Wow, this sounds incredible! Who would've known that all it takes for this ragtime to sound 100% better was just a little bit of sustain pedal! I love it!
Depends on the tune my friend ;) Joplin wrote his pieces very meticulously. Joshua Rifkin generally speaking did the best job of using sustain pedal to produce beautifully lyrical legato without clouding up the tune. I was playing this sloppy on purpose, the piano has a REALLY bad sustain system. If I don't let the pedal practically fling back up into rest position the notes don't stop ringing and it just sounds horribly washed out. I'd rather play this on a nice Yamaha grand any day I'll be honest.
I didn't think they key of G could sound this good, but the sustain gives me a grand sense of being in a massive hall with the piano right around a corner, with me being unable to find it! its great!
G's a nice key, Maple Leaf Rag sort of works in it (works weirdly well in F sharp actually but that's as low as it can really be played before it starts to get too tubby) but I personally think Maple Leaf Rag in A major is the pinnacle of beauty for this tune.
@@PiotrBarcz for me, I think that with perfectly tuned pianos, the order is: A>F sharp>C sharp> B somewhat tied with A flat> G>>C, but when the tuning is flat, G can stand out a lot more. For me, I also think I’m a spectrum of Connorised rolls-Jelly Roll Morton, which sometimes impacts the ranking, but one favourite thing of mine is to use some parts of theleft hand line for Worlverine blues for maple leaf in A
I definitely don't think this is too fast, for one. For most of his other rags, I would say yes, but I make exception for Maple Leaf Rag since it's not a melodic rag in the way of others and it's marked tempo di marcia rather than "slow march tempo" like others. You kept the syncopation, and didn't make it sound frantic or like a speed contest. I think that's really what Joplin was trying to caution against. Solid performance!
Hmm, I personally like Joshua Rifkin's speed on his later recording of Maple Leaf Rag. He got so much more clarity and also at this speed you can't do that really subtle swing at the end of the strains like he did. The voicing leading is impossible to clearly define at this speed with this much pedal too. It's a deceptively melodic rag ;)
@@PiotrBarcz While I'm sure I've heard his rendition, I can't recall what it sounds like. Right now I can't listen but I'll try to remember to later. I think a range of tempos is ok as long as the interpretation makes sense. By melodic I guess I meant vocal...trying to sing the Maple Leaf isn't natural. It's more of a "riff rag" if that makes sense.
This was an unholy recording, and yet I still somehow managed to enjoy it. I don't know why Piotr, but it would seem that you're the only guy I know who can play a Joplin composition in such an anti-Joplin way and I somehow don't get pissed off at you for it! Though that's probably because you intentionally played it in an incorrect manner, lmao. 😂
@@PiotrBarcz Hah, no doubt! I sure as hell would be having fun. Also, that is good to know! Well...it's not, but I'm glad that finally, FOR ONCE, my Chromebook is not the bane of my existence. Though, that will definitely change soon.
Oof xD Like I said, gotta move your recordings and everything else to a computer to keep your phone clear. Most phones, despite having 64 gigabytes of storage or more often times only have a couple gigabytes free because of everything on them and that 2 gigabytes will run out mighty quickly with high definition video.
@@PiotrBarcz That’s terrible advice. I see why you would say that but you never know if UA-cam could just delete your channel, disable the feature, delete some videos, or just straight out die at any time. My father always makes a point of never storing your stuff on someone else’s website
Yeah, I was abusing it on purpose xD This is how a lot of goofballs think the tune is supposed to be played. I'm going to pitch raise the piano today actually and then have Chris do the fine tuning tomorrow. Should save him some time.
This sounds like you’re in a room with a lot of reverb :D did you tweak the audio at all? Also have you heard this in B? I love it, and especially Tom playing it as a waltz haha!
My thoughts - I don't think Scott Joplin cares anymore how people play The Maple Leaf Rag. For all we know, he could be smiling and waiting for the day someone turns it into rap music. 😅 Until then, it's been the inspiration for many up and coming pianists who love the song. Play it fast, play it slow.... it won't be nearly as offensive as those people who do vocal aerobics with the National Anthem at a ball game!
