Angry Birds Theme sight-read "silent movie" style by Tom Brier, piano

Tom translates the basic score into a "silent movie" version off the top of his head while reading the music for the first time. Can you picture a Bad Piggy with a handlebar mustache tying eggs to the railroad tracks? or a love story between birds? or Keystone Kops chasing the Bad Piggies?
The sheet music that Tom is reading can be downloaded here:
www.keeper1st.com/music/vgm.html
(but of course the way he plays it is very different!)
This was recorded at the end of the May 2013 meeting of the Mother Lode Ragtime Society. The Sutter Creek Ice Cream Emporium was closing; the noises you hear in the background are the employee cleaning up the place with a broom and dustpan.
www.suttercreekragtime.com
www.angrybirds.com

[@Bassclefff]

It seems that the harder the composition is, the better he plays it...

[@osmeridium]

Yeah, cause he has more fun with it

[@peanutbutterrocket]

totally agree with you

[@ciankearns441]

He played hot cross buns and the piano caught fire

[@Cyrus_got_verified]

@@ciankearns441 lol, this needs more like

[@luckyblu9]

Yeah, sounds about right

[@srenhaandbk7904]

It is so nice, that there is so much footage of tom. I still to this day, keep finding clips that i have not seen, which (even though i know it is not how it works) gives the impression he still plays. That he is in a state where he can use his hands like this, to create art for the people, to entertain people and lift their mood once and for all. I have a depressed friend, who recently told me he had stopped playing piano and composing. I showed him the Brierized version of the Legend of Zelda ending, and his eyes were wide open. He said he wanted to play piano straight away, and was very said that he had no such instrument at hand at that time.

[@bencarter8324]

Duncanthrax that’s an amazing story. Like you I still come across Brier videos I haven’t seen yet. I’m incredibly inspired by Tom and he always makes me want to play piano!

[@Remspamton]

Bruh

[@jaredstemper669]

The beard gives him strength...

[@gardnerdavis9930]

Real life Davy Jones?

[@alwaysbearded1]

@@gardnerdavis9930 I'd imagine Davy Jones with a long scraggly beard. Tom's is tidy but different just like a reverse transom or sheer on a boat, different almost opposite to what is traditional. Bet he goes through very few razors with such little beard to shave.

[@mechatronrasky]

"Angry Beard"..?

[@dogge929]

What God didn't give him for a chin, he more than made up for with musical ability.

[@Keeper1st]

Improv ability is not about being able to read music, but about understanding it. It's like if you begin to learn a foreign language, you can quickly gain an ability to pronounce a written sentence perfectly, even if you don't actually know what the words mean. Until you know what the words mean and know other words that have a similar meaning, you are unable to re-word the sentence. To learn to improvise, you need a grounding in music theory.

[@georgehaas7292]

Well said! I agree!

[@smt4090]

So basically after 8 years You're telling me that by substituting bunches of words to describe a thing in another language... Ex: laundromat = clothes washing machine place ...You can basically improv *_noice_*

[@mysterioushawk2171]

Never has anyone ever summed up music to me so perfectly

[@mysterioushawk2171]

After 8 years I have arrived to take a look at this masterpiece.

[@Cloud7050]

"you can quickly gain an ability to pronounce a written sentence perfectly, even if you don't actually know what the words mean" Languages with symbols: Haha, you can neither read nor understand me!

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

I can't believe he is sight reading something as complex as this, and he works in key changes, tempo, and dynamics as if it were effortless!

[@Keeper1st]

Well, the score he is reading from isn't terribly complex. He's just going nuts with it!

[@martinmessner897]

Often when I feel sad, I just listen to Tom Brier, and I am happy again. It's not even a joke, works everytime! :) Thank you

[@aleksandrmikhalitsyn7940]

I have the same feeling, bro

[@Keeper1st]

As others have pointed out, I mean the shop was closing for the night. Nearly all these sight-reading videos are made late at night, no matter where they are shot.

[@shangumapac5754]

As an Angry Birds fan, I LOVE THIS FOREVER. IT REMINDS ME OF THE GOLDEN DAYS OF ANGRY BIRDS. OH THE NOSTALGIA HITS ME WITH A CHAIR IN THE FACE. THANK YOU FOR THIS AND STAY SAFE EVERYONE ♡♡♡

[@Cyrus_got_verified]

Same

[@VetteComp]

5:22, dat perfect march is just marvelous.

[@liamconard]

It sounds sort of like World War II propaganda.

[@jelliemish]

This man is a musical genius.

