Jonny May plays Maple Leaf Rag on Main St.

[tomwellingishott]

i can't believe people are just walking by! this guy is going insane on the piano!

[mike90yt]

I love this soo much!.. Trying to learn it now

[bbaum1964]

Loved it; but why so fast? March Tempo People.....

[Ferreal92]

I don't care what arm-chair piano "experts" have to say. If feet are tappin to what you're playin, then son, you're playin it right.

[davidjohan99]

ha ha ha ...brought tears to my eyes laughing so much...totally AWESOME AMAZING PLAYING!!

[aelmandrzej]

@davidjohan99 This is by far the most authentic version I've ever heard!

[kokofoko]

if you put this on X10 speed he actually play it slower :P

[poffy3991]

Imma maple leaf rag player, this is amazing !!

[Regginyaga]

Its hard to play fast and maintain the feel but he does it pretty well

[wilily]

S.J. may not have played the rag this fast. But this guy was hammering the ivories. Sweet !!

[M8T12B93]

according to Scott Joplin himself, ragtime should be played slowly. But i actually love this one played like this!!

[rudisme]

People just walk by whitout looking over there shoulder...

I could spend the whole night watching people play te maple leaf

And that's what am doing the last hour or so here on youtube.

[solong36]

@rudisme --Thanks for watching --- you should check around for a local ragtime or jazz festival with a ragtime corner...

[eddy725]

@rudisme i don't blame those people; they're probably worrying about spending the time they paid for experiencing things more extraordinary than watching someone play the maple leaf rag. i'm not saying this is not a good performance or that i hate this song or anything, but if i was on main street i would stop to listen for a few minutes at the most. going to disneyland isn't exactly a walk through the local park.

[s57e]

i love his job. playing mostly everyday on the piano, probably getting paid a ton of money doing something he loves. gosh. i wish my hands would grow another inch in span. the span is way to small to be able to play rag time nicely. D:

[congressman92maxwell]

One of the best performances of this song I have ever seen :D

[plucknpick]

John Thanks for carrying on the Rod Miller Tradition! Your Awesome!!

[OldNewsThinker]

and now, because of this man, no one should ever attempt that song again incase they ruin it

[disneyfan85]

They played part of this tune as part of the "Main Street" scene of Remember Dreams Come True!

[solong36]

@disneyfan85 yep and jonnys predecessor , Rod Miller was the pianist on that track (he says)

[smalljerjer]

YOU. ARE. MY. IDOL! I NEED TO LEARN FROM YOU.

[FuzzyOrangeHat]

This song always cheers me up. ;^D

And if you think THIS is too fast, you should see Rod Miller!

[accuruneide]

bravissimo

[TarynAnne100]

Kinda like he was put in fastforward and everyone else was in slow motion. That was fantastic! I loved it!

[mini300bhp]

the only people that say this is too fast probably cant play it fast themselves and are just jealous haha

[Huckabeezer]

I agree.  This is fabulous playing. If you listen to his recordings, Joplin also played this a good deal faster when he was cutting a roll. Why? Simple. It sold because people liked it. Not only that, the speed that these pieces can be played at is a sign of the pianist's prowess. Surely Mr. Palopalo knows this much, at least? Maybe not.

[JackieGeeNinja]

This is amazing! just watching the agility of his hands on the base clef... Incredible!

[solong36]

Joplins "not too fast" was refering to a march tempo (120) which is pretty fast - try it.

[FFPianoDude]

My book literally says "Tempo Marcia"

[josiah566]

@pal0palo Ragtime isn't a church. Joplin's is merely a followed version that a lot of people buy. It isn't a dogma. You aren't going to hell for playing ragtime fast. Just enjoy yourself.

[pal0palo]

@josiah566 ikr...i was pretty stupid back wen i wrote that comment..sorry.lol...i play it sometimes almost this fast now..lol..but not usually..but i just try it sometimes.lol..

[plucknpick]

Slow or fast, this fellow is pushing for Rod Miller Status!

Well done- wonderful presentation! Great Improv too!

[metabolife]

yeah... once his eyes can leave the keys and he can pretty much talk to people while playing... he'll be there soon lol

[datfri13]

Notice how every anonymous putz with a computer is an expert? If you're playing for fun and you can play it fast and still hit the notes--well good for you! Joplin's music is still being played 100 years later and that's a good thing! Plenty of people are playing it in the approved manner as well. I'd go back to playing drums if they were forming a ragtime band in my community!

