The Entertainer
Scott Joplin's The Entertainer (1902) is an Advanced piece (Octotune grade 7 of 8) in C major and 2/4. It is a ragtime two-step: a syncopated right hand over a stride left hand that leaps between bass notes and chords.
At a glance
| Composer | Scott Joplin (died 1917) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Advanced: grade 7 of 8 |
| Key | C major (no sharps or flats) |
| Time | 2/4 |
| Tempo | 72 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 152 bars, about 4:13 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | C4 to F♯6 |
| Left hand | F1 to F4 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| The Entertainer | 7 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
Scott Joplin published The Entertainer in 1902 as "a rag time two step". It became world-famous again in 1973 through the film The Sting. Joplin marked it Not fast, and he meant it: ragtime should swagger, not race.
How hard is it? The full piece is advanced (Octotune grade 7 of 8). The tune is catchy and not especially fast, but everything around it is demanding:
- The stride left hand. On the beat, a low bass note or octave; off the beat, a chord in the middle of the keyboard. The hand leaps back and forth all the way through, sometimes more than two octaves.
- Syncopation. Right-hand notes land just before the beat and are tied across it. Count "1 and 2 and" and feel where the tied notes fall.
- Octaves and chords in the right hand, in the introduction and the later strains.
- Length. It is a rag in several strains, each repeated, one of them in F major, lasting several minutes.
Practice plan
- Start with the Melody level. The famous first strain as a right-hand tune is a good project for an early intermediate player.
- Left hand alone, slowly, for each strain. Say "bass, chord, bass, chord", and look ahead to the next bass note.
- Hands together, one strain at a time, at 50% speed with the A–B loop. Count out loud through the syncopations.
- Join the strains only when each is steady.
Before you start: the whole Octotune path, especially Units 7 (rhythm) and 11 (chords). The syncopation goes beyond what the path's rhythm units teach, so clap it before you play it.
Questions
What grade is The Entertainer?
The original, full rag is advanced: Octotune grades it 7 of 8, for its jumping stride left hand, right-hand octaves and chords, syncopation and length. Simplified arrangements are much easier; Octotune's Melody level is a good first step.
How fast should The Entertainer be played?
Not fast. Joplin's own tempo marking is Not fast, and a steady, relaxed two-step is right.
Credits and licence
- Music: Scott Joplin (died 1917)
- Typeset by Chris Sawer for the Mutopia Project
- Licence: Public Domain
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece