Scott Joplin, Heliotrope Bouquet, ragtime piano solo

[tripblokhgertsa123]

I think your version feels great. There is a little bit of retarding and accelerando where I don't normally feel it but it's awesome to hear how others feel certain passages. I guess I was just reiterating my understanding of ragtime concerning the over all feel. I think Heliotrope Bouquet is probably one of the top 5 ragtime compositions ever in my book. Your embellishments were very nice surprises as well. Hats off to you and keep up the great work.

[tripblokhgertsa123]

Very nice. One thing about modern interpretations: The over emphasizing of the classical aspect to where the rags lose their flow. Too much retarding and accelerando rob ragtime of that feel and all you are left with is a pretty melody;ragtime is about that syncopation over a steady meter.Another problem is the hyper-fast tempos.But too slow is taxing as well.Ragtime was not intended to be played delicately.Louis Chauvin wrote the first two strainsJoplin wrote the last two.

[smalin]

@tripblokhgertsa123 I'm not sure I understand your comment; are you saying that I am avoiding the pitfalls that plague "modern interpretations" or succumbing to them?

[mariop1960]

¡Delicia de música!

[KennethWONG12341]

=)

[robertpetrie1960]

this sounds like "let me be good to you" from the great mouse detective.

[reprac9]

Very nice cover ,, & i like the way you have interpreted it with your own style ,, cheers ,, dave

[KutsaiChan]

I love this kind of piano, it's so happy :D!

[jcmusix]

Just amazing playing!

[freeman2545]

man i love ragtime......

[DavidEMadsen]

My teacher worked for Thomas Edison as a youth, and grew up in the ragtime era. This reminds me so much of his playing, (guitar and banjo) Great interpretation!

[Tronone]

Beautifully played sir, I hope you like my attempt on the guitar..

[MrKetzel]

raggin to the goodies

[b43xoit]

O wonder whether Baby Elephant Walk would look interesting as a "diamond" score.

[gsarci2011]

can you do any other joplin pieces?

[smalin]

@gsarci2011 I can, and I will.

[dcowboys107]

I think the Scott's part is more beautiful in a sense. Usually the A strains are more memorable but it has a more emotional intensity while staying beautiful. Can't describe it. Makes me wanna cry at times.

Great job on bringing out the emotive parts. Forget the haters.

[GabeGuitarr]

1:00-2:10 is my favorite part..

[iwebcodms]

I have to say, I practically NEVER comment on ANYTHING on youtube. This will be an exception. I have listened to every single version of this performed on youtube, and I can honestly say without reservation that this is the best interpretation ever recorded.  Joplin et al. would have been thrilled to listen to you play this piece. Simply incredible.

[smalin]

@iwebcodms Have you heard Joshua Rifkin play it? I haven't listened to his recording for a long time, but I'd bet that it's better than this.

[iwebcodms]

@smalin I confess I haven't heard it, but until I do, my comments stand ;)  Thank you for sharing your great gift with so many! I'm sure you know it inspires countless fledgling pianists practice practice practice!

[lordguill]

@smalin I didn't know Rifkin made a recording of this piece. I'll have to look for it.

But this was a great performance! From what I understand, Louis Chauvin wrote beautiful rags. It's a shame that this is all that survives of his work.

[RockoSaurius]

Hermosa pieza é igualmente la interpretación....Mil Gracias por el placer de disfrutar esta hermosa pieza.

[smalin]

@RockoSaurius You're quite welcome.

[cwchrisweed]

So, this reminds me of the Muppet Show every time I hear it.

[stevemeadowsmusic]

In your description are you counting the ~20sec introduction as the first section? I was wondering whether Joplin or Chauvin wrote the section starting at ~50sec

[smalin]

@stevemeadowsmusic The first section by Joplin starts at 2:48.

[stevemeadowsmusic]

@smalin ok gotcha, thanks!

[verdew8181]

I have to force myself to stop listening to this.

[ptypptyp]

impressive, it seems to be adapted a little

[smalin]

@ptypptyp  There are a few extra grace notes in the second section; I think that's the only place I didn't play it exactly as written ...

[ohwallatafooliam]

Oh, you HAVE to do Solace!!! It's my favourite :) Well done with this by the way, I love the way you play.

[ROBLOXyourdoom1232]

I watched this...

Then I watched Nyan Cat...

Then I watched this...

Then I watched Nyan Cat...

I'm detecting a pattern...?

[smalin]

@ROBLOXyourdoom1232 I'd say you're making a pattern.

[verdew8181]

I love how all of this music conjures up something quaintly amusing, beautiful, elegant, and graceful.

[Thunkful2]

this guy knows how to play rag

[TJMuas]

Sat for 5 minutes and 8 seconds and barely blinked....

[TheAmazingLynsey]

I LOVED this! :D

[danmessias]

awesome!!

[kr00ke]

this is awesome !

[LermyteJos]

Very nice video, very well played; not too fast; but real ragtime.

[Lyndzi84]

I've been watching this video everyday for 2 weeks now. I've been working on this piece. This is such an awesome piece and you are amazing! I'm having so much fun with Heliotrope Bouquet. I wish you did other ragtime pieces. Please do more! You are my ragtime piano teacher.

[smalin]

@Lyndzi84 I hope to do more. I'd love to do Solace ...

[Lyndzi84]

@smalin Yes, I'll be waiting for that! As for now, Heliotrope Bouquet is keeping me busy! Thanks so much.

[HPJFilm]

My God, what a gifted piano player you are. Thank you. Greetings from Germany.

[robertpetrie1960]

1:40 is it just me or does it seem like his fingers have a muscle spasm that just happened to go along with the song.

Liked

[written12]

Splendid job!

This particular rag has such stateliness and a wistful quality in its A section.

[AnneBowen1]

Easy listening and fascinating watching as well!

[Fernball21]

Can I make bar-graph scores on a Mac?

[deanc2000]

Good stuff. I want to learn it now!  You know, I used to have "The Entertainer" and "Maple Leaf Rags" memorized. That was years and years ago and I've forgotten them both. This piece was in the same book that I learned those other 2 from, but I never knew it was so excellent.

By the way, what program are using to get the piano roll midi to scroll by? is it Logic?

[smalin]

@deanc2000 No, it's something I wrote myself.

[fearlissimo]

Wonderful piece, great playing and superb presentation.

[lightlyfire]

Fantastic ! Played with sensibility, best SJ performance on youtube. Keep going ! That's great.

[jensenfu]

bovo

[Fantasticifaction]

Don't ever quit playing the piano, you're a talent

[RMNCOfficial]

The section from about 0:50 to 0:57 reminds a lot of Stevie Wonder's "Misstra Know It All". Somehow I doubt it's a coincidence. :)

[barkingspider403]

I've always loved this piece--great pacing, especially the tempo shift in the second verse.

[wolfdoglizard]

these nice simple songs are just great; we can just imagine we're going to hang out at the general store on the street corner by the ballpark...:)

[navboy]

This is great, and the whole collection you appear to have is wonderful. I just searched this out after reading about Chauvin in the intro to the Scott Joplin's Collected Works book I've had for decades since I was a kid.

So do you use the MIDI coloring scroll as a sort of teleprompter after memorizing the piece or ... ? I've been composing a symphony by writing sketches on staff paper then entering them as MIDI notes in a sequencer and working in the MIDI editor to flesh the sketches out.

[smalin]

@navboy No, this notation is for listeners, not performers. If I know a piece well enough to play it while looking at the bar-graph notation, I know it well enough to play it without musical notation of any kind.

[CT24LE8]

Bravo!! Excellent !! 素晴らしい演奏ですね。感激!!



[crazyghetto978818]

I would love to hear this song on a honkytonk piano

[sksyes5]

this is amazing. ahh. i wish i could play like this.

[ReverendRatspeed]

Just wanted to say I appreciate how you play this song and refraining from getting into a swing tempo in the second refrain. Very period. :)

[jammingButterfly]

tried it by myself.. I'm just too 'piano noob' for it x)

[tantoedge]

Recently I finished Red Dead Redemption and I realize now that nowhere in the game is the pianist playing a ragtime piece.

Wrong era?

[andyrooney12]

I purchased a Yamaha DGX-520 full-size keyboard with the hopes of fulfilling a longtime childhood dream of playing the piano but after struggling with it for so long I just gave up :( I never could figure out how to make my left hand play a certain set of keys while my right hand was doing something completely different. Certain songs were easy to learn, like Fur Elise (except the middle part which requires a FAST tempo), but most were too much. I still enjoy watching others play. Good work.

[keoki9]

Brilliant playing! Isn't it amazing how Joplin's music stands the test of time?

[mariadelamor21]

Encantador!!!! Una delicia.

[AveryIam]

I Love this song!!!!!!!!!

[MsSoundguy]

I've grown addicted to your videos. That you play this gorgeous rag so well is icing on the cake. Thank you.

[zerblis]

Great piece, well played! Thanks!

[Tobskybobski1]

This put a smile on my face. Thanks. :)

[tantoedge]

very cool

[slakje123]

Thanks man

[VlogNationXD]

Nice hair-dew, Smalin...

[vladinho7]

nice job

[LeReporterProvencal]

I Like Scott Japlin !!!

Youtube and Facebook : " le reporter provencal "

[oldgypsytap]

"Heliotrope" has been my favorite Joplin work for years. This rendition is exquisite. You do play beautifully! Thank you so much for posting.

[famsandu]

dr house would love this song...

[xXxequisxXx]

Lovely job with this piece, I love Scott Joplin. :)

[90DOT]

amazing..thank you

[ChaChauld]

very good scott Joplin is fantastic

[TheAlfieman]

Joplin was superb at contrapuntal, Dorian, Lydia counterpoint. You have to be a musical cretin failing to understand Ragtime. Highly complex and difficult to transpose to guitar. There are very few good examples of ragtime guitar players in the World.

[shuquil73]

A beautiful Joplin rag

[mybluebelly]

HELP! I`m colourblind!

[humanist7117]

Brilliant!!

[LunInSpectra]

Are you shaking in this video?

[max777dog]

I am definitely learning this, and playing this for my recital. I'm 14, and I wish to play as good as you when I'm older. Keep playing as much as you can, you play wonderfully! Check one of my videos and leave a comment.

Bravo!

[stevej71393]

When I listened to this piece, I immediately looked up a silent film to watch. They go so well with each other. :)

[marce11o]

I like this! Looks like it was fun to play!

[xforeverfadingx]

Could you perchance do a piece from the nutcraker, like the Russian piece or something? You play beautifully.

[smalin]

@xforeverfadingx See the "could you please" item in the FAQ.

[ClassicSteinwayJonas]

play the entertainer!! your interpretation are really good?

[Watersmith53]

It's nice to hear some great Scott Joplin that is NOT "that song."  He had such talent that I hate it all had to be distilled to one movie sound track. I agree with others. Sent more, and thanks for all you do.

[WhiteSpatula]

Gladiolus! Do please consider doing the Gladiolus... it's such a fun one!

[shimonaaronson]

I used to play like you and all Joplins music until I lost my thumb, but practicing with whats left of it and getting better

[tenthmost]

beautiful! and mesmerizing

[Jonza121]

173 likes

0 dislikes

You deserve it, man! Bravo

[ClassicSteinwayJonas]

did you use the paddle?

[smalin]

@ClassicSteinwayJonas If you mean "pedal," then yes.  If you mean "paddle," then I don't understand you.

[alkay]

muito charmosa!

[oblibious47]

Agree with backaddict...more Joplin please!! Solace is great but really almost anything.

[Mr775ish]

i love it!

[pianoharry]

If I wouldn't of known better I'd think I was listening to George Gershwin. Well done, chap... I tell you, I play piano too and I can't master the Rag time "Un Chugs" with the left hand.

[Mystipaoniz]

Hmmm...so the hands dancing on the piano and hypnotizing me belong to you? :-)

Congratulations!

I read the FAQ before but i guess my brain skipped some informations ^^

[Agomongo1235]

can u plz do beethoven emperor mov 1

[mastersteinhardt]

YAYA more Joplin pretttyyy pretty please smalin!

[StelaWorld]

lovable, indeed...

[mychemicalrelapse]

bloody amazing. as always :)

[badlilmonkeh]

can i make a request for prelude op 3 no 2?

[smalin]

I didn't know Joplin wrote any preludes ... ?

[looney1023]

@smalin

i think he meant rachmaninoff

if that was sarcasm, its kinda hard to tell because its online

[zoranrosendahl]

@smalin I think he means Rachmaninov

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@smalin He composed an opera. How about playing that?

[smalin]

@Morahman7vnNo2 If I had a better way to visualize singing, I might consider it.

[piman3141]

awesome awesome awesome.

[wenaolong]

Exquisite talents, my friend.

[atharoth]

great skill Stephen!

[thebub716]

what key signature is this in?

[looney1023]

@thebub716

it may change throughout, but it ends in CM

[danixian]

really enjoyed the ragtime on MAM!

[doilyfilm]

will you do rondo a la turque?

[nataraja87]

Great job! Joplin is a pleasure to listen to!

[sigilumsanguis]

Do more stuff from the late 19th century/ early 20th century. Jelly Roll Morton perhaps?

[bachaddict]

more Joplin! please!

[smalin]

I'm planning to do Solace, for sure, and maybe some others.

[bachaddict]

@smalin :D :D i've watched some on the MAMplayer but don't have the software or the time to upload videos myself.

[veddunreal]

very nice i like it =D

[Agomongo1235]

sounds like 1980-1990 song

[nataraja87]

@Agomongo1235 try ~1910's

[blaubeeri666]

every note has a different color, eg G is blue. easy to spot octaves :)

[mkotisrael]

what do the colors mean? i noticed in other videos they apear to have some logic, but in this vid they are all scrambled

[smalin]

See the FAQ.

[TheSheepMonster]

very well-played.

[lars517]

Smalin, you are freakin awesome! now you gotta do Jelly Roll Morton's finger breaker! =]

[SmartYourTube]

Quite different from what you usually play but well played.

[smalin]

I've played Joplin all my life, but this is the first I've posted to YouTube.

[razorgarf]

That sounded great :)

[rabendranath]

Great performance man, keep it up.

[Computersam]

WOW, very good played!!

[teslaphysics]

That's great stuff! I miss hear Joplin's music, like The Entertainer!

[marcelobtp]

Sounds real fun i really like this type of music!

[goldenhog]

scott joplin is awesome!

[Fantosonium]

Great performance as usual

[mvfasolfasoo]

esta hermosa esta pieza genial

jajajaja no estoy habituado

pero es pura felicidad

jajajaajaja recuerda la niñez

[betumene]

what piano do you have?!

[smalin]

I'm playing this on a Kimball (grand).

[Agomongo1235]

those r those olden day notes right? then the monks got sick of those notes so they changed it to todays note

[betumene]

this play reminds me of a cruise ship high class restaurant! it's soo nice!

[jhl1116]

amazing!!

[ipwnallnubscuzirock]

playin ragtime like a boss

[smalin]

@collinlloyd --- Flight of the Bumblebee is on my DVD, so I probably won't be doing another version until I sell out of those.

[thepatcat]

@smalin DVD?

[smalin]

To buy the DVD, go to my website (from the link on my channel page).

[danxl5]

Great job as usual! Diggin the pink.

Keep it up!

[RectumPilum]

Awesome

[prestonparish]

Awesome. The beginning harmony reminds me of Debussy.

[Yo0Yo0Man]

this guy is boss

[jeebus022]

Awesome!

[franielee38]

Excellent!

[ghostofdayinperson]

I love you Smalin!