I do have a video from a spontaneous concert in a hotel lobby. Enter (without quotes) "baltimore jazz hotel" in the YouTube search.

[jlh2667]

Magnificent and that is the way I'd love to play that!!!

[Keeper1st]

@jlh2667 A couple weeks ago they met again and did another impromptu Chopsticks that lasted for over nine minutes. I'll be posting that eventually.

[jlh2667]

@Keeper1st Try it Liberace's way but Ragtime it!!!! Probably not hte correct terminology to say but you get my point!!! might be interesting

[vernonbebout]

wow! great

[smokininkman]

INCREDIBLY AWESOME!

[625699]

I have never knew that chopsticks could be playing in ragtime on two pianos and make up the rest as you both went along.

You are both interesting piano players.

Good luck to you both in the future.

[moonfiber]

change the name of the video to

"Best Improv On YouTube- Two Pianos"

DO IT NOW!!!

[orshey]

come to HUNGARY =) funny. pionist2's hands up in the air ♥

[Keeper1st]

@orshey Adam (in the foreground) has played at the Bohém Ragtime-Jazz Festival in Kecskemét, actually.

[orshey]

@Keeper1st

oh, i see it. thank you.

so, it's the PAST. it was only several weeks earlier... i see it sadly. :(

it's just today's favourite. =)

[Keeper1st]

@orshey Yes, you just missed it this year. But now you have plenty of time to plan for 2011!

[orshey]

@Keeper1st

:) yeah. kind.

saw u the performance in HU♥?

[Keeper1st]

@orshey Only through the internet.

[orshey]

@Keeper1st

the cheapest way. :)

are u the manager of them.....?

[Keeper1st]

@orshey No, no. Just a friend through ragtime!

[fugefan]

Great improvisation!

[ve2so]

Very good! Improvisation is fantastic!

[isambo400]

3:40 get those flowers out of here

[Keeper1st]

Those flowers were on a collision course with Adam's lap. Luckily Pepper saw how the vase was moving and stepped in to take it away.

[Squarerig]

Chopsticks?Where is my sukiyaki,where is my chicken chowmein?Who needs food when music of this quality is on offer?

[ShokaLion]

That was utterly awesome.

[samjarris]

Apsolutely fantastic. They are both wonderful musicians! geeze!

[billdakelski]

how come i cant do that?

[Keeper1st]

A question many have asked themselves...

[Somuchcooleronline1]

Good question

[SymphonyOfSound02]

Wow thank you for sharing this, I am very impressed! I love the piano and they really look like they're having fun!

[rajza00]

Wow!!

[Squarerig]

O am so impressed that I am,for once,almost speechless!A tremedous duo-and unrehearsed.Jesus,how would one rehearse music of this nature.Superlatives all round!!10 Starsand 100%

[hotcowuk]

great fun stuff! And talent.

[2tobytwo]

This is nothing.................but God Given talent..... Endowed with a great gift.. To not know what the other guy is going to do but just follow along, stay on beat, on key, on and on..... Just a great gift from God. No studying, no practicing, no trying to learn, just doing it because its a gift.

God Bless

[SuperGuitarDude]

Hmm, yes it is a talent. But to be able to play like that, even the most talented person still needs to practice. Yes, after a few years of practice you can play pretty much anything, but nothing comes for free (except for death of course).

[SuperGuitarDude]

I wonder how it would sound like if they were prepared and the Old Piano was in tune. By the way, how long has Adam been playing?

[Keeper1st]

Adam has been playing for about seven years. Tom, for about 33 years.

I seem to recall that they did break into this at after hours of the West Coast Ragtime Festival later that year on a couple of new Yamaha grands. I don't know if tdub1941 recorded it though. He was there recording a lot.

[SuperGuitarDude]

Ah, I could see how Tom is a great sight-reader. So, you must be the one who Composes many of the pieces, which they play? I'm steadily building a Crescendo for liking Ragtime. Unfortunately, I am a solo guitarist in-the-making, and not much of a pianist.

