Product Description
The musical elements that made Scott Joplin's music so classic and timeless are clear, in the sense that we can see features in Joplin's music that other, less memorable, ragtime music of the period often lacks. I think those elements consist mainly of rhythmic delicacy, an harmonic ingenuity, in using borrowed chords and secondary dominants, and a melodicism that keeps one aware of both the joyful and melancholy aspects of Life. Here, in this final offering from New Ragtime Piano Music, I attempt to sum up these Joplinesque attributes in a rag that speaks with elegance and grace, and moves as one would move down a Red Carpet, to meet whatever Fame or Fortune might await. There is only a hint of minor harmony, at just the right places, to remind us that walking the runway never comes without a price. There is an octave or walking octave bass throughout, to give the piece its solid foundation. And there is the melody, with the piquant spice of a flatted fifth here, a 13th there, a chromatic decoration with that ragtime signature touch, of moving from the diminished sound to the major on the same root. There is an extended introduction, and another one before the finale, which uses grand octaves to herald the Stars on the Runway, floodlights gleaming, flashes popping. Approx duration at tempo indicated 5 mins. Don't play it too fast, and pedal on the strong beats.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.