
Sometimes called by the incipit "Коробушка" (Korobushka), this folk song (romanized "Korobeiniki") dates from the 1860s, though most people know of it from its use as the "Tetris A Theme" nearly 130 years later. Here, Tom reads a simple lead sheet (just the melody line with the chord names written on top) and embellishes it into different styles, including changing the rhythm to 3/4 and 5/4. I can't remember and can't find the Russian site from which I got this lead sheet (they had similar lead sheets for several Russian folk songs), but you can see it pretty clearly in this video, or view a copy of it (without the chord names) on this site: a-pesni.golosa.info (it's the second version -- though the first version does have chord names written on top only it's in E minor instead of G minor (and uses archaic European notation, where "H" is used instead of "B")). Of course, you game fans may notice that the version in Tetris was in A minor, so this performance may sound flat to you as the lead sheet is in G minor (which is how Tom "runs out of keyboard" at the end since the lowest note on a standard piano is an A, so he can't hit that low G he wants). The lyrics of the song are quite suggestive, about a peddler trying to peddle his wares to a girl who is not willing to pay the price at first. At least, that's what they mean at face value, but the implication of what the "wares" are and the "price" he wants her to pay is quite evident. Anyway, sorry about laughing so much <b>...</b>
piano
pianist
ragtime
Russian
sightreading
leadsheet
improvisation
improv
tetris