Temptation Rag played by Tom Brier

[@bencarter8324]

This is the first music that plays in Joker. Nothing gets me more excited than when a movie starts with ragtime

[@eldergamer8896]

@spicy mcnuggets Jesus man, who hurt you?

[@GellertTV]

@spicy mcnuggets You little shit

[@_Harmony_-]

@spicy mcnuggets nobody cares YOU little Shit of dog 😆

[@blakebauman6374]

@spicy mcnuggets You okay man? If you need someone to talk to, I'm here.

[@blakebauman6374]

@@_Harmony_- Don't let him drag you down man, you're copying what he just did, which you apparently didn't like at all. Like your profile name and picture.

[@Ronan266]

This man is a musical genius

[@thomashogan16]

An American treasure. Pray he gets better after that horrible accident. We love you Tom.

[@sunther8041]

Thomas Hogan what happened to him?

[@vincentmaltais507]

@@sunther8041 Tom was rear ended by a truck on Saturday August 6, 2016. the truck that hit him crushed his car from behind and pushed him into the car in front of him. He got some serious damage and he can't play like before sadly

[@renurrenur4720]

@@vincentmaltais507 damn ..

[@olliedylan1381]

I haven’t listen to him play recently, but he’s still uploading so he’s definitely alright, so that’s good.

[@Croter8ment]

@@olliedylan1381 actually no. not that.

[@Ronan266]

This is honestly the best thing piano performance I’ve ever seen. The way he has added in his own little things make it 10x better is amazing. I hope him all the best

[@jordan4748]

I know this guy and this guys music for 6 or 7 years now and he is still such a wonderful character and musician. I will never stop listening to him.

[@garyhawkins-pianoteacherpi6490]

My granddad used to play this to me when I was growing up! He was there at every exam and competition win when I was young, but sadly died long before I was accepted into the Royal College of Music but hey we can't change life! I'll learn it one day! This was about the only Rag i ever heard him play!

[@neroangelo1464]

And here I thought that song was composed exclusively for Joker but I'm happy that it's a real song and not just a soundtrack.

[@Keeper1st]

You can hear a recording of this made in 1910 here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZOtgqaLhN19qsk Temptation Rag was one of the biggest hits in the history of American music. Along with Maple Leaf Rag and Canadian Capers, it has never been out of print.

[@yairruizbarbas1159]

yesterday I was watching "the joker" and whe the song cames in scene I was like "I think that there is a video of Tom playing this!". It's always a great idea watch Tom's videos! He is the best!

[@sethery7826]

I love the ending. Such an incredible performance followed by “yeah.. alright…. Indeed.. yeah..”

[@Keeper1st]

If you study existing marches and rags you can see some typical chord sequences and get an idea of different directions you can go in given situations. Improvising, I guess one just needs to have a feel for the music to know where you can fill out something. That just takes practice to develop, I reckon.

[@christyspianoinstruction5086]

There sure is a lot of music on that one page in front of him. LOL

[@stickyglewmusic]

That introduction is so perfect

[@Keeper1st]

He probably means great uncle.

[@TheDarKnignt]

This is purely incredible

[@amccolgan1]

well darn, this makes me want to throw my piano in the woodchipper

[@foureyedchick]

Try the fireplace. Natural gas prices are up.

[@nicktripod8124]

Sorry i'm a decade late but please don't!

[@scurly0792]

@@nicktripod8124 he's kidding

[@aswomebro2601]

@@scurly0792 you really think hes trying to solve sometime after a decade?

[@scurly0792]

@@aswomebro2601 He just didn't realise Alex was kidding

[@Offshoreorganbuilder]

The playing is remarkable - as are the filthy keys.

