I bet you're expecting to hear Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag or The Entertainer with a title like today's entry. Nope.The fact of the matter is, there were several other ragtime music composers, such as Joseph Lamb, James Scott, Jelly Roll Morton,Charles L. Johnson and May Aufderheide. What defines ragtime music? First off, there's the syncopated melody. If you look at sheet music, you'll see many ties and rests that shift the accents. Next, there's the stride piano bass (the "boom-chick" part). They are all pretty steady, keeping a march-like time. Then there's the form - that's pretty fairly standard; |:A:||:B:|A|:C:| Trio being quite common.
This week's clip is a ragtime version of a famous Star Wars Theme: Cantina Band, performed by Martin Spitznagel & Bryan Wright. Enjoy!
(c) 2011 by Musespeak(TM), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.