The Entertainer (Joplin)

The opening strain of Joplin's rag: a chromatic pickup and a syncopated tune.

Level:
5 of 6
Hands:
Right hand
Key:
C major
Notes:
36
Range:
B3 to E4
One run:
about 27 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

36 notes, one at a time.

  1. D4
  2. D#4
  3. E4
  4. C4
  5. E4
  6. C4
  7. E4
  8. C4
  9. C4
  10. D4
  11. D#4
  12. E4
  13. C4
  14. D4
  15. E4
  16. B3
  17. D4
  18. C4
  19. D4
  20. D#4
  21. E4
  22. C4
  23. E4
  24. C4
  25. E4
  26. C4
  27. C4
  28. D4
  29. D#4
  30. E4
  31. C4
  32. D4
  33. E4
  34. B3
  35. D4
  36. C4

How to practise it

  1. Slow. Ragtime is never played fast, and this one falls apart the moment it is rushed
  2. D, D sharp, E: the chromatic pickup uses fingers 1, 2, 3 and lands the thumb back on C
  3. The long notes sit just after the beat. Tap the pulse with your foot and let the tune pull against it

The scale behind it

This one is built on the C Major scale: C D E F G A B (no sharps or flats). Its right-hand fingering runs 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, and the scale page has the full diagram if you want to hear the shape on its own first.

How to play it here

Play along on the keys with your mouse, your computer keyboard, a touch screen, or a MIDI keyboard you have plugged in. Every key can show its own name, and the metronome will hold the tempo while you work through the 36 notes.

What it trains

  • adult beginner
  • ragtime
  • syncopation
  • black keys
  • classical

More adult beginner course

Piano for adult beginners, in the order the method books teach it: black keys and finger numbers, Middle C, pentascales, primary chords, then real pieces with both hands.

All piano exercises