[@andrewbarrett1537]

Playing this back at 1.25 speed it’s THE BEST DAMN VERSION PERIOD. Amazing. No one else can compare. My version isn’t in league. HOWEVER, the brilliant organist Sidney Torch made a DYNAMITE theatre pipe organ recording of this rag in the 1930s which is just simply phenomenal. That is another classic. Also, one of the great Dutch noteurs (maybe Tom Meijer?) has adapted Mr. Torch’s version for the 101-key Mortier dance organ “Paashuis” located in Museum Speelklok in Utrecht, Netherlands, and you can hear this wonderful dance-organ version of “Temptation Rag” on the fantastic and excellent CD they sell at the museum, “Musical Memories”. That’s my second-favorite version after Tom’s version.

[@SeeburgMusic]

1.25? Are you kidding? He's playing it too fast as it is.

[@giuseppemaenza9255]

Fantastic piece, sound, execution!

[@florbo3488]

Tom is a fucking legend

[@pennagain6207]

Look carefully, and you'll see another pair of hands . . . .

[@MaxRollison]

PennAgain thats just the afterimage of his hands

[@jordandiso]

PennAgain it’s just Tom being wayyy too fast for the camera’s framerate XD

[@ssupermann]

the neckbeard is strong with this one....

[@DantheToonMan]

Indeed it is, my fellow Brier-i

[@a33795]

Such calm reactions at the end... "all right...", "yea...". I would have yelled HOLY CRAP MAN

[@Keeper1st]

After a quarter century of hearing Tom do what he did, one gets used to it!

[@a33795]

@@Keeper1st Touché 😉

[@dertechl6628]

what a wonderful piece!

[@Keeper1st]

@Togeshroob On multiple occasions, I've seen Tom play until his fingers bled. In 2008, he had bandaged a finger and decided he wouldn't participate in the jam session after the West Coast Ragtime Festival... but he did anyway. You may see some videos from that session where he has a bandaged finger.

[@arizonamando2294]

Very impressive!

[@UberSynth]

I love to know how he hit the right bass notes with his left hand like that. He looks at his right hand for melodies and he springs his left hand left and right hitting the right notes all the time. Since his accident he lost this ability?

[@Keeper1st]

Same way a blind pianist does it -- muscle memory of where each note on the piano is. Watch most of the top ragtime performers and you'll notice they're not looking at their left hand, or even their right sometimes such as in the many videos of Tom sight-reading stuff. But yes, since the accident he can't move much at all. He recently demonstrated lightly playing countermelodies with his left hand as others played, so his musicality is there; he just doesn't have the physical ability.

[@aidangittings]

@@Keeper1st that is really great to hear. It’s so sad that he’s having trouble moving, but I’m glad he still has the music in him. And I’m glad he’s recovering too! The 2020 update really did hurt me deeply, but I’m happy he’s going to get help

[@russellbrown7028]

That sounds close to 120, and even at the recommended speed of 108, its a quick one, and difficult. I'm happy if I can make the right notes at 90.

[@isambo400]

russell brown practice makes somewhat better (because perfection would be a stretch...)

[@adamglinka1]

Good for you...He plays much to fast...

[@devinc]

Man I love seeing this guy play! Hopefully I get that good.

[@thewildwilsonshow]

I don't care what the nit pickers say, but the ol' Wildman was impressed and enjoyed that. Patrick Harison had just played it on accordion in a video I shot and saw you there and wanted to hear - glad I did - so fun! Thank you!

[@andrewkelley8099]

How about another rag, Murrayy?

[@jordan4748]

So great.

[@brickshackstudios]

This was in the soundtrack to the 2006 game The Ship, among lots of other music of this era. I knew it sounded familiar!

[@a33795]

Here before the Joker crowd arrives

[@Keeper1st]

He probably means great uncle. Similarly, Nan Bostick often referred to Chas. N. Daniels as "Uncle Charlie" though technically he was her great uncle.

[@christmastree2562]

How did Tom develop his nearly flawless sight reading skills (not seen here, of course)? Was he born with the "reader's eyes" as my piano teacher calls them.

[@Keeper1st]

He began reading music from the age of 5, and learned music theory in the process, so it became like reading a book and speaking out loud. That's how he has described it. He would read enough of the music to get the melody and the chord sequence, and generally improvise the left hand. Of course, as you say, in this video he's not reading anything, but playing from memory.

