Improvised blues piano rag -- Tom Brier

Tom was playing for about three minutes before I realized that he wasn't playing anything in particular...

This was shortly after 1:30 a.m. late Saturday / early Sunday in Sutter Creek, California, during the weekend of the ragtime festival there.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• blues
• piano
• ragtime
• suttercreek
• skunk
• hollow
• tom
• brier
• improvisation
• impro
• improv
• improvised

[aardvark2468]

is there a theory book i could buy, or some type of scales and cords in particular that could help me with this type of improv?

[Keeper1st]

Other than learning music theory and playing this type of music a whole heck of a lot, I'm not sure. There certainly are plenty of books about music theory, and jazz or blues, and lots of blues publications and recordings to learn from. Tom has been playing this kind of music since before you were born, so he's got a bit of a head start on ya...!

[ragtimedanny]

I so appreciate your camera's full attention to the hands and keyboard. I can't learn much from faces and backs.

[Keeper1st]

Well, in this case, it was to help Tom to transcribe the music should he care to. There's another video of Tom improvising a faster number yet to be posted, parts of which were shot by holding the camera over his shoulder.

[GinWizard3]

wow thats really good

[KawhackitaRag]

@DaMJBM I hear a little bit of Jelly Roll Morton and Clarence Williams stylistic touches in this, amongst MANY other influences. Tom could tell you much better than I could. The tune is a good one, and at least one of the choruses sounds (probably coincidentally) like "Them Doggon'd Trilfin' Blues" by Will Skidmore (1917), which happens to be one of my favorites!

[amplimax]

God, I would give so much to be able to just sit down and play like this.

[Sylvanas590]

Anyone have a transcribed copy of this?

[Keeper1st]

@ianjcameron We're referring to how long and slow the tapering is on this piano compared to most others. Most pianos, the black key extends almost all the way to the board, with a sudden drop at the end. This piano's black keys, however, have that long, gradual tapering which is very unusual.

[ianjcameron]

@Keeper1st

Take a look at the construction of the keyboard. The whites are flat, and fit under the faceboard. If the blacks weren't tapered, they'd interfere. It they were made like a letter 'L' (with a notch to fit under the faceboard) they'd be weak.

[primolander]

Are there any books or websites that he can recommend me to learn this style?

[scrowley524]

This is awesome! I hope to be able to improvise like this someday.

[LudwigVonKoopa64]

tom should really publish this... I have this on my mp3 player and listen to it a lot... often It will just start playing in my head and I try to remember what song it is. Then I remember.. Oh! its Brier Blues! haha

[lolocowboy]

Thank you Tom.

Are you sure you're just not moving your fingers and it's really a pianola? I saw your feet moving.

uh