Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner - Non Classical The Entertainer!

Hi Everyone,

Since I started the Joplin thread here a month ago, I just thought I'd share my latest upload with you.

PS-I'm normally a poster on the adult beginner's forum, because yes, I'm an adult beginner. This was the first Joplin piece that I learned last year, my first full year in my return to piano.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnfz5c_pdA4

Very Good, Sir!!!

Well done! Now try something. Play it again but keep your foot off the pedal. Yes, RIGHT off! Put a book or something under it so it won't go down at all. Then it will be a little under-pedalled, instead of massively blurred by over-pedaling.

Exalted Wombat, yes some others on the ABF stated the same thing - too much pedal, and I admit my version was a little muddy in a few spots. thanks for the tip.

Pedaling technique, since I choose to use pedal in ragtime playing, is something I definitely need to work on, and yes, I do play Ragtime with no pedal sometimes - especially when I'm just practicing.

Further, there are a few schools of thought on Ragtime playing in general. There are some interpreters, like Joshua Rifkin, that use the pedal generously, while others use no pedal and dotted rhythms. I guess it boils to personal preference. I personally like Rifkin's playing the best, so my interpretation was somewhat influenced by his (but of course nowhere near as good as his).

Exalted Wombat, here's a more stacatto version (non-pedaled) that I whipped up quickly. Is this the version that you prefer?

The Entertainer is the highest level piece in my repetoire--although not polished yet.

I pedal primarily to hold the lower left hand notes so they do not sound too staccato.

I agree on Rifkin--in general, but for "Bethena", listen to Peskanov sometime. Slow and beautiful.

Russ

Hi Russ, I am a Rifkin "disciple", and I love the way he plays ragtime...slow and majestic, but again, it's a matter of personal preference. But there are bouncy, stacatto versions out there that are very nice to listen to also. I've had the discussion on the ABF forum, and lots of people prefer "bouncy" and more staccato, and a few liked my "repost" of the bouncy staccato version better. Rifkin has been criticized also for being too slow, leaning on the pedal, and making ragtime sound like a Chopin nocturne. Again, it boils down to personal preference.

Based on everyone's feedback, I'm still trying to decide how I'll play my next rag, "The Weeping Willow". I'm experimenting right now, but still months away from finishing.

And yes, I modeled my rendition of "Bethena" after both Peskanov and Randy Kerber, who played this for the Benjamin Button movie. I've listened to both versions hundreds of times before I made my own. I have a few of Peskanov's MP3s also..I think he's one of the great "modern interpreters" of Joplin also.

Like yourself, I'd have to say "Entertainer" was the hardest piece in my repertoire also. The octaves in the 1st and 2nd strains are extremely tough to play cleanly.

Have fun and good luck with it.

Personally, Cebu, the octaves give me very little problem compared to the final two sections--landing on the correct notes in the left hand keep me making the odd error--even after a couple of years. I have shelved "Bethena" to work on some of the easier Chopin--but will get to it.

Russ

Hi Russ, the very last "ending" of the C-section was very difficult for me too. It's a big jump from that low-C octave to that A-C-F chord. I'd say the C-section has the most left hand leaps of any, so you're right, accuracy is key here.

Kudos to you for not struggling with the octaves. Most people have the hardest time with the A-section.

Hi everyone,

I've always loved The Entertainer and decided to start working on it. Before starting a new thread, I did a search and found this thread. I hope people still come back to it.

My goal is to at least have all of it memorized by the end of this year. That is, be able to hit all the correct notes as long as I slow it down enough. I'm not expecting the dynamics/tempo/etc. to be perfect in 11 months since I'm still a beginner.

As I started working on the right-hand parts of page 1 out of 4 (I'll focus on page 1 only until it's decent, that's the first 21 measures), I see the abundance of octaves and also octaves with a note in between. So my question is this: what's a good exercise to practice jumping back and forth in octaves like that? (Maybe the piece itself is my exercise?) My hands are big enough to comfortably play an octave; the issue is keeping the shape as you jump back and forth to avoid hitting a 7th instead of an octave (which is probably every beginner's issue). I was thinking of practicing my scales in octaves. Does that sound useful? Any other ideas? I'll ask my teacher as well, but wanted to hear from the collective wisdom. For your reference, the sheet music I'm using is this one.

There's this young lady on YouTube who plays ragtime amazingly well. I find it useful to see her playing the songs as a point of reference. She tends to play a bit too fast, but you can always slow down the video to see her hands better: Ragtime by Kristen Mosca

Thank you,

There is a good discussion on this song over in the adult beginners forum as well. It is an amazing piece of music.

For a beginner that's pretty awesome. I'd say you're far beyond beginner.

Will you indulge a few mildly critical comments? Others mentioned the pedaling. What I like to do as a middle ground between too much pedaling and too dry a sound is, pedal down on the bass, pedal up on the chord. There are spots where something different works better but that's a good general pattern.

Second, I thought I heard some wrong notes and rhythms on the second to last section. Did you miss an accidental in the key signature? And check the right hand rhythm right before the left hand does those descended 16ths. On the other hand it's entirely possible I've been playing it wrong so I'll take another look as well.

Sorry to be nitpicky. I'm not a beginner but I don't believe I played it quite as well as you did.

Hi

If you want to hear a completely different take on The Entertainer have a listen to Monty Alexanders version.

As others have said a little less pedal.
I was a bit confused though, as the link you provided, took me to a performance, which was from 2010.

Well done regardless!

Cheers