Scott Joplin once was quoted as saying: "Don't play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast." So true. So many people seem to forget the notation of a vast majority of ragtime pieces, or at least the pieces that Joplin wrote. Ragtime is often set at tempo di marcia. This is a marching tempo. You can't march to something going a mile a minute, can you? It is hard to control yourself with such exciting music and it can be really exciting to play fast, but it truly does not get played that way! And, I might add, it is quite a relief that a lot of ragtime isn't played quickly because it is already difficult enough at a marching pace!
I am down to the last ten or so measures of Maple Leaf Rag. I have a lot of work this week dealing with junk in my garage for a garage sale this coming weekend, but I still intend to get Maple Leaf Rag out of the way by the weekend. I truly enjoyed getting a lot of practice in on a 1970's Baldwin baby grand last weekend. The 70's were prime years for Baldwin and that baby grand is no exception! I should be able to get back into a good schedule of going to the local church and practicing a couple of times a week starting next week again. Thanks for sticking with me while I go through a bunch of breaks in practicing due to other commitments! Clair de lune is right around the corner and there is a lot of musical notation to talk about in that piece!!!!
Be on the look-out for a mini-biography on Scott Joplin soon!
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