Customer Reviews

18 Rags in Easier Versions: Piano Solo

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a ratime lover! I purchased cd's of Scott Joplin's work in the past and it really got me into wanting to play it. I knew that the original music by Joplin was way above my head so I bought this hoping that I could get the same richness as the originals but to be able to play at my own skill level. This book has done it very well! Buy if you are a student who has been taking for a few years or if you are intermediate. This book does the job, believe me!

I've tried playing Joplin as he wrote it, and it's hard. The versions in this book are definitely easier, and they sound almost the same. They are simpler because they don't need as many fingers as the originals.

These pieces are not simplified by changing key signature. This is why I've only been able to learn two of them so far. (My fault, not the book.)

The music is great. I might have preferred a slightly different choice of 18, but overall I love the book.

EDIT: All the pieces in this book can be played on a 55 key keyboard, a nice feature.

Don't be fooled into thinking that these pieces are easy to play. While they are not nearly as difficult as Joplin's own syncopated masterpieces, they are still definitely intermediate pieces. Syncopation is a difficult art to master, and these can get an intermediate player moving in that direction.

I needed to be able to learn a couple of Ragtime pieces quickly - something that was not as elaborate as the originals, but not at the elementary level either. This was just right for me and the time constraints I was facing.