Maple_Leaf_Rag

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maple Leaf Rag Maple Leaf Rag syncopations, especially in the transition between the first and second strain, were arrestingly novel at the time. While not an extremely difficult piece rhythmically or musically, a pianist must have a well developed command of his or her left arm in order to perform the piece successfully—especially the third section. When it was first published, it was considered significantly more difficult than the average Tin Pan Alley and early ragtime sheet music common at the time. The Gladiolus Rag, a later composition by Joplin, is a developed variant of the Maple Leaf Rag, showcasing Joplin’s increasing musical sophistication, and is usually played at a somewhat slower tempo. In addition, the first part of Joplin’s The Cascades is very close to Maple Leaf Rag’s first part. Popularity and legacy Third edition cover of "Maple Leaf Rag". The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered September 18, 1899[1]) is an early ragtime composition for piano by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin’s early works, and is one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces, becoming the first instrumental piece to sell over one million copies.[2] In 1916, Joplin recorded the Maple Leaf Rag on a piano roll on the Connorized and Aeolian Uni-Record labels, along with his other ragtime pieces - Something Doing, Magnetic Rag, Ole Miss Rag (composed by W.C. Handy), Weeping Willow and Pleasant Moments - Ragtime Waltz. Structure "Maple Leaf Rag" is a multi-strain ragtime march with athletic bass lines and upbeat melodies. Each of the four parts features a recurring theme and a striding bass line with copious seventh chords. It is more carefully constructed than almost all previous ragtime tunes, and the Caricature of a performance of "Maple Leaf Rag" from an advertisement page at the back of another rag published by John Stillwell Stark, 1913. 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Joplin wrote the Maple Leaf Rag circa 1897, in honor of the Maple Leaf Club, a black social club that existed briefly during the late 1890s in Sedalia, Missouri. Shortly after its completion, Joplin told fellow ragtime composer Arthur Marshall that "the Maple Leaf will make me King of ragtime composers."[3] It was published in September 1899 (finally after Joplin submitted the rag to three publishers) on sheet music by John Stark & Son, after and in its first six months sold 75,000 copies, becoming "the first great instrumental sheet music hit in America."[4] Over 1 million copies of the sheet music were eventually sold, making Scott Joplin the first musician to sell 1 million copies of a piece of instrumental music.[2][4] In addition to sales of sheet music, it was also popular in orchestrations for dance bands and brass bands for years. The tune continued to be in the repertoire of jazz bands decades later, with artists such as the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in the 1920s, and Sidney Bechet in the 1940s giving it up-to-date adaptations, maintaining a timeless quality to it. As an indication of its persistent popularity and recognition, it was performed on phonograph records six times in each of the three decades following its publication[5] In 1930, it makes an appearance in the gangster movie classic, The Public Enemy. As two characters plot a crime, in a scene set in 1914, the tune can be heard being played very slowly in the background, by a pianist still in the process of learning the piece. The "Maple Leaf Rag" is still a favorite of ragtime pianists, and has been described as an "American institution... still in print and still popular."[4] Judith Durham has used the song as a mainstay in concert, both as a solo artist, as well as with The Seekers. As the copyright has expired, the composition is in the public domain. It appears in the soundtracks of hundreds of films, cartoons, commercials, and videogames. Even so "The Maple Leaf Rag" was used in films long before The Sting. In 1930 it was used in The Public Enemy where in one scene an aspiring pianist can be heard in the background, slowly working through the sheet music. Also, Walt Disney used it too (It was played repeatedly through the 1932 Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Whoopee Party"). Maple Leaf Rag In 2004 Canadian radio listeners voted it the 39th greatest song of all time. External links Sheet music • Maple Leaf Rag - from the Mutopia Project (musical score transcription and MIDI file) • Sheet music and mp3 at mfiles.co.uk (interactive version requires Scorch) • Free typeset sheet music from Cantorion.org. Recordings • "Maple Leaf Rag" - The piano roll performance of Maple Leaf Rag, recorded in 1916 by the composer Scott Joplin for Aeolian Uni-Record. • "Maple Leaf Rag" - unique version by John Roache, with elements of stride piano (MIDI format) • "Maple Leaf Rag" A 1906 recording by the U. S. Marine Band (MP3 format) • Robert Ringwald plays the "Maple Leaf Rag" - recording by Robert Ringwald (RealPlayer format) • People of New Orleans - video interview with Tom McDermott playing the "Maple Leaf Rag" at the end (Quicktime and Windows Media formats) • Maple Leaf Rag - dedicated to 100 years of the "Maple Leaf Rag". • Free Mp3 Download and video References [1] Jasen, David A.; Trebor Jay Tichenor (1978). Rags and Ragtime: A Musical History. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.. pp. 87. ISBN 0-486-25922-6. [2] ^ Edwards, "Perfessor" Bill. "Rags & Pieces by Scott Joplin, 1895 - 1905", accessed March 25, 2008. [3] Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis, "They All Played Ragtime", New York: Oak Publications, 1971. [4] ^ Rudi Blesh, "Scott Joplin: BlackAmerican Classicist", Introduction to Scott Joplin Complete Piano Works, New York Public Library, 1981, pxxiii. [5] Edward A. Berlin. King Of Ragtime: Scott Joplin And His Era.New York : Oxford University Press, 1994. 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maple Leaf Rag See also • List of compositions by Scott Joplin Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_Leaf_Rag" Categories: Solo piano pieces, 1897 works, Rags, ELP songs, Compositions by Scott Joplin This page was last modified on 26 April 2009, at 19:37 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 3