The St. Louis Rag

Tom Turpin · Level 6 (Expert) · jazz and blues · Piano

A classic St. Louis rag, contemporary with Scott Joplin. C major, 2/4, 72 bars (about one minute), 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.
• Perfectly steady stride left hand, well-placed right-hand syncopations, never rushing. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together.

More pieces by Tom Turpin

• The Harlem Rag

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain