Maple Leaf Rag

Third edition cover of "Maple Leaf Rag".

The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered September 18, 1899) is an early ragtime composition for piano by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, and is one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces, becoming the first instrumental piece to sell over one million copies of sheet music.

In 1916, Joplin recorded the "Maple Leaf Rag" on a piano roll on the Connorized and Aeolian Uni-Record labels, along with his other ragtime pieces - "Something Doing", "Magnetic Rag", "Ole Miss Rag" (composed by W.C. Handy), "Weeping Willow" and "Pleasant Moments - Ragtime Waltz".

Structure

AA BB A CC DD

"Maple Leaf Rag" is a multi-strain ragtime march with athletic bass lines and upbeat melodies. Each of the four parts features a recurring theme and a striding bass line with copious seventh chords.

"Maple Leaf Rag" seventh chord resolution . Note that the seventh resolves down by half step.

It is more carefully constructed than almost all previous ragtime tunes, and the syncopations, especially in the transition between the first and second strain, were arrestingly novel at the time.

While not an extremely difficult piece rhythmically or musically, a pianist must have a well developed command of his or her left arm in order to perform the piece successfully—especially the third section. When it was first published, it was considered significantly more difficult than the average Tin Pan Alley and early ragtime sheet music common at the time.

The "Gladiolus Rag", a later composition by Joplin, is a developed variant of the Maple Leaf Rag, showcasing Joplin's increasing musical sophistication, and is usually played at a somewhat slower tempo. In addition, the first part of Joplin's "The Cascades" is very close to "Maple Leaf Rag"'s first theme.

Popularity and legacy

Caricature of a performance of "Maple Leaf Rag" from an advertisement page at the back of another rag published by John Stillwell Stark, 1913.

Joplin wrote the "Maple Leaf Rag" circa 1897, in honor of the Maple Leaf Club, a black social club that existed briefly during the late 1890s in Sedalia, Missouri. Shortly after its completion, Joplin told fellow ragtime composer Arthur Marshall that "the Maple Leaf will make me King of ragtime composers". It was published in September 1899 (finally after Joplin submitted the rag to three publishers) on sheet music by John Stark & Son, after and in its first six months sold 75,000 copies, becoming "the first great instrumental sheet music hit in America".

Over 1 million copies of the sheet music were eventually sold, making Scott Joplin the first musician to sell 1 million copies of a piece of instrumental music. In addition to sales of sheet music, it was also popular in orchestrations for dance bands and brass bands for years.

The tune continued to be in the repertoire of jazz bands decades later, with artists such as the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in the 1920s, and Sidney Bechet in the 1930s giving it up-to-date adaptations, maintaining a timeless quality to it. As an indication of its persistent popularity and recognition, it was performed on phonograph records six times in each of the three decades following its publication. In 1930, it makes an appearance in the gangster movie classic, The Public Enemy. As two characters plot a crime, in a scene set in 1914, the tune can be heard being played very slowly in the background, by a pianist still in the process of learning the piece. It was also heard repeatedly in the 1932 Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Whoopee Party".

Sidney Bechet and his Orchestra recorded the tune in New York City on September 15, 1932.

The "Maple Leaf Rag" is still a favorite of ragtime pianists, and has been described as an "American institution... still in print and still popular".

Judith Durham has used the song as a mainstay in concert, both as a solo artist, as well as with The Seekers.

As the copyright has expired, the composition is in the public domain. It appears in the soundtracks of hundreds of films, cartoons, commercials, and video games.

In 2004 Canadian radio listeners voted it the 39th greatest song of all time.

The song is also heard in Disneyland's fireworks show, Remember... Dreams Come True during the segment on Main Street U.S.A. as a Dixieland arrangement. Dixieland bands and ragtime piano players (mainly Rod Miller) are a common sight on Main Street.

See also

• List of compositions by Scott Joplin

External links

Sheet music

• Maple Leaf Rag - from the Mutopia Project (musical score transcription and MIDI file)
• Sheet music and mp3 at mfiles.co.uk (interactive version requires Scorch)
• Free typeset sheet music and transcriptions at "imslp.org".

Recordings

• [1] 4 hands performance
• [2]
• "Maple Leaf Rag Played by Scott Joplin" Maple leaf Rag, recorded on Pianola Roll actually played by Scott Joplin
• "Maple Leaf Rag" - The piano roll performance of Maple Leaf Rag, recorded in 1916 by the composer Scott Joplin for Aeolian Uni-Record.
• "Maple Leaf Rag" - unique version by John Roache, with elements of stride piano (MIDI format)
• "Maple Leaf Rag" A 1906 recording by the U. S. Marine Band (MP3 format)
• Robert Ringwald plays the "Maple Leaf Rag" - recording by Robert Ringwald (RealPlayer format)
• People of New Orleans - video interview with Tom McDermott playing the "Maple Leaf Rag" at the end (Quicktime and Windows Media formats)
• Maple Leaf Rag - dedicated to 100 years of the "Maple Leaf Rag".
• Free Mp3 Download and video