[@m2esectr]

Here you go through multiple keys: the opening is in E minor, then you proceed to F, the rogue march in G, and the finale in B-flat. That's quite an art!

[@xX_Thaddeus_Xx]

My God this is amazing. All that out of a piece of music he'd never even heard before.

[@jkrai9684]

When the music is godly that it causes a narcissistic skeleton to break character

[@stoneseabolt]

Tom is quite possibly the best pianist of the last decade. He's one of the few I could name. He never failed to amaze me.

[@sevencube3]

I would also like to hear him do some Plants vs. Zombies music.

[@MrLegendofLP]

That would have been amazing.

[@ShadowGaming26548]

same

[@alexchanwaihang]

@@ShadowGaming26548 yeah now he is recovering

[@ShadowGaming26548]

@@alexchanwaihang I would love to hear him play plants vs zombies

[@LiquidHonor]

@@ShadowGaming26548 same

[@krgamman]

I want him to do ALL the games . . .. . *ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL THE GAMES*

[@4udio_Vortex]

Hahahahaha!!! Me too!!! I wanna hear evvvvverything XDDDD

[@St-ef9ru]

Hey I'm keeping up the "one comment per 2 years" so yeah

[@w7u]

Ragtime Minecraft

[@lerdicusprime6860]

I’ll do it seven months from now on lol

[@sethdesilva]

@@lerdicusprime6860 it has been 7 months

[@seabomb1]

not only is Tom a legend, but Keeper holds the camera for 10 minutes straight

[@-NGC-6302-]

Man I really hope he recovers enough to be able to play piano at least half as good as this

[@Keeper1st]

While he has the ability of course, it isn't something he plays all the time, so A) it isn't something he can sight-read well (for one thing, ragtime sight-reading is easier because you don't have to -- and shouldn't -- play it exactly as written, but doing the same with classical music would make people cry blasphemy) and B) there are pianists who specialize in classical music who could do a better job of it.

[@sharksomega6848]

This guy is a piano playing LEGEND

[@pupplementarypupplements5804]

what a fun thing you guys got going... you make it he plays it, man that sounds like a blast bro. let's get this man healthy again, and get these bro's back to doing their thing

[@ischmidt]

I somehow missed this one when the algorithm pulled me down the Tom Brier rabbit hole several years ago. The march version starting at 5:22 may be my favorite Brier Mode moment ever, but this whole thing is so damn good.

[@majordimbulb4742]

Every time I listen to this I marvel at Tom's ability to create music. He took 3 pages of music and composed a symphony on the fly.

[@waytenta6127]

even 9 years ago this is still impresive

[@captaink3nny602]

That made me cry at the end

[@cn8299]

I had to read 48 pages of a book for school tomorrow and this is my 15th loop after listening to the Nyan Cat version probably 20 something times..

[@VicJang]

Still amazing after years. Best wishes to Tom.

[@JohannaAFlorez]

*bows to his excellence*

[@artz1234]

Just perfect! This needs a lot of upvotes!

[@CopainVG]

Thank you sir for your music ! :) From France :)

[@Keeper1st]

I'm glad you approve, Ari!

[@Sogstickles]

God I love this man, I hope he is able to play again in the future.. What a pianist

[@PiotrBarcz]

Now I rewatch this and realize how awesome this interpretation is!

[@Conwayy33]

Where exactly are you guys? Like the building

[@Keeper1st]

Conway The Sutter Creek Ice Cream Emporium, 51 Main St, Sutter Creek, California.

[@Conwayy33]

Keeper1st wow haha, thats pretty neat

[@Cynis001]

Keeper1st Way too far away for me...

[@shenkeey]

Keeper1st Would totally make the trip from holland to california for a sight-readconcert from Tom Brier

[@nathm.4260]

+Maran Nebbeling Yeah I would do the same from France! ;)

[@johnderouen1038]

The piano Tom is playing on has that kind of "Gramophone" effect that some older pianos and recorded pieces do. I really, really like it. This piece, however, I think could do with just a little, teeny, tiny bit more.

[@Freakybananayo]

Tom's inspired so many people to play piano

[@SirDonkeyShot]

How can someone be so good at something. Insane

[@danieldasilva3068]

I think he really enjoyed this one.

[@MrJogimico]

You can imagine a buster Keaton kind of level with falling buildings and piggies with top hats :P

[@alwaysbearded1]

Oh absolutely! Buster Keaton was another genius.

[@A_random_boy]

"What is this?!" "Is that Angry Birds?" "The Angry Birds theme!" said my friends and classmates when i played this with my speaker

[@julianooms327]

How the hell is it possible to correctly interpret a piece this quickly? I cannot wrap my mind around it.