Well yeah he's dead but it would be nice if at more pianists actually treated his music seriously and got the same amount of attention that the amateurs (who more often than not absolutely suck) do.
@PiotrBarcz So I have a question. Many well known and respected ragtime pianists play this even faster. Example, (and you've seen the video) there is that "3 Pianos on Fire" Suttercreek performance of Tom Brier, Patrick Aranda and Frederick Hodges about 14 years ago, playing this all together and much faster than what you've played it here. Were they then not treating this music with respect due to the speed they were playing it? Yes? No? 🤔 In the comments of that song, you commented it was the most insane version you'd ever heard. Was that just a nice way of commenting that they weren't taking it serious? I always thought this was a very serious approach to mastering a masterpiece 😊 Maybe I've been wrong? I put the link below for others reading to see the performance I'm referring to. ua-cam.com/video/J9ilv5_m-pE/v-deo.htmlsi=TKKRJTF3dYp_8HyV
@@SevenPlus65 That's a very astute observation. In the case of that 3 pianos on fire performance the idea was to make as flamboyant of an arrangement as possible. In that specific case I believe the idea and the execution make sense given the goal of the concert. Also should be noted that Tom in particular understood Joplin but he just straight up didn't care and played his music how he felt like playing it, bombastic with tons of resonance support from the sustain pedal however he still played it with some brainpower, he didn't just mash the keys as hard as possible or play dryly with no expression. I feel like the biggest issue I see isn't even the lack of people playing Joplin specifically taking into account the baroque influences of the tunes, the fact that rushing them makes it impossible to clearly play the precise voicing and harmony Joplin wrote into his work. It's the sad fact that many amateur pianists who perform the tunes rather badly are getting far more attention on the internet (and by result are treated like "authentic ragtime players") while the pianists who tried their best to get as close as to what Joplin would've intended are totally ignored or worse slandered for playing the pieces heartlessly and being dismissed as boring or colorless playing. The opposite being true especially in the case of Joshua Rifkin who's Joplin interpretations are about as accurate as you can get yet people complain about just the fact he played them on a Yamaha grand and not a destroyed upright piano.
This isn't way too fast, might even be too slow. If we believe that Joplin was a hardline classical enjoyer this piece should be played in *Tempo Di Marcia* which is usually 120bpm. Considering that *Fast* means *Allegro* we should be good playing his pieces below 125bpm when no specific tempo marking is notated.
Despite that tempo marking method a lot of Sedalia ragtime was played far slower, closer to the 90 to 100 bpm range. A faster tempo also completely destroys the clarity in the brilliant, baroque influenced, voice leading that Joplin wrote into his work. Joshua Rifkin's recordings are spectacular in that respect, he played this rag in particular with such relaxed clarity so that allows one to hear all the little details that are otherwise lost to speed and overuse of sustain.
That's true xD. Jelly Roll Mortons Missouri version is probably the closest we can get to an athentic recording of the piece. On a side note, I would sell my first born to hear Fats recording of this classic he certainly knew.
@@tutentyp6934 Brun Campbell's earlier recording of Maple Leaf Rag is probably even more authentic. It's slow and plodding but with a sort of old school roughness that a lot of sedalia pianists had to their playing.
Wow, this sounds incredible! Who would've known that all it takes for this ragtime to sound 100% better was just a little bit of sustain pedal! I love it!
Depends on the tune my friend ;) Joplin wrote his pieces very meticulously. Joshua Rifkin generally speaking did the best job of using sustain pedal to produce beautifully lyrical legato without clouding up the tune.
I was playing this sloppy on purpose, the piano has a REALLY bad sustain system. If I don't let the pedal practically fling back up into rest position the notes don't stop ringing and it just sounds horribly washed out.
I'd rather play this on a nice Yamaha grand any day I'll be honest.
I didn't think they key of G could sound this good, but the sustain gives me a grand sense of being in a massive hall with the piano right around a corner, with me being unable to find it! its great!
G's a nice key, Maple Leaf Rag sort of works in it (works weirdly well in F sharp actually but that's as low as it can really be played before it starts to get too tubby) but I personally think Maple Leaf Rag in A major is the pinnacle of beauty for this tune.
