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I have Maple Leaf sheet music that says 88, and has a note that said Scott Joplin recorded it on a piano roll at 96.

The sheet music is cool because includes the improvisational embellishments that Joplin adeed on his piano roll recording.

What is meant by the "C strain" of Maple Leaf?

What is meant by the "C" part?

As noted above, Maple Leaf Rag (like many of Joplin's rags) has 4 different sections, which may be referred to as A, B, C and D. With all the repeats the structure of the piece is AABBACCDD.

Hi

I played and recorded this for my ABRSM grade 7 exam last year. In the end I think my tempo was around 130, which meant it lasted just short of 2 minutes (without repeats). 2 minutes was a time limit for the grade btw.

As others have mentioned being able to play the C section cleanly was an important factor in my choice of tempo. To me anything below about 120 and it starts to plod. But that's just a matter of taste.

Cheers