[Keeper1st]

I don' t think Adam plays anything of mine, but Tom certainly does. And hey, nothing wrong about being a guitarist and liking ragtime. Type the following names in the YouTube search box for examples of ragtime guitarists: "Takashi Hamada", "Craig Ventresco", "Meredith Axelrod".

[SuperGuitarDude]

Well, thank you for that informational tip. It's nice to know guitarists that aren't afraid to get a bit messy with the bass notes, and still make it sound like authentic ragtime.

[Keeper1st]

Back in the ragtime era, string bands were quite popular. Harp guitars were invented to provide bass notes, I think! There was a seminar about this at last year's West Coast Ragtime Festival. The covers of many rags point out all the different arrangements for which they were published, often various combinations of piano, guitar, and mandolins.

There just aren't enough people playing the music on string instruments these days!

[Keeper1st]

As an update to this old comment: There's a group called Ragtime Skedaddlers -- consisting of guitar, banjo-mandolin and standard mandolin -- that is about to record an album of the ragtime works of Charles L. Johnson (composer of "Dill Pickles Rag", "Doc Brown's Cakewalk" and "Sweet and Low" among others), using, wherever possible, the originally published guitar & 2-mandolin arrangements. There's at least a couple videos of the Ragtime Skedaddlers on YouTube; search their name.

[SuperGuitarDude]

Oh nice. Thank you.

[wteo340]

Can anyone describe what notes Adam is playing on the Left Hand in the segment from 1:15 - 1:22 ?

[steinwaygrande1]

Another superb performance by these two. Terrific !

[jimoaklandu]

The pianist in the foreground is only 16!! WOW!!

[steinwaygrande1]

I`ve got grandchildren of Adams age and they done play any where near as good as Adam does or ever will. Adam is a unique individual and has a great future ahead of him.

[kade82]

I've been playing piano for 28 years (since I was 16) and while I think I have a natural God-given talent for playing, I know I am nowhere near the level of these two. This is absolutely fantastic!

[KawhackitaRag]

I love it how the lady has to take the vase off the piano so it won't break!

[Keeper1st]

That's Pepper Rae. I think you met her at Sutter Creek before. But yeah, she noticed that the vase was thinking about falling on Adam!

[sigmet61]

I have never seen anything like it.. Just amazing.... what incredible talent.. and the kid does not appear to be very old...

[Keeper1st]

He's 16 years old, and the reigning champion of the annual World Championship of Old-Time Piano Playing.

[mtan9ashyngal]

you've got be joking man!

[magmamis]

I'm confused. Is Adam the guy with the red on the right?

[Keeper1st]

Yes, Adam is in the foreground.

[Joedynamo4]

That was great! I was wondering if pianists do a sort of call and response with pianos? Harmonising, that sort of thing...

Thanks for sharing that.

[Keeper1st]

How a planned duet works varies. If both pianists are good improvisers, then they take turns on the melody (search for videos I posted of "Thunderbolt Rag" or "Blame it on the Blues" for just a couple examples). Other times, one pianist will be in charge of playing the tune mostly straight while the other adds embellishment throughout (search "Mashed Potatoes ragtime" for one example that I can think of).

[b12isabeast]

i love this version but whay are u stopping?

[Keeper1st]

It's explained in the description. Basically, Adam only knew the first part of the tune, so he stops, listens to Tom playing to pick up on the parts he doesn't know, then joins in. He also keeps thinking the joke about playing Chopsticks is going to end, but Tom keeps running with it!

[zocjones]

*flail* applause

Brilliant

[TheKnabe]

Such fun and good music. As much as I enjoyed this, I sure do anticipate a second duet performance of Chopsticks by Tom and Adam!

[Keeper1st]

Afterward, Adam did suggest that they work it out as a real set performance... Who knows? Maybe at the West Coast Ragtime Festival in November...

[mangobat827]

now thats some fancy chopsticks! XD