PlayPiano
The short answer
Stoptime Rag is a rag by Scott Joplin from the Ragtime era.
- rag
- Ragtime
- hand independence
- scales runs
History
Scott Joplin's *Stoptime Rag* was published by Joseph W. Stern in 1910. Its stop-time idea makes silence part of the rhythm: the original printed score tells the player to mark certain beats by stamping a heel. Listen for how the tune carries on while that extra beat keeps the pulse alive.
Sources
What to listen for
The opening upper figure runs through short notes over firmer lower chords. In the third encoded measure both staves land briefly on G and then fall silent together. That written gap is part of the gesture: keep the pulse going internally instead of treating the silence as a lost beat.
How to practise it
- Practise the first encoded measure's eight upper sixteenth notes as two comfortable groups over the lower quarter-note chords. Keep the lower pulse firm without making every upper note heavy.
About this piece
- Collection
- The ragtime corner
- Licence
- Public Domain Mark
- Source
- musescore.com