[7erden]

scott joplin play`s never fast ragtime asshole!!!!!!!!

[brimble1]

i agree he's rushing it!

[24link135]

It is true that Ragtime is not supposed to be played fast - but this still an extraordinary performance. I`d call a spee-orientated version of the Maple Leaf Rag.

[FrosDOwnz]

@24link135 Played normal is 90-115 BPM. It all depends, but the piano roll gives you a rough idea of the original speed.

[lashpipe01]

What makes music interesting today is finding new ways to reinvent the same 150 year old 2-5-1 crap and redundant passing tones--sometimes that means playing pieces in different ways (i.e. faster) and besides, he can't help it he plays like a bad ass

[kilkennyman2009]

scott joplin - never play ragtime fast

[solong36]

Fast is relative -- I believe SJ wrote somewhere on one of his pieces "slow march tempo" which is pretty fast

The other comment I have heard in the ragtime community is "not too fast as to miss notes or break syncopation"

I agree with those who think this version is "Entertaining"  and on this note - in the "Real World" there is no 5 foot talking mouse either - I thank you all for watching my uploads.

[Stevenup7004]

... There's.. there's not? ='[

[lefty1997]

@solong36 There is no doubt that this is endless and amazing entertainment, but on a side note, I have a Scott Joplin book, in which it says, "(Note from the composer- This piece is not meant to be played fast)" but still, this is amazing, especially since I can't play it even near to this tempo. Keep up the great music!

[careyeOhkey]

a tad fast for Maple Leaf Rag - seriously =o)

[OldNewsThinker]

@kilkennyman2009 Scott G - GO FUCK YOURSELF!

[Kddksvdtkgnngn]

@OldNewsThinker No wait! I get it, Scott G as in you. Well, that's a douchey thing to say. Kilkennyman2009 was simply quoting the writer of the song. You however, are just being a belligerent ass. (For the record, I don't care what speed anyone plays this song, and Johnny May is great at playing it) 

[OldNewsThinker]

@OldNewsThinker I have…on many MANY occasions…and so have other people ;) but still..you're wrong, I'm write, deal with it :D

[Kddksvdtkgnngn]

@OldNewsThinker Are you talking to me, or yourself? And what have you and these other people done? And what are you right about? (I'm assuming you mean RIGHT, not write) Please elaborate. I also want to apologize to solong36 for these dumb comments.

[OldNewsThinker]

@OldNewsThinker what? oh, we still arguing? hmmm

[Kddksvdtkgnngn]

@OldNewsThinker Not really, seeing as how there really wasn't an argument. I made a few statements, and you said that you were correct. I'm still wondering what it is you're correct about, but I see things going nowhere.

[OldNewsThinker]

@Kddksvdtkgnngn well then, I think we should break up. I'm sorry that I have to do it  like this, but *sniffle..goodbye Kddksvdtkgnngn

[Kddksvdtkgnngn]

@OldNewsThinker It's for the best.  It just wouldn't work between us.

[herrbrahms]

@kilkennyman2009 Especially if you play it this sloppily.

[24link135]

incredible speed

[eleventhdr]

a little slower please next time!

alsos ow do you think walt ever cam up with the whole concept for his parks he had to study the great worlds fairs of the early and late 20th and 19th centiyr to be able to do thjis those fairs were far better then his parks. Gigantic palaceset all.

walt knew all of this otherwise he never could have done this kind of thing i want to surpass his plans and rebuild those fairs!

[Naturally2Sexy]

People think it's impressive because of the extra practice it takes to play that fast. I've never played anything faster than 136 and he sounds like he's doing a good 210.

[Deluxe489]

Nice way of ruining a song. Playing songs slightly faster than they're meant doesn't usually do too bad for the musicality, but playing it at this tempo just makes it a mash of notes, not music. Skill doesn't mean playing so fast your fingers are blurs and the song sounds like its being played in fast forward. I really don't understand why people enjoy it so much.

[USMC4341]

Because he's playing on a ragtime-tuned piano in a silly costume on Mainstreet USA inside Disneyland, not on a Grand Piano in a Tux at an international music symposium. This was done to be silly and entertaining and quite frankly he succeeded. Lighten up.

[JamesPriceJohnson]

do gon he gonna break that piana playin like that good job though

[Wayne99LL]

woow

[ZeroZenta]

This was pretty good!

[LorgonJortle]

Not as good as Rod Miller, but he still kicks ass.