Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin played by Sue Keller

[acblackbird]

fantastico



[flychick999]

PERFECTION Best Maple leaf Ive heard well done Sue <3 <3

[TheEduardoVI]

Thats insane

[xHunululu]

Awesome !

[katesmart100]

I've never heard the maple leaf played this way before....It sounds totally awesome!

[flutepianoChica]

Anywhere I can get sheet music for this awesome arrangement? Thanks!

[rtpress]

@flutepianoChica I've put a link in the description area to a rough cut of it. When Sue gets a more detailed notation done, look for it on Kindle.

[giacomoSF]

Sue Keller. What else ?

[MrHankypanky999]

My God why do people always argue on YouTube comments, and I agree with Aluminiumimmunitaet, how can anybody play anything if they don't understand it. My opinion is that this woman is mad and she should have just composed a different piece instead of playing that! Key is A flat major and then for the third section only it goes to D flat major . . . blah blah blah . . . . . . . . .

[BIadeSnap]

la rompe con el piano!

[xlollitox]

Wow! perfect performance, not like others "maple leaf rag" videos!!!

[chanlongching666]

 57 can't understand music

[Aluminiumimmunitaet]

@chanlongching666 music is nothing you need to unterstand newb

[chanlongching666]

@Aluminiumimmunitaet lol you can't learn music if you don't understand it noooooob

[chanlongching666]

@chanlongching666 lol players don't understand music and play the piano lol

you are insane because

you can't even know which key lol mr nooooooob

[avonixxinova]

Wonderful!

[taylor61160]

Also too fast

[taylor61160]

I hate it when people re-arrange the work of a genius

She is a great player but lacks humility

sorry

[lorenzotrojan]

@taylor61160 music is made by human beings... it either evolves or it dies

[taylor61160]

@lorenzotrojan Not

[RagtimeGus]

@taylor61160 I positively agree with you my friend. on everything . . .

[plucknpick]

@taylor61160 You missed it......she is interpreting and showing off HER skill as a musician- she is far above Scott Joplin in musical ability, and therefore is able to interpolate and produce a NEW piece that is stronger, I feel IMHO is better, and more entertaining.

Does she replace Mr. Joplin? Of course not.

[opoqu]

@plucknpick Agreed!!! :D

[spokornicki]

52 people can't play as well as this woman! :)

[Somuchcooleronline1]

You can?

[spokornicki]

@Somuchcooleronline1 I was referring to the 52 people (at that time) who disliked the video. and no, i definitely cannot play even remotely as well.

[MisterPapageno]

I have found your interpretation lovely, ironic and funny :) thank you :)

[ArgyrosGabriel]

You retards disliked this piece don't know crap about ragtime.

Shame on you !!

[xSke7ch]

You are wonderful. I have a request! COuld you do this, or, the 12th street rag, at a tempo of 330? thanks! :)

[peacefrogzs]

GREAT!!!! Love it:) !

[Lansdownekid]

fantastic playing, Sue must tour England, she would go down a storm! ;-)

Harry

[CooCurrent]

@Lansdownekid Don't forget Ireland! (That's where I live. Incidentally it's the north of Ireland. Why not call it a tour of the UK!)

[Zacharrr]

Seriously, even she wanted to change some parts of this piece, she made some mistakes.

On the other hand, it has the style ;)

[steveski74]

She's undeniably good, but frankly over interprets this stuff. I don't like her playing personally. Richard Zimmerman to me is the undeniable legend.

[ArisuUsagawa]

I just...I can't listen to all of it. It sounds WAAAAYYYY too different.

[pwells01]

Very entertaining! I don't mind the fast speed and I like your interpretation and transposition variation in the middle.

[Moonsmagicx]

that was amazing!!!!! you rooooock lol ......noo you jazzzzzzzzzzz

[hessu3]

almost everyone plays it too fast... this piece is much more funny if played with slow coolness :)

[cathiepops]

amazing playing :) but isn't it too fast? didn't scott joplin say that ragtime was never to be played fast? :| but kudos to her - i can't even play it slowly, let alone fast!

[cjhwth81]

Very powerful version ! I think maple leaf rag is over played so why not spice it up. And Sue is the one to do just that. Sue's version and Bill Edwards version are the top for maple leaf rag on here!

[music11man11]

Talented, didn't hit any wrong notes, good improv.

Way, way, to fast.

[doglover4435]

i don't like this version.......

[davefrog100]

you go girl, you got rythem, by far and away the best and most spirited version ive heard to date i also have been playing for fifty years but unlike yourself i cant read write or even say music so check out my channel on youtube, davefrog100

[stvynix]

She could even make a boring song sound great. She definitely has a gift of awakening any song. Great job Sue.

[amazing763]

I'm rather amused to read all the comments that whine about Sue's playing. Somehow if she doesn't play this classic in their chosen way, she's wrong. Hint: Sue's better than all of ya put together.

Same thing happens to many performers. "I want to feel more important than this clown on the stage. I'll tell ya what a poor job he's doing." It happens to me if I put my player piano out in public. The complaint then is that the Elvis piano roll lacks Elvis's voice. "Sounds better on my CD player."

[elPacaManca]

Aww Sue, you make me smile! Brilliant playing.

[PianoFreak0127]

Creative... But i must say i dont like when there is too many changes added to the music. But i easily give u 4 out of 5 for creativity. Well done on that note.

[PierreLombardini]

scott must of loved the piano, like me, but im ashamed to say that i cant love it more than him, because he created great stuff like this..

[Patrixpiano1]

i love this miss!!!!!

[Klaviererlebnis]

great!

[eloab]

EPIC

[dirkdebekker]

This is one of the best renditions I've heard of Maple leaf rag.

[narutoninjutsu]

Awesome, Anyone notice how gentle she plays the piano? Us guys give ourselves arthritis by tensing out hands when playing. She seems to have Joplin's ability to improvise :P

[CooCurrent]

I can't believe i'm hearing negative comments here, that was awesome!

[trydreamin]

I love this woman - butcher or not - she is standing up while she is playing some of this piece. I really love her for that - plain enthusiasm. Maybe she just had an itch.

[XxNextGenVirusxX]

Hey I play this one too... and I think I'm not bad. But I got like 0 Views.

Please check my Video out cause I'm new

[Tellullahmusicxx]

She is an absolute legend! Love this soooo much! A lot of the time when people play this piece that fast, they lose all sense of rhythm and where the beat is etc, but this....well, this is amazing! :)

[calum6371]

Would it be possible to write sheet music with this improvisation included please? I'm a 17 year old pianist, I've only been playing 2 years and so I'm struggling to figure out what you're doing to copy it. I can improve my own way around this piece but it would be great if I could have a copy of yours too because it's amazing!

[sarayaz1992]

the intro is amazing! i play this song and its no where near as good as youu! she has a great swing to it

[thenotoriousadin]

last course you can bring out the soups! 0:16

[maxdds0211]

Bravo, bravo, BRAVO, Sue !! I am a classical pianist who excels at Mozart and beethoven with their simple harmonic progressions and end up in tonic, etc etc -- I wouldn't know HOW to "wander into d-flat" but your modulation sounded AWESOME !!

I have a different version of this piece, perhaps more "straight-forward" (classical?) than your performance. I WANT YOURS !! How can I get it ? --or did you do your own improvisation ? If so, that's a talent I don't have.

BRAVO again !!!!

[TaeChanvit]

granny rock !!! u r the magnificent beast

[Patrixpiano]

I LOVE THIS LADY :P

[2106u]

Delicatissimamente!

[11klanger11]

a little fast for me, it seemed to occasionally lose the syncopation which is essential for the ragtime feel. still very good though!

[debussy84]

OMG! This lady is the BOMB!

[smitty747]

AWESOME job Sue. You have inspired me to LEARN this masterpiece by Mr. Joplin. I'm currently relearning The Entertainer. Hope I can find more of your vids on here Sue. Also really enjoyed the tempo you played this song. Job WELL DONE SUE.....5 STARS !

[redbaron863]

yeeah..great

[cwldoc]

That was really original and of course marvelously played! Thank you for posting!

[Jimjones1980]

Fantastic as it was the style was played a bit too fast. It didn't allow the song to breathe and it seemed Sue was in a rush to play. Bravo, either way though!

[Grace4469]

that was fantastic!!!!!!

[xxlili222xx]

wow!!!!

[brandweer14]

she had atleast 100 years to practice lol

[poopingeneral]

@brandweer14 lol at your comment

[civentura]

It makes me happy!

[k1kuj1r0]

woooooooooow she is really amazing, this remix is awesome! For me she really understands the spirit of ragtime. BIG UP I SAY

a little hyper though :p

[Kapomafioso]

Simplified rhytms, showing off...But like the change around 2:00

oh, and his is supposed to be played on Upright piano...

[kevinandger]

is it just me or does 1:45-1:48 sound off

[HTLight]

....yeaaaaa it could be her own modulation...i HIGHLY doubt this woman made a mistake.

[jmcqueen3]

that's how it's written

[doooobies332]

not really a fan of faster interpretations but i like this one. good job sweet lips.

[lauraneville]

I really love this interpretation. Yes, it may be too fast ( or at least what is indicated by traditional ragtime)....but light, spirited and - great playing!

thanks from Kansas

[goldreserve]

sorry, for me it's too fast, too mechanical.

[charliehutchings]

Awesomse pianist. Doesn't really put a note wrong but it. It would have been played quite a bit slower originally though.