@@PiotrBarcz for me, I think that with perfectly tuned pianos, the order is: A>F sharp>C sharp> B somewhat tied with A flat> G>>C, but when the tuning is flat, G can stand out a lot more. For me, I also think I’m a spectrum of Connorised rolls-Jelly Roll Morton, which sometimes impacts the ranking, but one favourite thing of mine is to use some parts of theleft hand line for Worlverine blues for maple leaf in A
I definitely don't think this is too fast, for one. For most of his other rags, I would say yes, but I make exception for Maple Leaf Rag since it's not a melodic rag in the way of others and it's marked tempo di marcia rather than "slow march tempo" like others. You kept the syncopation, and didn't make it sound frantic or like a speed contest. I think that's really what Joplin was trying to caution against. Solid performance!
Hmm, I personally like Joshua Rifkin's speed on his later recording of Maple Leaf Rag. He got so much more clarity and also at this speed you can't do that really subtle swing at the end of the strains like he did. The voicing leading is impossible to clearly define at this speed with this much pedal too. It's a deceptively melodic rag ;)
@@PiotrBarcz While I'm sure I've heard his rendition, I can't recall what it sounds like. Right now I can't listen but I'll try to remember to later. I think a range of tempos is ok as long as the interpretation makes sense. By melodic I guess I meant vocal...trying to sing the Maple Leaf isn't natural. It's more of a "riff rag" if that makes sense.
@@rowanbelt3612 Ah yes I get what you mean by vocal! I mean, there are lyrics to the rag but they're quite tongue twisting xD
This was an unholy recording, and yet I still somehow managed to enjoy it. I don't know why Piotr, but it would seem that you're the only guy I know who can play a Joplin composition in such an anti-Joplin way and I somehow don't get pissed off at you for it! Though that's probably because you intentionally played it in an incorrect manner, lmao. 😂
Also, I tried sending this comment earlier and it wouldn't load, so if you see the same comment from me twice, that's entirely my Chromebook's fault!
Ha xD I suppose it's also because the piano sounds kinda cool. It's fun hammering the bass sometimes.
@@GOL1912 UA-cam keeps on removing comments for some reason or not letting them go through so it's definitely on their end.
@@PiotrBarcz Hah, no doubt! I sure as hell would be having fun.
Also, that is good to know! Well...it's not, but I'm glad that finally, FOR ONCE, my Chromebook is not the bane of my existence. Though, that will definitely change soon.
This IS exactly what i like !!! Sorry Piotr !!! Keep going the same brilliant everything !!!
xD It's so sloppy though
@@PiotrBarcz Not perfect, but I definitely wouldn't say sloppy! We are all human.
@@rowanbelt3612 Yeah true xD Sloppy I meant as i n the ridiculous lack of control of nuance
Great performance!
Thanks XD It's a total train wreck!
I nearly uploaded this too today haha. My device run out of storage as I was recording it though
Oof xD Like I said, gotta move your recordings and everything else to a computer to keep your phone clear. Most phones, despite having 64 gigabytes of storage or more often times only have a couple gigabytes free because of everything on them and that 2 gigabytes will run out mighty quickly with high definition video.
@@PiotrBarcz Well I went to and my computer was too full to take the videos so I had to spend the afternoon faffing with a hard drive
@@dylan-kerry Delete videos you've uploaded to youtube from your computer, you can download them again anyway xD That's my method of saving space.
@@PiotrBarcz That’s terrible advice. I see why you would say that but you never know if UA-cam could just delete your channel, disable the feature, delete some videos, or just straight out die at any time. My father always makes a point of never storing your stuff on someone else’s website
Nice playing! I agree with you that there quite a bit of sustain pedal, good luck with the tuning on Thursday!
Yeah, I was abusing it on purpose xD This is how a lot of goofballs think the tune is supposed to be played.
I'm going to pitch raise the piano today actually and then have Chris do the fine tuning tomorrow. Should save him some time.
@@PiotrBarcz sounds good! I’m sure it’ll play much better afterwards
@@darracqboy It'll at least not have three keys that are up to pitch while everything is flatter xD
This sounds like you’re in a room with a lot of reverb :D did you tweak the audio at all? Also have you heard this in B? I love it, and especially Tom playing it as a waltz haha!
