The Minds Behind the Madness: Who Created “Rush E”?

If you have spent any time on YouTube, TikTok, or gaming spaces over the last few years, you have almost certainly encountered “Rush E.” It is the relentlessly fast, wildly chaotic, and famously “impossible” piano composition that has spawned thousands of covers, animated video memes, and sweat-inducing challenges for pianists around the globe.

So, who is actually behind this internet phenomenon?

Meet Sheet Music Boss

“Rush E” was created by Sheet Music Boss, an independent Australian YouTube channel and musical duo consisting of Andrew Wrangell (who primarily composes the music) and Samuel Dickenson (who handles production, visuals, and business operations).

Launched as a platform for accessible, scrolling MIDI piano tutorials and unique classical-style arrangements of video game and pop culture themes, Sheet Music Boss turned into an accidental powerhouse of viral internet music. While they produce hundreds of traditional tutorials, they are internationally famous for inventing their own original, tongue-in-cheek “Rush” series.

The Origin Story: From “Rush B” to “Rush E”

To understand how “Rush E” came to be, you have to look at its predecessor: “Rush B.”

• The Meme Ancestor: “Rush B” drew heavily from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) gaming culture, referencing the common internet meme of players shouting “Rush B, no stop!” over voice chat. Wrangell and Dickenson built a Russian-folk-inspired piano piece centered heavily around the musical note B.
• The Evolution to “E”: Following the success of Rush B, the duo looked toward another towering internet meme of the era: the deep-fried, heavily distorted image of Markiplier’s face photoshopped onto Lord Farquaad, universally known simply as the letter “E.”

Capitalizing on that absurd piece of meme history, Wrangell set out to write a song structured around the note E, weaving the meme’s chaotic energy directly into the melodic motifs.

Engineering an “Impossible” Masterpiece

Unlike classical pieces written for a human recital, “Rush E” was composed with MIDI software, meaning the creators weren’t initially restricted by the physical limitations of having only ten fingers and two hands.

As the song progresses, it escalates from a genuinely catchy, Russian-sounding melody into a wall of notes so dense that it requires dozens of simultaneous keystrokes—literally demanding extra hands, rulers, or computer automation to “play.” This deliberate absurdity is what turned it into a massive meme. Pianists and content creators across YouTube began posting videos trying to “survive” playing Rush E, while others created hilarious parodies involving cats, squids, and computer glitches attempting to execute the impossible score.

A Lasting Internet Legacy

Released in 2021, “Rush E” transcended typical piano tutorial videos to become a genuine pop-culture milestone of the internet age. It proved that classical composition techniques, video game culture, and shitposting could merge into something wildly entertaining.

Today, Andrew Wrangell and Samuel Dickenson continue to run Sheet Music Boss, but “Rush E” remains their crowning viral achievement—a testament to what happens when you hand internet humor to classically trained musicians with a sense of humor.