[@mewhite1528]

Wow...what can you say! Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.....Best Regards

[@kbfeminutsi5896]

THIS IS A HELLA GLORIOUS RENDITION :D 110%

[@stqwqxdc]

Very cool crazy pianist !

[@keziamatthiesen5952]

Why would someone dislike this?!

[@roksva3861]

When you want to impress but the girls aren’t there.

[@johngeverett]

Man! Them were some fingers on FIRE! I am awed!

[@Keeper1st]

@isambo400 Heh... Accidental angle there as I reached for the piece of music that was about to fall on his hands.

[@mrjlodge12]

this was written by my uncle.

[@PiotrBarcz]

IT WAS!!!???

[@ThareyBreschan]

Thats cool.. so u must be super old, ur "uncle" died 1933

[@GellertTV]

Proof ?

[@GellertTV]

Because my god it was used in JOKER

[@GellertTV]

And you have luck (If it's true)

[@hashungah]

Ouch ! Jumping Jack Brier ! Best version i've seen on youtube so far. Too bad the piano doesn't give you credit for this awesome technique of yours... Thanks and congratulations !

[@fat_sonic]

This video came out long before The Joker movies did

[@Keeper1st]

...and this recording came out 109 years before the Joker movie did. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZOtgqaLhN19qsk

[@johnferguson8993]

Fabulous!

[@Keeper1st]

Didn't work, but I updated the links to a different archive site.

[@isambo400]

yayy! The way he plays it even has a "meeting adjourned" feeling to it. Although I still like Claude Bolling's version the best.

[@shortisgood13]

Thanks! I always have trouble improvising, but I think I just need to play more rag time to get some experience..

[@leonardoulisessimoisvallar7126]

TOM BRIER!!!!GENIUS

[@i.pezzotti853]

That piano looks like its been abused properly by Tom’s aggresive hands

[@0championsleague0]

Cool !! Very nice playing !!!

[@Jake.Dancer]

Jesus, he slammed that out real quick

[@Traveo_O]

The ending is so nice🔥

[@ghostcoffee1099]

Damn look a those fingers go!! Flaming fingers!

[@Город-р5э]

Скорость зашкаливает😮

[@bmwforlife6951]

He didn't get that name joke by explaining it....LOL

[@PiotrBarcz]

Ha ha, TOMtaition Rag! That's clever! Anybody else notice that the upright's a player-piano?

[@Keeper1st]

Indeed it is. I have some videos of it playing rolls too, e.g. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYK4n6t5ZruYm8k

[@PivotNimp]

Superbe. C'est trop fort.

[@allliveofaltan41]

What is the type of the piano? It sounds really suitable for any ragtime song

[@JoshuaSobel]

An old Hilton upright. If I am not mistaken, it is also a player.

[@Keeper1st]

Milton, but yes, it is an 88-note player.

[@JoshuaSobel]

Keeper1st ah, I couldn't read it. There's a hilton piano at a local coffee shop, also a player.

[@sdgelectronics]

@@JoshuaSobel It's a Milton piano.

[@andrewbarrett1537]

This upright player piano was made by the Milton Piano Co. of New York, who were a well known high-volume inexpensive piano maker in the USA in the old days, along with Sterling (in Connecticut), Kohler & Campbell (also of New York), H. C. Bay (in Indiana), Gulbransen (in Chicago), etc. (There were also a good many medium-grade piano makers; in fact I'd wager most pianos built in the USA were medium grade, rather than low grade, plus of course the fewer high grade pianos). It is not a bad piano compared with, say, a Pearl River, but received such a beating at the ragtime festivals that it was frequently out of tune like this. Plus, I don't think there was a huge amount of climate control in the ice cream parlor where it was located (except of course the ice cream freezers nearby), so temperature and humidity changes affected it a lot, as they would any piano. The higher grade, more solidly built pianos (like Sohmer, Steinway, Knabe, Mason & Hamlin, Chickering, Conover, Krakauer, Julius Bauer, early Lester, early Everett, etc etc) were and are more able to take lots of playing and wear and still be like a rock and give a fine, rich tone, when restored (and maintained). The cheaper pianos tend to wear out faster. However, again, 1920s 'cheap' for pianos is still not as bad as 2000s 'cheap'.

