About this work
Scott Joplin published The Entertainer in 1902 as a ragtime two-step. The score carries an instruction that has become a lesson in style: “Not fast.” The right-hand syncopation only comes into focus if the left hand keeps a steady stride through its alternating bass notes and chords. Rushing erases the very displacement that makes the piece dance.
Practise the left hand alone until its leaps can be joined without involuntary accents. The movement begins in the arm and is prepared during the preceding note; do not aim for the chord at the last moment. In the right hand, reduce each syncopation to its main points of support, then restore the intervening notes. When the hands come together, hear the bass as a steady partner rather than an automatic accompaniment.
Each section has its own profile, and some shift the tonal centre. Note their order and practise the joins, since a brief halt between two strains is often more disruptive than a missed note. Repeats allow slight changes of dynamics or articulation without changing tempo. The synthetic playback provides a useful framework, but the swing comes from the chosen accents and the release between them.
What the document containsThe complete Entertainer for solo piano.One 4-page PDF score.One MIDI file for reference.The content matches the ragtime published in 1902, with no added instrumental arrangement.