Who Created Rush E? The Real Story Behind the Meme

Who Created “Rush E”?

“Rush E” is one of the most famous and recognizable meme-infused piano compositions of the internet era. It was created by Sheet Music Boss, an Australian YouTube channel and music duo consisting of composers and pianists Andrew Wrangell and Samuel Dickenson.

The track was specifically written and arranged by Andrew Wrangell for their YouTube channel, which specializes in piano tutorials, game music arrangements, and notoriously difficult, rapidly paced MIDI visualizer pieces.

The Origins and Lineage of the “Rush” Series

To understand how “Rush E” came to be, it helps to look at the naming convention that preceded it. Sheet Music Boss built a popular subset of videos inspired by Russian folk-style piano arrangements and gaming culture.

• “Rush B”: The series originally started with a track named “Rush B”. The title was a direct nod to a popular meme from the tactical shooter game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), where players communicating via voice chat would frantically yell at their teammates to “Rush B” (charge toward bomb site B en masse). The piano piece heavily emphasized the musical note “B” while maintaining a high-speed Russian folk motif.
• Transition to “Rush E”: Following the success of “Rush B”, the duo wanted to capitalize on internet culture again. Around the time of its creation, the “E” meme—a surreal, deep-fried digital mashup featuring Lord Farquaad’s face from Shrek pasted onto Markiplier’s body with the giant capital letter “E”—was dominating meme spaces. Wrangell and Dickenson decided to build a brand-new musical composition centered around the letter “E”, weaving the audio cues of the meme directly into the song’s climactic structure.

From a YouTube Video to a Global Internet Phenomenon

When “Rush E” was uploaded, it quickly transcended a simple piano tutorial video. The sheet music was deliberately charted to look wildly impossible for a human being to play, featuring notes cascading down the screen at breakneck speeds.

This sparked a massive internet trend:

1. The “Impossible” Challenge: Pianists and content creators across YouTube and TikTok began trying—or humorously pretending—to play the chaotic piece live, often using multiple hands, extra helpers, or giant sticks.
2. Parodies and Remixes: The song spawned countless covers, orchestrations for other instruments (like marimbas and brass), and even harder fan-made remix versions (such as “Rush E 2” or variations featuring millions of notes).
3. Cultural Staying Power: Because of its catchy melody and intense difficulty curve, it became a rite of passage and a recognizable earworm for a whole generation of internet users and young piano students.

Ultimately, what started as a fun, meme-inspired digital composition by two independent Australian musicians turned into one of the defining viral music pieces of modern internet culture.