Maple Leaf Rag - Structure

Structure

AA BB A CC DD

"Maple Leaf Rag" is a multi-strain ragtime march with athletic bass lines and offbeat melodies. Each of the four parts features a recurring theme and a striding bass line with copious seventh chords. The piece may be considered the 'archetypal rag' due to its influence on the genre; its structure was the basis for many other rags, including 'Sensation' by Joseph Lamb.

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

Generally, the piece is not considered difficult; however, one must have very good coordination in the left hand to perform the piece successfully, particularly for the Trio, which involves leaps of two octaves. 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 strain of both Joplin's "The Cascades" and "Sugar Cane" are also similar to "Maple Leaf Rag"'s first strain.

Read more about this topic:  Maple Leaf Rag

Famous quotes containing the word structure:

    The question is still asked of women: “How do you propose to answer the need for child care?” That is an obvious attempt to structure conflict in the old terms. The questions are rather: “If we as a human community want children, how does the total society propose to provide for them?”
    Jean Baker Miller (20th century)

    A structure becomes architectural, and not sculptural, when its elements no longer have their justification in nature.
    Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)

    Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.
    Paul Tillich (1886–1965)