Super Mario Land - Birabuto Kingdom - on piano Tom Brier style

[TheJakeman1103]

Is there any way I could get any pointers or advice on playing rag time?

I'm only a few years into keyboard and rag time is one of my favorite things to play, any help is welcome :D thanks :)

[SKStylez]

funny that a man who has never heard this song can bring me the ultimate nostalgia T_T

may I ask, after playing a song does he ever tell you that he really enjoys the piece?

[Keeper1st]

@SKStylez You can tell by how much he laughs or how long of an extended ending he makes up! In a couple you can hear him say, "Oh, that's cute!" or "That's a lot of fun!"

[seikeith]

belt leather belt leather belt belt belt belt belt belt aw du du du du dude level 18 aw aw

[0kabaloko0]

once the song started to start to be really awesome my brain ESPLODED due to the pure epicness...

[DJReiko]

While I think this guy has amazing talent and find myself watching his videos a lot. I feel that sometimes he really gets out of hand and ends up overplaying, if that makes sense. Sometimes less is more, that's all I'm saying.

[Rakshasa]

@DJReiko He's exploring what you can do with the piece. It's better to do that and then pare it down from there than stay strictly bare bones all the time, in my opinion.

[DJReiko]

@Rakshasa Yeah, I never said he should have stayed bare-bones. Just that at times it felt way overdone. Most of it, however was perfectly fine. I just feel he overplays occasionally. Think of it like guitar wankery.

[mrfahrenheit1986]

@DJReiko When he gets really loud and crazy with it, it gives me chills. I love this rendition. Starts slow and soft, gets hard, and ends the way it begins.

[MohtAraDuhruh]

This man can just slap his hands on the keyboard and make music better than me

[finalending13]

we need a mp3 of this :DDDDDDDDDDDDD

[QuaziGNRLNose]

favourite part of youtube

[noname1056]

I was sent here by crazychilidog

[NothingAsShit]

crazy

[thenewTF]

ah, the 240p really brings back that oldschool sound :)

[moonman110]

GAME BOY!!!

[MrLoadingscreen]

YES.

[Quietschquatsch]

Can you ask him if he could play the theme from "Super Mario 3D land"?

[opertinicy]

i'd like to see him elaborate on his technique. this is a brilliant demo of improvisation on the piano

[Keeper1st]

@opertinicy When people ask him about it, he just kind of shrugs and says it comes naturally from years of practice; he doesn't really know how to explain what he's doing as it just happens in real time spontaneously. There's another great example of him improvising on a simple theme posted recently as he plays a lead sheet of Коробейники (search "korobeiniki brier" and you'll find it).

[combathookarms]

amazing left hand movement

[EarlLee14]

amazing! puts a smile on my face!!! btw - your legs are showing

[StreetFighter2010]

Very impressive!! Bravo!! :-D

You do Mario justice........

[Tacoradical]

Y U CRUSH MY DREAMZ ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

[Tacoradical]

d( ; w ; )b

[DNAProductionsLyri]

Un freakin beleivable

[TheCifer6905]

belt leather belt leather belt belt belt belt belt belt belt ahh dude du du du augh augh

[CyrusShadowBlade]

Incredible for sure. My version just pales to this.

[jdion79]

can i make a request? the 'bubble bobble' main theme.

[Keeper1st]

@jdion79 Hmm... yeah, that could be filled out nicely, couldn't it? I did transcribe "The Chase" music from Ms. Pac-Man and give it to Tom a few years ago (did not record that read though).

[Breon77]

@jdion79 excellent choice!

[LolaliciousSmiley]

This is the best of the bunch. I've had this version of the song stuck in my head for 3 days now. This man is absolutely fantastic.

[Satoriga]

@LolaliciousSmiley lol same here. :D

[VileGlassPrincess]

I love these videos! These songs are even more energetic and fun in his hands. I can't help but smile when I watch him play.

[ChuckGetsATreat]

I woke up in one of the best moods ever, but somehow these videos has made it even better. Ragtime and the Mario soundtrack of my childhood? This guy will be smiling for days.

[norxcontacts]

Gameboy music.

[colorschan]

One of my all time favorite melodies made even better. This is just amazing.

[Satoriga]

this is wonderful! :D

[jacktsang05]

Great Job!

[YourPalStephen]

Absolutely fantastic.

[gabbrieelle]

If I ever decide to get married, I would like to play this song at my wedding. I will pay him to come to Oregon. Please. I'm weird.

[Keeper1st]

@gabbrieelle Heh... I hope you find a husband equally weird. You will be assuredly happy forever. My wife and I are lucky to have one another.

[eywazzuplol]

@gabbrieelle Gotta love weird people.

[mudki11er]

nice job!

[nuclearbox2]

no words

[blotner]

You have made me so happy. Thank you. Please don't stop.

[ChrisSketch]

I'm pretty sure a gameboy chip could reproduce Tom's version. The three channels aren't really a hindrance as to the complexity of the music. The memory on the gamboy cart, however, is. The original version is a fairly short loop because they had to reserve most of the memory for the game itself, but if all we aimed to do was make a complex song, I'm certain it could be done. Not by me, of course, I'm not that good with LSDJ.

[outofinkinc]

This is absolutely STUNN-- wait... Is he wearing any pants?

[BFBCFTW]

@outofinkinc You can see them. Trousers on the other hand...

[CommanderShafty]

@outofinkinc Where we're going you don't need pants.

[lowmax64]

tips



[noon3freak]

Tom Brier you are great keep on playing piano please, forever!

[stuff505]

simpy amazed

[momentomori93]

your awesome

[Seawest90]

Absolutely amazing. Like it very much

[WebCamCartmell]

Could I request the Bomb-omb Battlefield theme from Super Mario 64? :D

[xLuky]

Belt, leather belt.

[tatripp]

No one should be this good at piano

[rangergxi]

IM THROWING MY MONEY AT THE SCREEN!

[JorikBergman]

Is there sheet music from this version

[Keeper1st]

@JorikBergman Just the score that he's reading -- not the way he's playing it.

[HunterWarrior]

Belt leather belt... leather belt belt belt belt belt belt belt belt!

[NASAjunkie]

3 people tried to steal from the tip cup, but were stopped in their tracks by sheer awesomeness.

[niggyd32z]

for kicks i attempted to play the sheet in the description to see how long it would take me to learn....

Answer: about a hour and a half

how long did it take for me to play with out messing up?

answer: a total of 2 hours and 20mins

and improv: lest just say its not something you wanna hear lol

by time i started adding i couldn't even get through the song anymore with out making a mess out of it =(

Moral of the story...?

Tom is a beast @ the piano

[Alaeriia]

I recommend you get Tom to play the Super Mario Land 2 Athletic Theme or the SML3 (Wario Land) train theme.  he'd have a blast with both!

[XJCjustchillX]

May I make a suggestion for the next video?

Cohen's Masterpiece from the game Bioshock

I would give a hefty high-five for a good sightread of that!

[otmq]

This is what happens when you give such a basic song to a legitamate player, he' got the chops to play ANY style...I'm happy there are still people out there that work on their craft to a point like this...

[zepheniah]

does tom like the video game music he plays? does he think its well made? or does he dismiss it as kids stuff?

[Keeper1st]

@zepheniah Depends on the tune I guess. Considering that he has played "K.K. Ragtime" of his own volition, from memory, quite a few times, and that the Raspberry Jam Band ended up adding both it and the Yoshi's Island Athletic Theme to their repertoire, there's certainly some that he takes a shine to!

[crowntotheundergroud]

You know what I love bout this performance? I'm pretty sure that sheet music was note for note the same as the track in the video game, and he played it the way it appeared on the sheet the first time through, but kept building on it n reached a climax, and brought it back down and the way he embellished on it each time through made perfect sense to me and it just flowed so nicely. Pretty much made a whole new song. This performance revealed to me a whole new dimension within music.

[BrandonzLegiit]

You sir. Are god to me..

[pointpurple]

what in the actual fuck

[vagasesino]

I just masturbate listening to this...

[jeffjoraj]

240p, we meet again... nice cover tho

[zepheniah]

i get all bleary eyed every time i watch this

[shadow31415926]

Just now!!!!

[choiman1234]

omg. memories TO THE MAX rock on man!!!

[ronniegranillo]

"3 Dislikes?"

 *Takes out microscope*

"Oh... so tiny, but why?"

[couvepodre]

This could be on the newest Mario games! :D Special Hidden LVL!

[amazing763]

Does Tom have any idea of how far ahead he's planning the various aspects of arranging on-the-fly, or does it "just happen" in a way that's a mystery to all including him?

For instance, each repetition was different. At measure 10 he initially used the rests as written, but later he filled in something for them in other voices. How soon did he know he was going to do that, and not leave them silent?

I feel that even asking this question is akin to sawing off the top of his head and peeking in.

[Keeper1st]

@amazing763 My guess is that there isn't much planning ahead of time; he's just going with the flow.

[godschi]

I can't believe what he did with that piece in such a short time. From 0:53 on, I was just staring in awe.

[1337rank]

*puts a five in the 'tips'*

[sharkmaster99]

Why is the "Tips" cup in the beginning not overflowing?

[Keeper1st]

@sharkmaster99 Small crowd. Take a look at the video I just posted of him playing "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue". The tips cup is overflowing!

[justxthexpeachy]

oh my goodnes.... i wish i can play that.

[amazing763]

Have Tanaka or any of the other video-game composers had the opportunity to hear Tom's augmentations of their tunes?

Oh, we have figured out "how Tom does it." The wristwatch has a minuscule time machine that provides Tom extra particles of time (chronons) in between the scored notes, time that his hands can use to think about what's supposed to happen next. I know this must be true, because I don't have a watch, and I certainly don't have any of those chronons. Wow.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

He's got quite a bag of piano tricks doesn't he?

[TheAlphaBetaParticle]

Very nice. I've been trying to imitate Tom and turn these simple tunes into rags. Through trial and error I have been putting together the left hand pretty good (takes a long time though). As for the right hand I can't play fancy chords, just single notes. Is there a technique to do what Tom does?

[Keeper1st]

@TheAlphaBetaParticle Not really -- just a lot of practice and experience with ragtime playing.

[Pianoflage]

@TheAlphaBetaParticle If you play from fake books, it teaches you to add harmony in the right hand very fast. Try it, it's fun!

[alpisofr]

Very nice :D

Great ragtime !

[rapidopasan]

3 persons do not know about good music... =)

[BGK4444]

good man!

[noblegreed]

Awesome job! If you're into rag-time-esque pieces you oughtta check out a song called "Windy and Co." from the game Conker's Bad Fur Day.

[Keeper1st]

@noblegreed Did that one last year. I made a video showing the sheet music with a MIDI file. Tom sight-read it rather well, given how complicated it is, but it wasn't postable quality playing. Maybe he'll dig it out and learn it someday -- who knows?

[takatamisudu]

上手すぎ！

教えて！

[andyhsong]

what is toms history in piano instruction? how long has he been playing?

[Keeper1st]

@andyhsong He's been playing for about 34 years, starting at age 5 with a heavy emphasis on reading.

[Lindsitee]

=O

[CheeseEnthusiast]

Tom Brier is my hero.

Improvisation like no other.

It's a shame he hasn't heard these songs before, he'd appreciate how awesome he is.

[Shadoward12]

I can't keep a straight face when listening to this, this song just makes me smile every time

[SonOfBatman1]

why is there a dislike button for this..?

[my508server]

@SonOfBatman1

There isn't it's for people that have english is a foreign language meaning : Dis I Like =)

Your sincerely,

Barry

[ChocolateNinjaStar]

Dear god, that was incredible. I want to shake those magic hands.

[Rediss]

I saw all Tom videos, and theres something I want to know.

Why is Tom always surrounded by old people?

And another dound is, if he is a programmer sice a very large amount of time, how didn't he play any video game ever?