[RussakMC]

gr8... can some1 send me the sheets of this gr8 piece, plz?

[bratsable]

Finally ! A woman who can play Maple Leaf Rag with good feeling, rhythm and blues. Nice intepretation ! Excellent, bravo !

[mataplaa]

You can really feel the blues within her interpretations.

[nodise0920]

great!

She is good at enphasizing.

[lesliecmwong]

She's great, yet her speed goes faster as the song goes along......

[Slrainox]

That's the point...

[piratesmvp]

I have no experience when it comes to ragtime, so this is an ignorant question. Does rythym and tempo in ragtime not matter as much as other types of music? Because I play classical on the piano and those things are extremely vital to playing properly.

[rtpress]

I asked her your question and she says rhythm in expressive live performance ragtime is more complicated an issue than other types of music. Particularly those often played with a metronome or click track. The toughest thing being syncopation from which ragtime probably gets its name... ragged timing. Classic ragtime puts syncopation in the right hand. East Coast ragtime syncopates both hands. Boogie influence might even add tricks like 5 over 4.

Howard

[piratesmvp]

Interesting. Thanks for asking asking her!

[cjhwth81]

I enjoy all of Sue Kellers videos...She puts good life into Ragtime etc.......Hope to hear her play live next year!!

[MusartJD]

really awesome playing fantastic, but it's too fast. This song everyone has an obsession with playing fast, it's a two step song. Anyways fantastic playing! :)

[orion7763]

Sue Keller is brilliant.

[terryhurley1]

great

[pierlu94]

xfect!!!!

[Waldimart]

way to much stakkator

[gc28gc28]

I wish she hadn't cut the 3rd strain short - that's my favourite section!

[russ2246]

I agree, but it's also one of the tougher sections of the piece. Although the emphasis on the first and second strains was a good choice. I can hear a few John Arpin ideas in there too. It's interesting to see how much influence other piano artists have on each other's output :) Great Work Sue! :)

[chopinlover2011]

i agree.

[scottg4life]

check out my recording of maple leaf rag and other joplin recordings. please vies comment and rate.thank you

[paulcopeland]

Another great performance by Sue. I really liked the total control of the left hand and the clear articulations. Well done indeed. Paul.

[anthrocubist]

AAA. excellent! well done!

[Jordanrclarke]

i love how she has to stand up. very intense song!

[littleschlemiel]

awesome !!!

[S3iy]

Incredibly well made!

[PrescriptionDeath]

incredible playing

[TNFerrell]

That was awesome. Seriously. Well done.

[pianist626262]

very special! thank you!

[RobertoFasciano]

So it's very good

[dgwilym]

hairs stood on end, tears from eyes, a warmth pulsing throughout my soul.

Thanks......

[boogoobee]

OMG...that was awesome...I appreciate the talent that it takes to put your own personality into this piece. You nailed it girlfriend. You made this one your own..

[cegriso]

bravissima!

[alanb39]

Helen Keller's sister

[HEINZLECHNER]

the best rag ever written

[dianeding]

SO So FAST

AWeSOmE

[anitamcgahern]

Let's face it, she is obviously a snob when it comes to Ragtime. Just take note of her first comment before she started.."you can bring out the kazoo for the last chorus" I've heard her butcher other Joplin numbers as well....he'd be rolling in his grave!

[jamzie2]

yeah, i bet you cant play like her >:(

[rtpress]

Anita. Aboot this time every year Sue does a piece that she composed called "Cleanin Up Christmas"... in which she does the Kazoo part while playing the piano. I think she had just performed that one and that's what the comment was in reference to. Sorry I didn't film it for you but it is on I-Tunes if you want to hear it.

Howard

[fingerscarr]

@anitamcgahern ... snob ! ? ... nonsense ... even if the kazoo ref was to the rag ! obviously just a bit of levity ... whatever kazoo means . as for her playing this is a s clean and fluent a rendition as i've heard , inc by farrell and castle ..and with greater sensitivity , variety

[fingerscarr]

@anitamcgahern ..... be cautious about jumping to conclusions about the snob tag ! ....... anyway nothing wrong about being a bit of a snob .... better that than some of the gutter types you can find  elsewhere on the tube ... and especially if you can play like her

[CooCurrent]

@anitamcgahern I do not agree with you on that one.

[hhhynes]

but ... she changed it :(

[Keeper1st]

Well, yeah... It's ragtime. No ragtime player worth his or her salt plays a tune exactly as it appears on the page. Never did when the music was new, never do now. (Particularly something so mundane as Maple Leaf Rag.)

[rtpress]

You're right. Specifically, right after the C-Section she repeats A and B in D-flat. Up from A-flat. Sue tells me she got the idea after discovering that the piece seemed to be designed with a certain symmetry that allows the key change by just sliding your hands over with unchanged fingering. Making it easiest to do if you don't look at the keys. Hard to believe Scott Joplin composed it that way by accident. Considering that he sends the D-section into D-flat anyway.

