hello all

SJ died 90 years ago but no media seems to be interested. Some questions about Scott Joplin, if you don t mind.

What is the level of a piano player who is able to play scott joplin ? how is regarded scott joplin in the world of music ? do we have more pictures of SJ ( i only found 4-5 on the web ) ? do we have pictures of SJ's wives ? do we know which celebs he met ? Is it true gerschwin attended his funerals ?

NB: i m not english

Hi SJFAN

Judging from the lack of replies to your post, it seems not too many other people appear to be interested either. Let me have a go at answering your questions.

You do not say how long you have been playing, what level you consider yourself to be at or if you have tried playing any Joplin. I suspect you may have tried and not been very impressed with your results, hence the question.

Going back over 30 years to the start of the Ragtime "revival", ( at the hands of Tichenor, Rudi Blesh and others and NOT the bloody awful arrangements Marvin Hamlisch made for the film "The Sting" ), I jumped on the bandwagon myself and bought every piece of Joplin music I could lay my hands on. I absolutely loved this music, desperately wanted to play it well and practised it endlessly.

The essence of Ragtime is of course the left hand which must remain rock-steady to complement the syncopations in the right and many classically trained pianists I have known have found some degree of diffculty in adapting to the left hand patterns found in Rags (and indeed later in stride and swing). If you can become confident with the left hand you are more than halfway there.

What I did find invaluable during my own Ragtime education were the recordings of Joplin music made by Joshua Rifkin on the Nonesuch label ( I don't know if they are still available, but worth seeking out ). He played the rags just as written, no embellishments, and at a steady tempo which made it very easy to follow exactly what was happening.

Difficult to say how well Joplin was regarded in his time. By the end of the 19th Century he was just one of hundreds of composers cashing in on the Ragtime craze. He was probably at the height of his fame quite early in his career when published rags were still something of a novelty but as the 19th Century grew to a close there were quite a few people composing rags that were the equal of Joplins, if not better.

If you have been bitten by the Ragtime bug ( and it seems you have ) and desparately want to play it, don't ask yourself what level you have to be at, just buy the music, listen to others playing it and get stuck in!!!!!

Good luck

Here's some Joplin sheet music:
http://ragtimepiano.ca/rags/joplin.htm

It doesn't take virtuoso skill to play Joplin, but he's at least a grade 6/7.

I consider Scott Joplin as one of the great composers. He didn't get the respect he deserved, especially from the classical snobs.

His music is unique. His signature is on all his music.

BTW, you can purchase Joplin's complete works in one book.

Some of his rags are more difficult than others. Joplin said piano rags should never be played fast. Of course certain ones like "The Maple Leaf Rag" sound good at a faster tempo.

Best, John

My take is that Joplin was popular in his day but the entire Ragtime genre was overtaken by (or evolved into) Jazz, and Joplin diminished in importance along with Ragtime. I'd read somewhere that because Ragtime was difficult to play, sheet music sales were limited. But I've also read that Maple Leaf Rag was one of the hottest pieces ever published. Personally I find that once the left hand gets trained in doing one rag it's not too difficult to pick up rag after rag.

I love Joplin's rags. Some can be played fast but some have really nice melody lines that need the tempo slowed down to really appreciate--Gladiolus comes to mind, and of course his Solace (is that really a rag?)

There are ragtime festivals every year in Sedalia, and several in California (where I am).

http://www.scottjoplin.org/
http://www.westcoastragtime.com/
http://www.suttercreekragtime.com/
http://www.ragfest.com/

SJFan,

There was a movie made in the 1970s about the life of Scott Joplin starring Billy Dee Williams as Scott Joplin. I don't know how accurate the movie is but it may give you a little more insight about this talented composer.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0076674/

I do have a book of Joplin's music. Unfortunately it is at my parent's home so I can't tell you the name of it at this time. (It may be the book that Johhny-Boy is speaking of.) Judging from the pieces in the book I believe that you would have to be at least an intermediate player or preferably an advanced player to play his music as written in the book. In the introduction there are some suggestions from Scott Joplin as to how to play his rags.

There's only two of his I especially like, mapleleaf rag and pinneapple rag. I remember my first private tutor playing it once for me (mapleleaf) and after that, every time I came for my lessons I requested that she'd play it to get me hyped up. lol

While not difficult to play, it does require a very highly developed rhythmic sense of a particular type. Classically trained players sometimes cannot handle it at all well, although there is no obvious reason why this should be so. Many good interpretations are available on CD. Rifkin, Morath, Kirby and Roberts come to mind. John Arpin's Joplin is superb, with immaculate dynamics, as was anything he ever played, but he does embellish and bend the tempo quite freely. I find it attractive but many ragtime diehards do not like it.

Have a listen to his opera, Treemonisha, preferably the Houston Grand Opera 1977 version. Although only three numbers are, strictly speaking, ragtime, the work as a whole is uniquely beautiful and provides deep insight into his musical aesthetic.

thanx all especially "David Staff "
it was very interesting to read you.

I also came to ragtime through Joshua Rifkin, but now that I've been playing it for a while, I find that Rifkin's recordings don't appeal to me anymore.

I really do think that Joplin was very important as a composer - jazz would not have appeared if it weren't for ragtime, and ragtime would not have been the same without Joplin. He created the standard form that others followed, and a lot of the chord patterns and structures that later became cliche because everyone copied them.

I like Pineapple - that was the first rag I ever heard. But "Magnetic Rag" is my favorite. It's a very deep and thoughtful piece - very unusual for a rag.

My favourite is Gladiolus Rag, which is probably one of the harder tunes.
Think I learnt it when I was grade 5/6 ABRSM (and had already tackled The Entertainer, Magnetic, Pineapple, Maple Leaf, and Botsford's Black & White Rag).

Andy

Right after John Arpin's death, someone gave me his Disclavier release and I was pleased to find it played on my PianoDisc. He's always been my wife's favorite Joplin interpreter and now I see why.

Here's a link to who I consider to be the top Ragtime scholar around, which references his publications which you might try and hunt down:
http://www.edwardaberlin.com/bio.htm

SJFAN, are you aware that Scott Kirby's wife is French and they spend a great deal of time in your country? You might be able to contact him through this web site: http://www.viridianaproductions.com
... don't know if he performs while in France but it can't hurt to ask.

Howard

May I recommend the DVD 'bill dobbins' THE EVOLUTION OF SOLO JAZZ PIANO. As written title. This is a study of jazz piano styles (24 in number) from the beginning of jazz piano. He gives some very lucid explanations along with his talented playing of these styles for the start of jazz piano to the present day. 101 minutes.

www.advancemusic.com

(Swingal)

May I recommend the DVD 'bill dobbins' THE EVOLUTION OF SOLO JAZZ PIANO. As written title. This is a study of jazz piano styles (24 in number) from the beginning of jazz piano. He gives some very lucid explanations along with his talented playing of these styles for the start of jazz piano to the present day. 101 minutes.

www.advancemusic.com

(Swingal)