Piano songs · Intermediate
The Entertainer on piano
The Entertainer is ragtime at its most cheerful: a skipping tune over a left hand that jumps between bass notes and chords. Here's the introduction and the famous first theme, with both hands.
The tune in letter names, lit as it plays. Right hand in peach, left hand in lilac. Turn off "Both hands" to hear the tune alone.
About the piece
Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime", published The Entertainer in 1902. Seventy years later it became a hit all over again when Marvin Hamlisch adapted it for the 1973 film The Sting. Joplin's instruction at the top of the music is "Not fast": it should stroll, not race.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: D E C A B G D E C A B G D E; C A B A G♯ G; G D D♯ E C E C E C; C D D♯ E C D E B D C; D D♯ E C E C E C; A G F♯ A C E D C A D; D D♯ E C E C E C; C D D♯ E C D E B D C. Longer boxes are longer notes. Press Play and follow along, then slow it down with the speed slider and play with it.
How to learn it
- The left hand is the engine. Ragtime's left hand alternates a low bass note with a chord in the middle ("oom-pah"). Practise it alone until the jump is automatic.
- The skipping right hand: the theme's syncopation, notes that land just before the beat, is the whole flavour. Clap the rhythm before you play it.
- The introduction is in octaves; play the top notes first, then add the octave below.
- Not fast: Joplin meant it. A steady, relaxed tempo sounds far better than a rushed one.
Learning The Entertainer? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that runs away. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
Is The Entertainer hard to play?
It's an intermediate piece, mostly because of the jumping left hand. Simplified versions of the theme are a good step before the original.
Who wrote The Entertainer?
Scott Joplin, in 1902. It's in the public domain.
More songs to play
Notes checked against the public-domain Mutopia Project edition (mutopiaproject.org). Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, CC BY 3.0.