Root Beer Rag Tempo 156 written by Billy Joel

[THEraginBADGER]

its played faster than in the album i think the album speed is better

[Andre1515xxx]

@THEraginBADGER Hey you are right ! But what is the only one tempo?? Í have a recording of Billy, where he plays it at 180 bpm. There´sonly one person who knows the answer ;-)

[BrianAveryPiano]

That was really well done. Way to follow the metronome cause you know it won't follow you.

[TurbofanDude]

Sounds great, I played at 205 (yes, correctly, other than a second here and there) and my wrist was swolen!

[TurbofanDude]

Hey, I can play at 205. LOL You sound great

[Andre1515xxx]

Hey man, why not play it with 250 bpm. Guess it sounds much greater ;-)))

[TurbofanDude]

@Andre1515xxx I can barely tap my foot to 250, lol. It sounds better aroun 156-160, I just play it there because I Can. Personally, I like it slower. :)

[Schoorsch32]

@TurbofanDude

But it's much more fun to fight with yourself to keep the 250 :)

[TurbofanDude]

@Schoorsch32 lol, I got 215 once, but it was pretty damn hard

[eltonj4ever]

wow you're good! :D

[mike4853]

Nice one ;) Perfect speed ! i like it this way ! =)

[Schoorsch32]

i think there was a video from you before.

best one =)

[Andre1515xxx]

thanks :-)

[ninjaquest]

This is definitely one of he best, if not the best rendition of this I've seen that isn't Joel himself.

Well done!

[yasoxxxx]

Amazing!

[huggedtodeath93]

on the album "streetlife serendade" this song is played in the key C Flat...eww!

Nice playing, I wish I could do that!

[quadrelatera]

C Flat really? damn thats what I thought when I heard the recording. lol thats not fun at ALL!

[cambridget]

lol C flat? how unorthodox, youd think theyd just write the signature of B major as an alterntative = S not that B major is not annoying but at least its less annoying that C flat!

[Andre1515xxx]

The grand was (de) tuned !! He was always playing in C.

[NerdBoy001]

how long did it take you to work this out? you are just wow....you make me look like a beginner

[ducky3d]

=D good job!

[Stormbubi]

ha is das geil xD

[brentsummers1]

im still working on this song, words cant describe how awesome that was.

[chicagospots]

Best version of Root Beer Rag I've seen. You breezed through the difficult lines! Nice job!

[Formetheus]

Amazing. Do you have the sheet music for that? I'm blown away.

[Mark4669]

Clap Clap Clap!

[Oukbok]

great played :)

[dahur]

Damn that was good!

[pianoperson12345]

dude, that was crazy good, as the poptart stick figure people would say! No, but really though, you played amazing.

[heyiplaypiano]

i started learning this about a year ago then i stopped. you make this look so easy.

amazing

[daemu77]

das tönt echt hammer mässig

ich bin auch am lernen ;)

mach weiter so

[ducatirafi]

ja ist wirklich sehr virtuos wie komme ich an Noten für Piano.

[JamesLiveProductions]

You are good man!

[JordanDupuis101]

Wow. That was really good. You = GOD :) Now give your hands :D

[AlligatorJack01]

Hi.First of all,i have to say that i really really love your playing.You're doing a VERY good job,playing it on 156.Ofc you can try to go for 160,but the song is actually already fast enough and i think it's just right.

Really - well done!

But one thing i wish you woulda done:Wish you didnt turn on this background drums..it really is annoying.I wanna hear you play and not the drums :)

So maybe you can re-record it at some time without background music :D

Congratulations!

-Alligator Jack

[Stonejohn28]

mega!

[stefi144]

Sehr Gut!!! Bravo!!!

Mit Freundliche Grüssen : István

[rootinier]

very nice played!

[josephtierney11]

MOST EXCELLENT!!!

[curtmcd]

Don't bother going for 160... you did an excellent job at 156 and pushing it faster would ruin it!

[RockleeME]

verry verry nice from a girls point a view who plays this song 24/7 yer way better then me but then again considering my age.. who knows : - ) but very very nice

[murdererer2]

wow!! i think it's a fantastic version of this song, thank you very much!!

[ssstevenash]

hello :) could you mail me sheet music of this please? thanks

justysbasketball in yahoo

[lamborghinifreak]

I will. It should come soon but the quality might not be great .

[katubus]

billy would be proud. well done

[ppppppppppaaaaaaaaaa]

props man major props

[jamesypoo25]

do you know where i could buy this piece in C major for an instant download online????

please respond back

[gordo39432]

as opposed to the one in F# major?

[FATMIME]

Excellent job! Bravo!

[knabber35]

I´m play this song too. but not on a piano, i play it on a Akkordeon( i dont now the english name for "Akkordeon")

You playing very good! Respeckt!

Greetings from Germany/Dortmund

[D2checker]

what ur doing is not playing but raping the piano, OMG

tought

[jgelhaar]

Very good! Nice to see you playing the left hand that way (during the main melody).. I've played this song for a long time (I have a version of it in my medley video if you're interested in watching) but I've never played the left hand that way.

Your fingers look great. I don't have any comments to help you improve - you did it so well.

Wait, the only thing is that this song can't be played much faster - (the melody doesn't sound too good)

[purplepopel]

i am at the first page and you make it really good!

but i can play the refrain in tempo 160 too! thats not difficult but all....

[pstickel1337]

respect !

[grisele]

your damn good man! i have to play this with the chappel I'm in with my german flute. I don't get the point how I should play the lead in 136...

[anthonystuart69]

i got to see billy joel perform this live on november 17, and i can tell you, i thought i'd been watching the best piano player on earth. i've changed my mind after watching this one... i didn't notice more than one missed notes...even billy missed about 5 playing live

[akalcov]

You're badass! Do you have to do some kind of warm up before playing that?

