Complete Piano Rags (Paperback)

~ Scott Joplin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This wonderful book brings together in one superbly produced playing edition all 38 of Scott Joplin's piano rags, including his six collaborations, plus Joplin's own primer on how to play ragtime, the "School of Ragtime". Each rag has been reprinted, along with its sheet-music cover, from the original publisher's edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (December 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486258076
• ISBN-13: 978-0486258072
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #129,767 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to play, October 26, 2001

By	Nels Lindberg (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Complete Piano Rags is a great book to play from. Any pianist of modest ability should get great enjoyment from these pieces once they figure out the syncopation. Ragtime is a great crowd-pleaser, too. Complete Piano Rags also shows the covers from the original sheet music for the rags, which are amusing in some cases. Like every other Dover edition, this book is a good value at a low price, and won't fall apart through use. The only thing this book doesn't have that I wish it did is Joplin's "Solace: a Mexican Serenade," which isn't a rag, but is still very beautiful (can be heard on one of J. Rifkin's records). If you do buy this book, I recommend playing "The Magnetic Rag," and "The Fig Leaf Rag." "Elite Syncopations" has a cool ending section, too.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's not in it, February 4, 2005

By	Stephen Malinowski (Richmond, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While it's true that all the piano pieces composed by Scott Joplin alone and which he called rags are contained in this collection, some piano pieces he collaborated on or didn't call rags are not. Following is a list of pieces that are in SCOTT JOPLIN -- Collected Piano Works (published by the New York Public Library) but missing from this volume:

Great Crush Collision
Combination March
Harmony Club Waltz
Augustan Club Waltz
Cleopha
March Majestic
The Chrusanthemum
Bethena - A Concert Waltz
Rosebud
Binks' Waltz
Antoinette
Solace
Pleasant Moments
Lily Queen (composed with Arthur Marshall)
Sensation (written by Joseph Lamb, arranged by Joplin)

However, it does contain the following which are not in the Collected volume:

Searchlight Rag
Roseleaf Rag
Fig Leaf Rag

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise and ALMOST Complete, January 3, 2003

By	William G. Edwards "Perfessor Bill" (Ashburn, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before you purchase, note the title - The Complete Piano RAGS of Scott Joplin. It may seem a bit purist to exclude his other pieces, but many of them, including his marches and songs, are rather commonplace for their time period. Two unfortunate omissions are Solace, which is actually a Tango, although it is in rag format, and Chrysanthemum, which is an intermezzo, although many in rag circles think it qualifies as a Joplin rag. Aside from these, this is a good substitute for the hard to find Complete Works of Scott Joplin from the New York Public Library. Also included are the original covers and some information on Joplin and the pieces.