PlayPiano
The short answer
Bethena: A Concert Waltz is a piece by Scott Joplin from the Ragtime era.
- concert waltz
- Ragtime
- syncopation
- voicing
History
Joplin’s Bethena appeared in early 1905 as a concert waltz, not a rag. Avoid the often-repeated claim about whom it memorialised: its title and dedication need stronger evidence.
Sources
What to listen for
The opening four-note shape is heard high, then an octave lower, then in the lower track. This register-by-register transfer lets the same rhythm sound like successive replies. Later, long upper chords remain in place while the lower track continues the short-long rhythmic idea; the 3/4 declaration belongs to this file, not to an invented printed-bar map.
How to practise it
- In the second window, hold the upper chord beginning at quarter position 12 for three quarters while the lower notes continue. Keep that support gentle and let the moving lower idea retain direction.
- Practise the opening note at quarter position 0.5 through its one-quarter duration, then the note at 1.5. Count a steady pulse without shortening the offbeat held note. Repeat the same rhythmic shape in each register.
About this piece
- Collection
- At the dance floor
- Licence
- Public Domain
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
