Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag on my 1924 Gulbransen upright player pianola. If you enjoy my content, consider buying me a coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/Christia...
In 1880 He hadn’t even started his career yet, he would’ve been just 13. His career didn’t begin until the late 1890s when he was in his 30s. It ended in 1917 when he passed away.
Hammers flat as dimes, unregulated action, old strings with bad dampers that cause a zinging sound, I had a Gulbransen from the same decade but not a player that sounded like a spitting image of this one.
This video inspired me to learn Maple Leaf Rag. I have heard this song so many times to the point that I actually kind of hated it, but after listening to this I just want to get up and dance. Gives me the chills! I love the way you play, and I love how Scott Joplin makes his harmony into a more "jazzier" style, if you know what I mean. Maple Leaf Rag has a lot of naturals in it, which makes it a very unique piece for its time
That was nicely played on a Gulbransen that used to be a pianola with the player stack removed as I used to work on them many years ago. Jim from AUSTRALIA.
This'll NEVER get old xddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
Came back after two years, still the best performance on RU-vid. I come here for the playing but 0:11 is what I stay for *BUM ba da ba BUM ba da ba* :D By the way, this sounds absolutely awesome in the key of G (yes people, I know perfectly well the piano is a semitone flat)! NOW POST MORE OR THE FBI WILL MAKE YOU xD
I'd argue that Max Keenlyside's Maple Leaf Rag Alt. or his live versions are best, but as far as the piece as written goes, I do have to agree with you.
@@1471SirFrederickBanbury Yeah, I'm a HUGE fan of Max's work, I like his Maple Leaf Rag played on two differently tuned pianos, I always liked his relaxed style, even when he's playing something at break neck speed he has this laidback nature to his playing.
@@PiotrBarcz couldn’t agree more! It’s something I’m still trying to achieve. Unfortunently, right now my playing is too big, bright, and loud, though I am getting closer. None of this is helped by my piano which makes everything blend together even when I am not using pedal. On brighter pianos with less sustaining though, I sound similar to Max’s earliest of videos, when he sounded a little more bombastic.
@@1471SirFrederickBanbury I hear you with the piano problem, I have generally bad technique and insensitive touch on the piano and playing an instrument with not enough attack definition and most of all, an action that is too heavy for my weak fingers, just makes everything sound loud, boring, monotonous etc. I'd assume your a better pianist than me though if you can play Maple Leaf Rag at all which I can't, at least not in the original key XD
I'm so glad that video that stole this audio is gone. I was reading rhe description and he made up this entire story about an '1863' piano. I'm glad I found the copycat and put your link in the comments.
Indeed, he claimed it was 1863 Steinway piano older then Joplin himself, but it reality the Gulbransen here was made in 1924 a couple years after Joplin’s passing.
The piano needs a tune-up on the upper register, it's TOO out-of-tune up there. I do own a Gulbransen 5 years younger than this one and I have to say the sound is almost identical!
@Andrew Facemyer I listened a couple times more and now I actually think it isn't too bad. This comment was just my first impression on the piano. I listen to this a LOT.
Just to let you know, another channel by the name Tony Stark Zuiro, has taken your piano audio here, and is passing it on as their own, providing no credit to you. Figured you’d need to know.
@@RagtimeEverything you’re welcome. I too have been letting people know in the comments it’s your audio, they either don’t believe me, or they don’t care. Im on your side in this situation.
I notice your hammer return springs are out of place sticking through the hammer shanks on the left in the video. They need to be put back in position in their slots on the hammer butts. It will improve your bass repetition radically.
@@mrdc3 I don't have a separate mp3 for this video on hand. There are plenty of conversion tools available online that you can use to download the audio track from this video as an mp3. Feel free to use one of them.
I can play it well in any key except for B major lol, but I was playing in the original Ab in this video. When this video was recorded, the piano had been over a decade without a professional tuning. This piano had also spent 40-60 years in a bar/bowling club nearby before my parents acquired it in the mid 1990's, likely never having been tuned in that time. Since this video was uploaded, my discipline with dynamics (and especially tempo) in ragtime and my familiarity with the genre have developed considerably. I still have access to this piano and I think it would be interesting to post a new recording of Maple Leaf to see what kind of difference five years of practice can produce.
@@RagtimeEverything I think you did a great job of playing this song! The piano did need some tuning on the very high notes as they were considerably flat and the tempo was a little fast but other than that it was great!
@@RagtimeEverything Thank you for the reply! Just so you know, there is a great ragtime music site that has sheet music pdfs and mp3 files of classic ragtime pieces that you maybe could play, ragsrag.com. Nice playing and keep it up because people are going to want more!
“Tempo di Marcia” Joplin intended this piece to be played at 100-105 bpm. He even does so in his last piano roll. His later works are much slower at 65-80 bpm. His style and tempo changed massively in his career.
I just knew that the guy who pirated your honest video was a lying braggard. I used to repair pianolas and recognised the impossible playing speed that human hands could not match and also the octave coupling that requires more than one pianist to achieve. He even took seriously my veiled exposure of his deception as a compliment of his 'playing'. 😝😜😜😜
@@SQUAREHEADSAM1912 I like to be able to hear the notes not jumbled together. This piece sounds like a train on hard braking where all the cars are crashing into each other. It's a jumbled mess. I give you this rendition to listen to. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bCxLAr_bwpA.html&ab_channel=DarioRonchi
@@williamjones4483 speed wise, this probably more accurate, made by the composer himself in 1916. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-y-_l-CeAgB4.html
@@williamjones4483 Nah, this style is perfect, the pianist in the video you linked plays it like it's a classical piece which doesn't really work at all in my opinion