[Andre1515xxx]

YAERS :-)

[sbbinahee]

Great job and entertaining to watch your handywork at the keys!

[Danetist]

Go up one octave there, please

[Andre1515xxx]

OK,...and then?

[p14n0m4n]

not yet ;) i saw atomterribles version and was unimpressed, as i say 180 is easy and its not the whole song. also the origional is at 144 so that music is at a slower tempo. it is a good piece yea especially when played by billy joel himself...and me, when you get to 200bpm tho it sounds silly [btw can anyone else do that? na didnt think so ;P]. this is one of the best versions on youtube though still because it doesnt sound like a mess

[atomterrible]

Search for "Root Beer Rag atomterrible".

[dnnykly]

Fer fucks sake the original tempo was written at 120 man I know, I had the music

[dnnykly]

Come to think of it< i don't recall the middle bit, there must be two or more versions of this song, I had the version that was 120, I remember that, But didn't have that middle chromatic bit, it finished differently too... very good dude!!

[p14n0m4n]

not bad..but i can play it at 180bpm with ease and trying i can do 200-210bpm. i dont know why but nobody seems to be able to play it as fast as billy joel, who usually did it in the 170-80bpm range when he performed it live yet ive only been playin properly for a few years

[benja54]

finished gloating, mate? i think its great anyone can play this.. its awesome :D

[Ansel989]

Hey, Do you have the sheet music for this, I'm currently unable to find it and I would really like to perfect it too a level in which it is good ^.^.

[backspin7]

Sweet! This song was oringinally meant to be played extrememly fast. Billy Joel used to play it as fast as he could in concerts, etc. Good Job!

[deltaechoromeo515]

Ok...awesome control and all but, remember, fast is not necessairly good. It loses its musicality when it's played so unbelievably fast. Impressive, but not overwhelming.

[multiplevitamin063]

good job!

[hupahupahupahupa]

ich will das lied auch so gut spielen können :D echt bewundernswert!!

[knut9a]

Richtig Geil (gespielt!! das Stück sowieso) =)

[wisecritic]

5 Stars also for this version (tempo 156) which is faster than the original 70s version in some spots. You do the original fine justice and the wisecritic thanks you for your contributions to youtube!

[BigSchroedi]

you are my star :-)

[Andre1515xxx]

Danke,....wollte schon immer einmal ein Star sein ;-)Frage: Wie kommt man auf die Bühne? Üben,üben,üben,....

[Rackergen]

Still awesome.

[Oppdal77]

amazing. Wish I could play it that well.

[louswire]

took awhile to get my mouth to close... nicely done!

[chimperooney]

well fuking dun. 130 is my limit with this piece and even at tht i usually make a few mistakes. well dun again

[Apachelar]

That was amazing dude, and yeah the sheet music would be great for this.

[interigator]

This is brilliant!

[Educs]

Again I am writting to you, this is just amazing. Thank you for passing me the sheet music. I wanted to know how long did it take you to learn this song. It seems imposible.

[LiverpoolPoet]

wowowowowowowowowowowowowowowo­wow! (my fingers moved almost as fast as yours typing that! ;0)

[LiverpoolPoet]

I'd love the sheet music too, if you have the time that is?

I keep watching you work, it's incredible!

[deathon2legs55]

You can get it out of the complete billy joel collection books. I bought both volumes at the music store. they're great books.

[daniscool99]

Well done, try to get the speed up a bit :). And for those of you who are in love lol get a hold of the music and try it out! its not as difficult as it sounds and its very impressive nonetheless, especially with a drummer and guitarist!

[wataf211110]

I love Billy Joel and that is like the master himself, some only associate Joel with Uptown Girl and such like but the guy has an amazing back catalogue from the early 70's such as this !!!

And to think he almost topped himself, what a waste that would have been....oh and don't forget Christie Brinkley - lucky sod !!!

[Ansel989]

Hey I did this song too.. and a couple of others so please check me out... I'm new but I promise my songs are worth wild

[sdfdsgerggr]

Holy cow! How long have you been playing?

Would you mind sending me the sheet music as well? I'd love to give this song a try!

[homestar216]

BEAST!!!! cant wait for 160

[Ansel989]

What key is this in?

[shini007]

Hi Andre1515xxx can you send me the sheets too? You play this very good!!

[muiscgangsta92]

Billy Joel himself would be proud. Absolutely Flawless. When are you going to go for 160?

[rinzable]

yes....yes you are a god. I bow down to you... I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!!!

[bsilverop]

wow that defines "flawless"

[nlllvqker]

Damn the torpedoes -  play it as fast as humanly possible 'til there's smoke billowing up from the keys! This song's made for performance, not sentimentality!

[Educs]

Exelent please can you tell me where can I find the sheet music?

[Andre1515xxx]

Hi Educs, I can send you the sheets via email.Greetings Andree

[donpiano1]

thank you andree. could you send me please your sheets of the root beer rag. thank you very much.

ps. brilliant playing

[issiro410]

ok, sry, now i know the original, its quite faster XD

[issiro410]

Awesome tempo and absolute clean!

But please, please, do me a favour, don't try to make it yet faster, you will destroy the song. ;-) (ich spreche aus erfahrung)

sers

[mcaly]

Viele Grüsse an Vera von Diego & Alain.She will know,who we are

[dg6da]

ok killerman, that's fast. But it took 42 years to come to this point...

[Andre1515xxx]

Thanks brother :-)

[HexenX]

WORKING ON IT?!

What's to work on?! :p

[Andre1515xxx]

....make it better and faster :-)

[Mullenfreek]

I play that song myself, but must say, u just MASTERED it.

[Andre1515xxx]

Thanx,Im working on it :-)