[@HighWideandHandsome]

I've watched this video a dozen times, easily, and I'm only now noticing "The Sonatina Book" on the piano. Was Tom amusing himself with some classical music?

[@Keeper1st]

I don't recall Tom playing them, but it's not out of the question (I have an unposted video of Tom playing Shostakovich with some folks in after hours). I think it was there for one of the other pianists who played at this meeting. It might have belonged to Damit Senanayake.

[@barquers]

@@Keeper1st Have you thought about posting the Shostakovich? I’d assumed that Tom played some classical at a point in his life as almost every pianist does, but would love to hear him play some!

[@Keeper1st]

@@barquers One of the performers in the Shostakovich group read doesn't want the video posted. There is a video of Tom playing a modern "classical" work: kzbin.info/www/bejne/inmvaGRmhr9maNU

[@barquers]

@@Keeper1st Thanks for directing me there!

[@K0tuku]

Wow. Just wow.

[@30sofya]

this is amasing

[@HellsingLover50]

Well, DAMN. This makes me want to pick up piano again. :D

[@ashleyisachild]

this slaps

[@KawhackitaRag]

@mrjlodge12 that is awesome! I hope you realize your uncle was one of the most talented and original composers of popular music during the ragtime years. He wrote some of the finest rags of all time! I have a question: are there any stories about him that were passed down through the family, shedding some light on his personality, perhaps? (we know very little). Also, did he ever make any recordings? I would dearly love to hear him playing the piano.

[@anneissler8033]

Thanks ! Brilliant !

[@monirak8664]

amayzing !!

[@ivandalime]

Joker

[@fo-le9ns]

Том Брайер-король регтайма!

[@shortisgood13]

hey, im an aspiring pianist and i wanted to know what method can i use to be able to make base chords for rags.. i want to make my own rag.. and another question, what is a good exercise for learning how to improvise on piano.. how this isnt too much to ask.. thanks!

[@Keeper1st]

@qdsfd Perhaps in the description of this video...

[@oll6531]

Is this a good one for beginners?

[@Keeper1st]

It's not terribly complicated as written.

[@melvis24]

Well, that's unbelievable!

[@Keeper1st]

@mrjlodge12 Cool. I also have a video of Tom playing Henry's "Red Pepper: A Spicy Rag".

[@fat_sonic]

🃏 The real Joker intro player

[@HelloWorld-hs5zd]

Bravo!,!,

[@머빵준]

piano sheet page got error

[@fat_sonic]

May you please play forest follies from cupman please? It pretty much has the same vibes as this

[@Keeper1st]

Tom suffered a severe brain injury in 2016 and is largely paralyzed, so he can not play anymore. His performances were the inspiration for the platform levels in Cuphead, however -- hence his name appearing in the soundtrack album credits.

[@isambo400]

2:26 Neckbeard enthusiasts the world over swoon

[@qdsfd]

this by far my favourite ragtime....but i can't find the scores ...do you have any idea where I could find it?

[@alvaroamaro2919]

Onde está o tom brier?

[@Keeper1st]

Ele está em uma unidade de enfermagem desde que sofreu danos cerebrais graves em 2016.

[@alvaroamaro2919]

Poxa.. um pianista brilhante, admiro o trabalho dele, oque casou esses danos, acidente ?

[@Keeper1st]

Sim, um acidente de transito. Seu pequeno carro foi esmagado por uma caminhonete grande.

[@alvaroamaro2919]

Se você puder fazer esse favor pra mim, ficarei grato. quando ver ele diga que Álvaro mandou um abraço do Brasil, estado de Minas gerais, um abraço apertado. diga a ele que ficará tudo bem, que DEUS está com ele.