Yes there is some reverb on the mic inputs xD yeah I heard it in B, Max Keenlyside did the last strain in B the best though ;)
@@PiotrBarcz xD Oh awesome I’ll have to check it out I haven’t seen it!
. . . . and a half-step down.
Step and a quarter if you take into account the piano is sitting at 436 right now!
My thoughts - I don't think Scott Joplin cares anymore how people play The Maple Leaf Rag. For all we know, he could be smiling and waiting for the day someone turns it into rap music. 😅 Until then, it's been the inspiration for many up and coming pianists who love the song. Play it fast, play it slow.... it won't be nearly as offensive as those people who do vocal aerobics with the National Anthem at a ball game!
Well yeah he's dead but it would be nice if at more pianists actually treated his music seriously and got the same amount of attention that the amateurs (who more often than not absolutely suck) do.
@PiotrBarcz So I have a question. Many well known and respected ragtime pianists play this even faster. Example, (and you've seen the video) there is that "3 Pianos on Fire" Suttercreek performance of Tom Brier, Patrick Aranda and Frederick Hodges about 14 years ago, playing this all together and much faster than what you've played it here. Were they then not treating this music with respect due to the speed they were playing it? Yes? No? 🤔 In the comments of that song, you commented it was the most insane version you'd ever heard. Was that just a nice way of commenting that they weren't taking it serious? I always thought this was a very serious approach to mastering a masterpiece 😊 Maybe I've been wrong?
I put the link below for others reading to see the performance I'm referring to.
ua-cam.com/video/J9ilv5_m-pE/v-deo.htmlsi=TKKRJTF3dYp_8HyV
@@SevenPlus65 That's a very astute observation. In the case of that 3 pianos on fire performance the idea was to make as flamboyant of an arrangement as possible. In that specific case I believe the idea and the execution make sense given the goal of the concert.
Also should be noted that Tom in particular understood Joplin but he just straight up didn't care and played his music how he felt like playing it, bombastic with tons of resonance support from the sustain pedal however he still played it with some brainpower, he didn't just mash the keys as hard as possible or play dryly with no expression.
I feel like the biggest issue I see isn't even the lack of people playing Joplin specifically taking into account the baroque influences of the tunes, the fact that rushing them makes it impossible to clearly play the precise voicing and harmony Joplin wrote into his work.
It's the sad fact that many amateur pianists who perform the tunes rather badly are getting far more attention on the internet (and by result are treated like "authentic ragtime players") while the pianists who tried their best to get as close as to what Joplin would've intended are totally ignored or worse slandered for playing the pieces heartlessly and being dismissed as boring or colorless playing.
The opposite being true especially in the case of Joshua Rifkin who's Joplin interpretations are about as accurate as you can get yet people complain about just the fact he played them on a Yamaha grand and not a destroyed upright piano.
This isn't way too fast, might even be too slow. If we believe that Joplin was a hardline classical enjoyer this piece should be played in *Tempo Di Marcia* which is usually 120bpm. Considering that *Fast* means *Allegro* we should be good playing his pieces below 125bpm when no specific tempo marking is notated.
Despite that tempo marking method a lot of Sedalia ragtime was played far slower, closer to the 90 to 100 bpm range. A faster tempo also completely destroys the clarity in the brilliant, baroque influenced, voice leading that Joplin wrote into his work. Joshua Rifkin's recordings are spectacular in that respect, he played this rag in particular with such relaxed clarity so that allows one to hear all the little details that are otherwise lost to speed and overuse of sustain.
We'll sadly never truly know since Joplin didn't record anything. My Maple Leaf needs tempo, James P. Johnson's version is where it's at imo.
@@tutentyp6934 Yeah though James P. Johnson practically rewrote the tune xD
That's true xD. Jelly Roll Mortons Missouri version is probably the closest we can get to an athentic recording of the piece.
On a side note, I would sell my first born to hear Fats recording of this classic he certainly knew.
@@tutentyp6934 Brun Campbell's earlier recording of Maple Leaf Rag is probably even more authentic. It's slow and plodding but with a sort of old school roughness that a lot of sedalia pianists had to their playing.
i can play it faster :P
So can I!