Howard

[88keyes]

@rtpress Howard, I am the one who discovered the key change in this song and turned Sue onto it. I couldn't believe it was so wasy by just moving your hands up, everything falls the same way. You can tell her I watched this and thanks for the recognition.

Gary L. Price

[rtpress]

@88keyes Hi there, Gary Price. Sue says Hi too. And that she's been playing it this way ever since you first showed it to her all those years ago back in Decatur.

Howard

[88keyes]

@rtpress Hi Howard & Sue, of all the people I showed this to she is the only one that could do it. If you think about it you won't be able to do it. I think it sounds great! I've enjoyed watching all her video's on here along with many others. YouTube is just wonderful!

Gary Price

[goesfastandfar]

This player has a very odd way of interpreting great songs. She omits to "massage" the keys and get the real feel of this piece, as she is slamming and rushing her way through it. She did stay with the hooks however, that trademark this song. A difficult piece to play at the best of times. Make no mistake, this woman can play. But she dearly needs someone to bring her back to what these songs are supposed to sound like. Otherwise, she'll just be another player butchering good pieces.

[Keeper1st]

This wasn't the song version of Maple Leaf; this was the instrumental rag version. It's a MARCH; it's supposed to be rousing -- not massaged. This IS what Maple Leaf is supposed to sound like, when Sue plays it. When someone else plays it, it will sound somewhat different. Every performer has a different style and his/her own "tricks". Back in the era, that was what got them jobs as pianists. Nobody wanted to hear a tune as it was published; they could do that themselves at home.

[Longgun46]

pretty good i guess. No offense to her but ive seen some better ones. she seems to take it to far from the original

[ShokaAttenborough]

She does play fantastically, but I guess I'm a bit of a purist with these old ragtime pieces. Anything that strays away from the original writing... Mmm... No, she does play it well though.

[schismc]

Wow! Amazing! This one sends me into deep space where the aliens using eight digits per limb and a hexadecimal music system still can't match Sue's technical ability or feeling.

[Cr3ativity]

Just pure talent. I wish you could teach me how to play piano; no one else but you:)

[lightrays]

No, it's not a bit too fast, it is just right and if you think it's awful you just don't know piano playing. This is fabulous. Some people don't like it because they can't do it.

[tomotamadai]

この人の演奏好き＾＾

cool!!

[forwardtenth]

Hey I just clocked you doing in excess of 130 Bars/min Is that legal in the US of A. I just tried it managed 125 but struck out at 130. You are amazing, I loved every minute.

[maxleoncini]

Bollani rules !

[Cumul0Nimbus]

I think she did a great job. Yes, it deviates from traditional ragtime style, but you can't deny a superb musician her creativity. There are plenty of people playing ragtime traditionally never bringing anything new to the table. It's good to have a little variety.

[blinkbrasil]

Sensational, Nice feeling, very nice interpretation !!! :D Thats well, u play really amaizing !:D

[illidnarg]

THIS IS NOT SCOTT JOPLIN---it is SUE KELLER--not GREAT like Joplin--but still good in it's own way

[Guitar4Life2007]

what is your point, it says PLAYED BY SUE KELLER IN THE TITLE!!

[heysupyall111]

Im pretty sure that when people saw a woman at the piano, not a african american man, they knew it wasnt Scott Joplin...

[Reeal15]

Yeah lol. (She plays pretty damn good though! Very good for such a fast tempo!)

[oakhill49]

i love it, dont care what ya'll say.. she's zooming!

[guyc]

just stick to the score, u clearly have the ability to play it well so stop trying to make it unique by putting expression that doesnt fit in the song

[Keeper1st]

Nobody in ragtime plays Maple Leaf as it appears on the page. Joplin didn't; why should we? Ragtime scores were almost all created by editors who simplified the tunes so that they could be played by average teenage girls (i.e., the people who were buying the sheet music).

[charliegf91]

She kills Joplin with this arrangement. I don´t like this. The original is best

[thphaca]

Very true, but it was played with extreme precision, I give her props for that. Still at the cost of rhythm that made it a Joplin song though.

[Squarerig]

jetzt wisst ihr es.Das heisst Klavierspielen eine der Besten die ich je gehoert habe.Grossartig!

[dannqc]

Vous êtes une Dame ! Sincèrement, bravo !

Mes hommages...

[animesis]

very nice arrangement!!

[tonyburza]

JAJAJAJAJJA SHE's TE BESTT!!!!

MY GODD!!! u.u

[Maximus1024]

GOOOODD!!!

[rangeguy12]

ace!

[npearson13]

That's Amazing

[pianomonica]

Beautiful performance!

[knuteska]

This is gold! :D

[suli83]

Best version I've listened to

in youtube