[@cassiuscollectio6553]

@@Keeper1st Ron, Você fala Português? Não sabia dessa. Sempre que me comunicava com você, eu escrevia em Inglês haha Não sabia disso haha

[@franzjosephliszt1555]

how the hell is he getting all that from one sheet????

[@Keeper1st]

He's playing this from memory. No sheet music is being read here.

[@franzjosephliszt1555]

Oh.

[@citiblocsMaster]

@Keeper1st To be fair, that also happens when he does plays from the sheet :)

[@amazing7633]

Franz, some pianists (such as my friend "D") can sight read quite well. I cannot. Most pianists can play some material from memory. Some, including me, can improvise. Tom has the ability to do all of those things, in particular improvising a theme and variations from a vaguely sketched piece of sheet music that he is reading for the first time. My friend "D" cannot improvise, and complains that he is "a prisoner of those damned dots." This time Tom is playing from memory. As you are undoubtedly aware, Liszt was even better than Tom, seemingly following Tom's admonition, "Do not play [this piece] as written. I never do." Continue your prayers for Tom's successful recovery.

[@josh__9980]

powerful!

[@bachaddict]

The link is broken, but this one should work libcudlDOTcoloradoDOTedu/sheetmusic/brief_recordDOTasp?oid=396860

[@alexlucas2420]

unreal ✌🏽

[@AKitchell]

The link to the sheet music is broken. Please fix!

[@Keeper1st]

Here's one for the instrumental version. levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/collection/173/008

[@threnody4955]

I'd really like to learn this piece but the link to the sheet music doesn't work

[@cro-magnum7642]

Cant you just listen?

[@threnody4955]

@@cro-magnum7642 That's like telling a chef to make something without a recipe and going "can't u just sniff it"

[@cro-magnum7642]

@@threnody4955 no srsly cant you just play the song and find the notes? Cuz thats what i do.

[@threnody4955]

@@cro-magnum7642 Unfortunately this arrangement is way above my caliber for transcribing by ear

[@cro-magnum7642]

@@threnody4955 ah ok

[@ddanze]

Phenominal playing! greatly enjoyed just wish the piano was softer, sexier sounding which temptation suggests!

[@amazing7633]

So very much like riding a horse, in which you merely keep the horse between yourself and the ground. For piano, you allow the proper keys to align themselves with your fingers. Never works for me, though.

[@Keeper1st]

In one of my older videos as a customer at the shop asks how in the world he's able to read something and play without looking at his hands, he made the same joke: "It's a smart piano. The keys move so they're always underneath my fingers."

[@atomosmalayalam3162]

Who came here after watching joker( 2019)

[@김유진-y5x7u]

느금마

[@cor-gw4us]

Why didn't you use a scroll because that piano could manually play that for you while you just pushed pedals

[@Persun_McPersonson]

Why would he do that when it was much for fun to play it himself? And no, it couldn't; Tom embellished his own version of the rag on the spot, so it's a bit more complicated here than the original sheet music.

[@thomashogan16]

PS Can someone take a little Windex to those keys?

[@tupac11035]

god..

[@팽.도.리]

joker brought me here

[@Theakakage]

WOW

[@ThisIsKuroCat]

Like, I dont even know anymore what to do! Should I insult him? Marry him? He is a piano GOD! I believe in him skills more than I do believe in religion

[@cwjalexx]

description says this was written in 1909...i highly doubt your uncle wrote this

[@NasrineLALAOUI]

C'est super rapide moi je vais le jouer au piano mais pas aussi vite

[@othello7]

neat

[@chester0608ye]

Both link are dead after 14 years...

[@Keeper1st]

Instrumental version: levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/collection/173/008

[@Keeper1st]

Song version scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3608&context=cht-sheet-music

[@chester0608ye]

@@Keeper1stwow! Thank you for updating! Did not expect to get response in time.