(Someone forgot to tell this to Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson.) When you fill up the space with arpeggiated fillers and flashy runs, you don't need fast chord changes to create excitement. Notice how our arrangement of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Starsounds fun and jazzy, even though we've only used 2 chords. Ragtime music usually has rather simple harmonic structures, especially compared to more sophisticated jazz harmonies.
RUSSIAN RAG PLAYER PIANO ROLL FREE
Or, if you want to shortcut all that, Piano with Jonny has a free video teaching ragtime arpeggio fills and runs (he calls these "rag rolls" in the video). By keeping the bass notes and the chords close together, it eliminates the technical challenge of jumping the left hand too far. The easiest way to play a Ragtime stride left hand is by alternating single notes in the bass with chords. This is often called an “Oom Pah Bass,” as it emulates the rhythmic sounds of tubas and drums of contemporary marches of the time. In it’s most basic form, the player alternates bass notes on beats 1 & 3, with chords on 2 & 4. Ragtime piano is defined first and foremost by the left hand stride pattern. Let’s each about each of these individually first, and then we’ll discuss some exercises to put them together into a song. Harmonically simple chord changes, especially compared to jazz.įor a casual piano player, none of these are too difficult to learn, but can be harder to combine together fluently.Ragtime piano has a very distinctive “old time saloon” sound which is defined by some key characteristics: Here’s a performance of Jelly Roll Morton’s Fingerbreaker, a notoriously challenging rag. Stride piano is one of the most difficult styles to master, due to its sheer technical nature. This ultimately created a new style similar to Ragtime, called Stride. These compositions, like The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag or Solace are fully written and can be learned note for note from the sheet music.Īs ragtime evolved over time, particularly through live performances in clubs during the 1920/30’s, it become more improvisatory and virtuosic. Ragtime requires you to have a strong sense of rhythm and some technical proficiency to play it well.Ĭomposed ragtime, like the rags of Scott Joplin, are a great first step for classically trained pianists. So, is ragtime hard to play? Ragtime is too hard for complete beginners, but is approachable by those who have been playing piano seriously for at least 2-3 years. They are a lot of fun to play, and can really impress your friends. One of the most common questions I hear from beginning piano students is "can I learn to play Maple Leaf Rag?" Or, "Is The Entertainer approachable as a beginner?" Ragtime and stride piano are some of the most popular old-time piano styles.
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