Matchstick rag
Note after Note · Level 5 (Advanced) · jazz and blues · Piano
A ragtime in the manner of Scott Joplin: “oom-pah” left hand (low octave then chord), syncopated right hand that ties across the beats.
▶ 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.
- “Not fast”, Joplin wrote: ragtime is played straight (not swung) and never rushed. Left hand: a jump between the low octave (5-1) and the mid-range chord (3-2-1). Practise it alone, watching the keyboard at first. Notes tied across the beat (syncopations) are not replayed: count “1 e and a 2 e and a”.