[@sauerclout7456]

I love the loud crash at 1:02

[@jooliadanz4157]

I can listen to this 50 billion times over and over, it's so awesome!!! Ur so good!!!! I love the first song so much!

[@breakerboy365]

+Beenut i dont think you could cuz thats almost 200,000 years

[@firefroggi8690]

Just woke up and looked this up straight away I needed it

[@Sigs25]

All of tom's performances are exciting. This is easily a favorite!

[@Czarek7711]

The light at 3:36 always gets me. Also this has to be my favourite "Brierization". I'd love to transcribe it but everytime I start picking at it, I realize how much work that would be.

[@Keeper1st]

Heh, I never noticed the light going out. The employees were shutting everything off, as it was late and well past the time they should have closed (we keep them open late on these meeting nights).

[@Brony22]

5:22 my favorite part.

[@Martin-gz4qn]

I think this playing is genius. I don't use that word often, but this playing here I believe is.

[@Mateus2234]

Tom Brier is a true legend!

[@DeGroteLaaf]

Improvising is always fun! You can really see the smile on his face as he plays along... It fills my heart with a sugary goodness to see people play with such enthusiasm!

[@slademathis1463]

After a while you forget it’s even angry birds

[@s.v.berezin1562]

Your friend is a true treasure! Thank you very much for having made these recordings. I wish him all the best and hope things can start looking better for him soon!

[@StupidspinVideos]

Skill like this should never disappear

[@SilkDragonZen]

Wow, this is fantastic! I love olde time piano music and ragtime, so this version of the Angry Birds theme just makes my day!

[@LuisRomero-rd3ic]

I was there! It was awesome!!!

[@fortherestless85]

I really enjoy watching these videos of Tom play, and this one is just phenomenal. Absolutely fantastic.

[@Keeper1st]

Well, he did say something afterward about having thrown some quotes in there, so maybe you're right. I don't remember how that song goes.

[@quinn6016]

The people who dislike these videos have no souls :(

[@Wistbacka]

I didn't know pigs ever had souls... ;-)

[@meggierussell952]

This was absolutely fun to watch. Thanks for sharing! :D

[@heygio87]

I hope he gets better soon

[@legomeisterlp4375]

8:33 That Part melts my heart

[@MissZAdlez]

Absolutely amazing.

[@user-hb2wz1ih2i]

Tom Brier is a God

[@runbag]

That's a lot of information stored in just 3 pages. :) I really hope you get better Tom!

[@Lucifer9387]

You sir, are incredible! That was great.

[@Svoirep1]

It's promto exciting! From primitive tunes for child's play to do not be afraid this word,the whole Overture of the great variations that have hints of Grieg, Chopin, Beethoven, Strauss, and Rosini and many others! As a true connoisseur of music I can say only one thing: Bravo and Bravo again! You gave me great pleasure for these 9 minutes! I just couldn't tear myself away! Thank You very much for the pleasure! Never drop the piano! Good Luck To You!

[@llawliet9332]

This gave me goosebumps! ☺

[@AleGrigis]

When I see 7 dislikes, I recall KZbin is not age-restricted. -_-

[@joostoboy]

no base drop vary bed Sincerely, Every twelve year old

[@joostoboy]

13≠12

[@theperiidot]

Or you know, just ignorant people of any age who have no understanding of how hard this is. Even I probably don't truly understand the difficulty of what he's doing, and I'm awe-inspired. Wait, I just contradicted myself lol XD

[@HomesliceHobbes]

Wow. That is absolutely remarkable.

[@loganlentz3069]

So, while listening to this, I had an entire Three Stooges type episode playing in my head with the Angry Birds cast. It was rather interesting to say the least.

[@EunoiaJean]

My god. I've played the sheet music Ron, and Tom still amazes me. Can't believe I missed this! haha I hope to see you at the Sutter Creek Annual Festival!

[@Gotmilk0112]

I would hang around that shop all day just to hear Brier play!

[@deltac19]

keep em comming i love tom!!

[@JSTrudel]

Why isn't this man famous? Makes me want to learn the pianee!

[@candidoj]

Pure genius.

[@othello7]

With every Tom Brier video I watch I think "Holy crap this guy is amazing!!"

[@StuartSimon]

I don't know if this intentional, but appropriately enough , when Tom plays it, it comes out In places as reminiscent of a Joe Lamb song called "I Want to Be a Birdman."

[@kennethjacksack]

Awesome!

[@Pahchii]

haha I'm jumpy-giddy happy hearing this! :D

[@PiotrBarcz]

I just faintly recognize the music as I did play the game when I was REALLY little.

[@alwaysbearded1]

I wish I could hear Tom playing a silent music score at our local Paramount movie theater (Oakland,1931 build I believe, 3400 capacity) when they do the classic movie series. Usually they play talkies up to the era where the theater closed before renovation. Occasionally silent movies with an organist playing the score. They'd have to bring in a piano. I bet he could just improvise off some original period pieces for the whole movie.

[@Keeper1st]

No, he couldn't. Tom suffered a massive head injury in 2016 and has lost most of his motor skills as well as ability to speak. But do check out our friend Frederick Hodges who specializes in silent-movie accompaniment in the area.

[@alwaysbearded1]

@@Keeper1st That is why I said 'I wish'. I know he was in a terrible accident. Thanks for letting me know Frederick Hodges who I've also seen in your vids specializes in silent-movie accompaniment. I just say Adam in Rossmore last week where my parents live. And he did the accompaniment to a two reel 1918 movie whose name escapes me right now. Thanks also for documenting and posting all these videos.

[@Keeper1st]

@@alwaysbearded1 You can hear Frederick accompany films at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont pretty regularly.

[@alwaysbearded1]

@@Keeper1st Perfect, that is sort of local. I'll have to look up the Museum and find the schedule. Thanks

[@Keeper1st]

Yeah, it was great to meet you. Hope you'll make it again sometime!

[@Oswald001]

6 years later this sounds good, but can he do PvZ1's Grasswalk's theme but in a silent movie style?

[@Keeper1st]

He can not play anymore since suffering severe brain damage in a traffic accident three years ago.

[@SSJKenpachiZaraki]

AWESOME!

[@HenrikoMagnifico]

Such nostalgia!

[@ploopybear]

I can just picture the silent movie as he's playing it

[@guntober]

thank you :)

[@beepbeepboopboop933]

Does Tom like to do this sort of thing often? Taking a tune and figuring out the melody and base line then turning it into a ragtime style song? If he does, you should see if he would play grunty's lair or freezeezy peeks from banjo kazooie. I think these videos are just incredibly fun to watch.

[@johnderouen1038]

You must be new here. ;D

[@greenin5537]

John DeRouen lol

[@JonathanSargentOfficial]

This is actually a common congregational/choir technique, which I utilize often. I almost never play a piece how it is written ;-) Also I have found that being able to do this fluently makes improvisation much easier.

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

Jonathan Sargent Also so many times one happens to hear a piece that could so well be adapted in a particular style, but no one did it yet, and you're forced to do it yourself :) if I had a band I'd only do covers just for this reason.

[@majorwo0dy14]

Perfect!!!!!

[@morgankervoelen493]

Angry beard.

[@StrangeSounds2009]

DON'T SHOOT!!!!! He's Only the Piano Player!!!!!! :O

[@Cuzzys2nd]

This is gonna be my new ringtone...

[@Nick0Kyuubi0Narion]

It's amazing to see such skill and muscle memory in action. It's more amazing to see such arrangements come out of complete improvisation. Is there, or will there be, album compilations of all the insane things Tom can do with a piano and a video game music sheet?

[@Boxfan2008]

Wonderful performance!! I must say, that old clackity piano has incredible volume! I'm sure its because of Tom's fingers of steel, And the hammers are probably worn flat.

[@Keeper1st]

Of course, sometimes that's just a matter of the hammers being worn down!

[@mario54671]

I think my favorite variation is at 5:23 where you start laughing. :P Sounds like a sort of 6/8 tempo. I can't wait to see what he does with that Luigi's Mansion score. :) This is like my fifth time watching this.

[@ninhoso8357]

8:33 my favorite part lol

[@Cyrus_got_verified]

For me it is 5:30

[@retrocomputercollector]

Amazing!! I would like to hear Frozen in silent movie style hehe :)

[@CalebHansonlets]

What the hell, I had no idea the angry birds theme was this long and varied

[@RighteouzBoy]

He made up all these variations on the spot. The actual score he was looking at was probably 3-4 mins long. He played for 9 mins.

[@bondjames5792]

SO AMAZING

[@mitchell2719]

And now I remember why I subscribed

[@dadigitechmanjunior]

Woulda played the game if this was the actuall sound track! Bravo tom!

[@Londonfogey]

This would go well with a Harold Lloyd comedy.

[@MoMember88]

This is epic