Maple Leaf Rag

Scott Joplin · Level 6 (Expert) · jazz and blues · Piano

The Maple Leaf Rag (1899), the hit that launched ragtime across America. A rag by Scott Joplin, the “King of Ragtime”: stride left hand (bass then chord) and syncopated melody. A♭ major, 2/4, 145 bars (about 2 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• As Joplin wrote: “it is never right to play ragtime fast”. Keep the left hand perfectly steady and place the right-hand syncopations precisely. Key signature with 4 flats: name them aloud before playing and spot the places where accidentals cancel them. The piece starts with a pickup: count the incomplete bar before coming in. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment.

More pieces by Scott Joplin

• Elite Syncopations
• Something Doing
• The Strenuous Life
• Wall Street Rag
• The Entertainer
• Search-Light Rag
• Peacherine Rag
• Original Rags

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain