It is very rare in the world of music that you come across something which you believe to be totally perfect. A piece which is so wonderfully intricate and yet to perfectly easy to listen to that you daren’t change a single note, as that may upset the balance and ruin it. At least, for me, it was particularly rare until I re-discovered the undisputed king of ragtime: Scott Joplin.
Scott Joplin’s music is not only iconic, but it has lasted hundreds of years. The Maple Leaf Rag (one of his more famous pieces) was first published in 1899, and yet it is still one of the best known pieces of ragtime ever written.
On The Maple Leaf Rag
The Maple Leaf rag is a perfect example of, not only Joplin’s genius, but of the effect I described above. If I were tasked with improving the Maple Leaf Rag, I would likely change very little, if anything at all. When you listen to (or watch somebody play) this piece, you are easily overwhelmed by all the pieces fitting together to create a sound which is unique and yet still stereotypically ragtime.
The melody of the piece is so wonderfully unique that it took me a few tries before I fully understood it. The bass and the treble both provide part of the overall melody through interlocking notes between the two parts. However, when played separately, the individual melodies which emerge still both make sense and sound great. I cannot even begin to understand how another human being came up with every single note which is a part of some of the sections of this piece. For instance, take this section. It causes my mind to slightly implode thinking about the fact that somebody had to actually come up with the notes that go behind this sound and make it the way that it is. Each individual note is just perfect in an indescribable fashion which only serves to increase the sense of intricacy.
This rag is quite possibly my favorite. Sure, it is complicated (and I have carpal-tunnel and a sprained wrist by the time I have finished playing it), but that is part of what makes it brilliant. It is complicated, but incredibly easy to listen to.
On The Entertainer
Probably the most famous out of Joplin’s many works is the Entertainer. Often known as the “silver screen’s soundtrack”, this piece is known to be associated with the wild west and, in particular, bar fights.
This piece is in a similar yet infinitely different boat to the Maple Leaf Rag in that it is actually simple and quite easy to play. Its structure is mainly based around repeats and small variations on the same pattern. It doesn’t sound right when played too quickly, which makes the tempo easy to manage, and it has very few advanced musical features to it. Joplin was not lying when he described it as “easy to play”.
As a pianist, I would consider this one of the best songs to have in your back pocket if you are ever in need of one to whip out and play at a moment’s notice. It is easy to play, easy to remember, but (most importantly) easy to recognise.
On The Magnetic Rag
If I remember rightly, this was Joplin’s last rag, owing to the fact that he died of Syphilis not so long after and was forgetting all his music. With the assistance of others, the fractured remainants of songs he was writing were stuck together (hence the “magnetic” in the title) and released under that name.
And yet, it still sounds perfect. I think, due to the habbit that Joplin had of including very contrasting different sections in all his songs, this song simply sounds as natural as all the others. What is there more to say? Joplin managed to scavenge a load of his own songs together, sewed them together Frankenstein style and ended up with a wonderful creature, rather than a hideous monster.
The Magnetic Rag is the kind of song that transports you back to mid-to-late 18th century stately homes, with their rich inhabitants and easy music playing in each room from the echo of the piano. The song is so expressive that it almost takes me there on each listening.
On Music Philosophy
Joplin is well known to have written “Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast” on all his sold sheet music. I agree.
I think that pieces of music which are played back overly fast are simply hiding their lack of detail and development. Songs which are overly simplistic are not always a bad thing, but they cannot simply attempt to hide this by speeding up the playing and making the impressive feat of the music not the talent that went into writing it, but instead the pianist’s ability to not break their fingers while playing it back.
When music is sped up, we loose a certain lag time which we can use to process the sound which just entered our ear and appreciate all the small details. When the Maple Leaf Rag was played back slower, I heard so many more details about the song that I had never heard before.
Joplin was right. Music which is played back fast (and only fast) is not fit for purpose. Music’s beauty should be in its design, not in the speed of its playback. If a song only sounds right when played exessively fast, it is not a song. It is noise.
In Conclusion
How much more is there to say? You have likely heard at least two Joplin songs in the course of your life, and may you hear many more in the future. If you get the change, try to learn some! Joplin’s music is often the gateway drug into piano and are a very fun way of making your reaction times shorter (especially try songs such as Elite Syncopations for that end).
So, I can be wholly confident when I say that Scott Joplin was a genius.