PD: I liked all his videos, its just a question, no intention to offend anybody

[Keeper1st]

@Rediss You mean apart from the teenagers he's seen playing with in many of my videos? Ragtime is enjoyed by people of all ages, thus you see people of all ages in these videos, performing or listening. I don't think it would be accurate to say he never played video games. He's only a year younger than I am (he'll be 40 this year). We're of the Atari generation. The Nintendo and Playstation consoles were after our time; we had gotten into computers by then.

[TonytheCapeGuy]

That guy... is brilliant. O.o

[Trotzkidesu]

Stuff like this makes me want to visit America... Any off-chance you might play in Europe some day?

[Keeper1st]

@Trotzkidesu Some pianists seen on my channel do play once per year in Hungary and Switzerland. I don't think Tom ever has though. As he's not a professional musician, he can't get the time off work required to do many trips far from home.

[GuessIIIwho]

@Keeper1st

Damn shame! Well his job sure is time consuming, but on the other hand, if you' ever heard of Brentalfloss: this man was doin' medleys and video game lyrics, and became a well-known internet star and is know a Video Games Live guest. Video Games live beein' the world best video game music concert.

Its not like Brentalfloss is at every single show on the VGL, but they started show his videos! Maybe you and Mr Brier should think of it one day =)

[LtZaroff]

Tom is such an amazing pianist. I know he doesn't really ever play these tunes more than once or twice but given how many he's done he should just record 10 of the ones he liked the best and sell it. I know I'd buy.

[ThisIsKuroCat]

Three people disliked this? Let me get my magnum

[alek21496]

<3

[mariobro1993]

Blown...away....

Never thought of this old tune as a Rag.

[naruto10156]

OMGGGG LOVEEEEE <3333

[ThDsnyFrk]

always makes me happy when i listen to this. makes any day good!

[EmptyHero]

those milky white thighs

[sportsdude2060]

Amazing performance. Tom is truly an incredible pianist.

By the way, is there any chance you could make out a full rag for this? I would love to play this piece that way, but there's no way I can manage it by ear.

[krimskrams]

where can i meet you guys??

[Keeper1st]

@krimskrams Tom will be playing at the Sutter Creek Ice Cream Emporium (where this video was shot) in Sutter Creek, California, next Saturday evening beginning at 7 p.m. It's a free venue, as is the Ragtime Corner venues at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee the following weekend. He'll be in Columbia, Missouri, playing at the Blind Boone Ragtime & Early Jazz Festival on June 5 & 6. He also will be playing in a house concert in Roseville, California, on June 18th.

[sabata2]

@Keeper1st

Holy shit You're actually in my area!

Curse being in school until mid-June!!!

[Keeper1st]

@sabata2 Well, there is another ragtime meeting at the Ice Cream Emporium on July 28th also at 7 p.m. And the weekend-long Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is August 12-14 this year. Plus there's the West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento (the largest ragtime festival there is in terms of performers) the weekend before Thanksgiving. Tom also plays fairly regularly at the Straw Hat Pizza in Rancho Cordova (on Wednesdays, I think...?). Hopefully you can make it to something!

[krimskrams]

@Keeper1st

gee thanks for the response. i wont be in the states before august however, but if there is a venue in the east somewhere i'll be most interested in seeing one of his performances

[Keeper1st]

@krimskrams August is when the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival takes place. But of course it's here out west. Not sure what might be happening on the east coast. Check with Martin Spitznagel (YouTube's "spitzfire1138") perhaps. He might know who can see when.

[tcs614]

Where can I buy his albums?

[Keeper1st]

@tcs614 His two most recent are available on CDBaby. Look up his name and you'll find his latest two solo albums and a couple of duet albums he did with Nan Bostick.

[stingersfury]

OK EVERYBODY. LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR. (in caps so it sticks out) I MADE THIS JOKE BECAUSE THE CAMERA DOESN'T SHOW THE SHORTS MAKING IT APPEAR AS THOUGH HE WAS NAKED. thats it lol

[kingdomhfanatic]

and sight reading is the hardest thing for me during the piano exams...

[takatamisudu]

この歌　泣くほど　好き　❤

[SamusMaXximus]

All I have to say is this: Holy shit.

[BlackZero98]

I'd give my left nut to be able to play like that.

[capsule56]

@BlackZero98

Honestly, me too.

[MetalJasnic]

@BlackZero98 Only that? lol

[BlackZero98]

@MetalJasnic Well, okay, maybe both of 'em.

[rangergxi]

@BlackZero98 Deal.

[TheSamuraiElf]

@rangergxi So you like taking nuts, Ranger?

[Pianomantodd1]

@BlackZero98 I'd give both, but then I would be Jizzmaster Zero - The pianist. Talk about Orgazmo 2 - THE MUSICAL.

[musungutuloko]

He's a really impressive musician and I love all the songs he 'Brierizes', but I'd really like it if you'd put up songs after they were rehearsed a little bit. I'm sure it wouldn't take him more than a reading or two to nail every one of these songs. As it stands, some of his renditions have a few little trip ups that I'm sure could be ironed out in no time flat and make these songs completely delightful.

[Keeper1st]

@musungutuloko I do give him copies of the sheet music for these, but the only two tunes from games that he has continued to learn, as far as I've heard, are K.K. Ragtime (several videos of him playing that) and the Yoshi's Island Athletic Theme (played with the band).

[krimskrams]

@Keeper1st

i think this one is worthy of continued rehearsals, since his own variations flow in so fantasticly good in this particular tune! :)

[parisnpink23]

so coool! :) he must be an extremely experienced piano player to be able to do a first run so well!

[tcs614]

I love how well he modifies each round through. It makes perfect sense the way he's progressing through the song. I've never seen anyone do this before lol... Blows my mind

[MinmatarThrasher]

Oh god. I used to play this on my old school big gameboy during recess at school. XD

[shadowsofglory]

Three people have never played a Mario game.

[gnr73meta2ca]

excellent b(- ^)

[liverpoolfc2495]

The epicness of ragtime brilliantly advertised by the amazingly talented Tom Brier :D one of my favourite videos

[pampafr]

...Amazing :D

[nodnyl10]

This guy's a beast!!!

[Starmast3r]

BELT LEATHER BELT LEATHER BELT BELT LEATHER BELT BELT BELT BELT FOUR STAM FOR STRENGTH BELT LEVEL SIXTEEN ---AHHHHH UHHHGHGHHGHGHGH

[TheLivingSeven]

@Starmast3r Level 18*

[Starmaster29]

@TheLivingSeven Yeah, I realized my mistake >.<

[ilov3sushiyeshiduu]

Amazing!!

[gillyguy]

How about the boss theme from Diddy Kong Racing? A lot of the music in that game would be pretty hard to make into a rag time but that one might work haha.

[OiShawnyBoy]

I gotta say, I am rather jealous of your superior skills of being AMAZING! If i were that skilled at piano, i would make people shit their pants, like you just did to me :D

[tdub1941]

Fabulous! Love it!

RagJazzMonkey Tom

[idonjuany]

Absolutely amazing!

[AntiP0p3]

Dude you rock!

[lostconfuzed]

The man is a genius. This is an amazing rendition of a favorite song of mine.  Thank you for uploading =D

[gyppomc1]

Belt, leather belt?

[tyoro]

@gyppomc1 Level 18? AAAHHHHH

[BagiClaymations]

@gyppomc1 4 strength, 4 stam?

[TheJakeman1103]

this... this is just simply amazing! I can't even comprehend how much skill you possess. Bravo man, Bravo.

[daigoro789]

haha, awesome energy!

[JimNoir1]

I beg of you! Could you get Tom to write a down a sketch of what he added? I'm not good at adding bits to pieces yet and I want to see what he did on a score...

Just basic chords and stuff...

[SecondPlaceEagle]

So when did you become so awesome, Tom?

"JUST NOW!"

[gli7ch]

Why is this man's tip cup not overflowing with a gracious bounty? /tosses a 20 in the cup

[bearchildofdeath]

Holy shit... GOD MODE ON