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Hi, folks:

I have a dirty little secret... after the "serious" music practice is done, the Pischna and Hanon completed, I pull out my ragtime music and get cranking.

Do any others do this as well? Not necessarily even ragtime, perhaps it's an affinity for TV themes, variations on "chopsticks," whatever.

My favorite rag to play is Scott Joplin's "Magnetic Rag," FWIW.

Nina

Nina,

This should not be your 'dirty secret'. Instead you should be proud of your diversity. Quite a few world-class pianists are proficient in more than one area. A few names come to my mind quickly. Jean Yves Thibaudet, Keith Jarrett & Andre Previn. All excel in both classical and jazz.

Nina,
I must say/confess that I do the same. Some ragtime but mostly blues licks I work on. I'm not yet that accomplished so my diversions are a bit less varied but having said this, my guilt for digressing is rather compounded.
I guess we need to just do what feels good. I'm beginning to ramble.

Having earned much of my pocket money during my undergraduate years by playing piano in a restaurant on weekends, I still enjoy sitting down after some long classical practice session and playing a few of (my own arrangements) of what are commonly known as "the old standards" of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Very relaxing.

Nor do I consider these songs - for they are "songs" in the right sense of the word - as lesser music than the other music I'm passionate about; just a different kind of music, serving a different kind of musical taste and - here's the pedagogue in me coming out - requiring me to play in an entirely different piano style.

Regards,

[ February 15, 2002: Message edited by: BruceD ]

Nina,

I also like to play ragtime and have for many years. Played exactly as written on the page it is not too technically dificult but to play it correctly requires a great deal of understanding of the genre and is not "easy" or "nonserious". To the contrary, I find that ragtime, and the music of Scott Joplin in particular, expresses a combination of great joy and deep suffering that is vey difficult to describe except, of course, by playing it. I also like the Magnetic Rag and Scott Joplin's New Rag is another one you may like. Of course I spend a great deal of time playing Hanon and I love to play Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, etc. but my love of ragtime will never be diminished no matter what the elitists might say. We know that they just don't understand it.

JBryan:

Good point! Both my parents were great jazz and ragtime fans, claiming it was their partial birthright after being born/raised in St. Louis and Kansas City, MO. I grew up with my mom playing ragtime and honky-tonk on a daily basis. I remember at one point she went so far as to wrap the hammers, or maybe even the strings, with tin foil in order to achieve a better honky-tonk sound. Now that's dedication.

The best ragtime playing I've heard in recent years was in, of all places, Disneyland. There were two pianists playing ragtime duets, completely off-the-cuff improvisations. One of the guys couldn't have been more than 18 years old. And of course, being Disneyland, they were extremely clean-cut and looked like they belonged in toothpaste ads. But they really had great ragtime chops!

See you
Nina

I have a lovely arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" sitting on my music stand. I got it for Christmas. Bruce, you don't happen to have a good arrangement of "Moon River", do you? Jodi

Ditto, Bruce. Some days those are ALL I play! Of course, they have some classical built in, like "Full Moon and Empty Arms" or "Stranger in Paradise" . . .

Cork

Bruce,

All I can say is that you better bring some of those with you when you come over.

Mike

I like playing and singing along to some of the choral music I performed as a teen (I was the accompanist, and some of those pieces were very nice), and I show a particular weakness for Filipino "OPM" music. My Fil-Am friends tease me to no end for that, but I don't care. Give me Joe-Marie, Gary V. and Canseco songs any day. The sappier, the better. :-)

Sondheim and Frank Loesser.

There's just a tireless (or is it tired and world weary?) quality to the music that is always a delicious departure from Messiaen and Liszt. Not to downplay the enjoyment that their music gives me, but it's nice to have a break.

Then, there's the 3-5 hours of time that I waste each day on my computer playing those nice, involved, time-consuming games such as Diablo 2 and Counter-Strike, not to mention feeding my forum addiction!

Edit:
I'm also a sucker for "Only You."

[ February 15, 2002: Message edited by: Brendan ]

I would be able to send a coherent reply but my Sims are all in the gray and my Egyptian empire is about to be wiped out in Age of the Conquerers... gotta go...

[oops, accidently deleted]
Nina, I'm a big fan of, stride, ragtime, jazz, blues, film scores &c. There is nothing wrong with playing these styles.

I understand it if someone's preference is not focused on this type of music -- everyone has their own tastes and preferences. I certainly cannot, however, agree with anyone who writes off this kind of music because they feel it is completely "trash" or "cheap" music. The early pre-jazz music has evolved beyond its somewhat shady origins (which is also a partial misconception) and has become a complex genre all its own. And besides, some of this kind of music, for lack of a better term, is just plain cool.

Anyone looking for an Un Sospiro in these genres will come up shorthanded, but these genres are still a great way to unwind and even serve as the object of serious musical study.

With this music, I enjoy the "change of scenery," so to speak. By this I mean that one requires a completely different approach than the approach used for classical music. In Jazz, for instance, you are not only the performer, you are the composer. I like this flexibility.

Classical music is still the top genre for me, but when one considers that in classical performances their technique is probably being scrutinized by fellow musicians and audience, and that the notes and the emotions of the piece need to be brought out with care, performing classical music can sometimes be a most stressful proposition. Thus, the ability for a group of jazz players to play without worrying about executing properly and instead focusing on the self-expression what you, the player, can bring is a welcome change of pace. (Btw, "Chopsticks" is good piece for an impromptu piano cutting-contest.)



Brendan, I'm glad that I'm not alone in engaging in these activities "unbecoming" of a "classically trained" musician, or so I've heard. However, whatever some might say, games are still so much fun.

Well, I never did like the Egyptians much myself.

LoL...

I know this sounds really morbid, but when I started to lose interest in my Sims, I would kill them by making them fall asleep in the pool our making a 1x1 square out of three walls and a backwards fridge as the fourth wall and let them starve (the funny part being that the food was right there but they couldn't get to it):

(fridge door this side)
Fridge
W Sim W
Wall

(w=wall)

ahahahahahahahahaha....

Maybe I just have a warped sense of humor.

That was such a great game. The biggest problem I had was that the social worker kept taking my kids away. Then there was another time where I accidentally burned someone alive because my grill exploded and I didn't have a fire extinguisher. I made it all the way to mob boss in the criminal track.

[ February 16, 2002: Message edited by: Brendan ]

Musical confessions? Nothing to confess, really (that is, nothing to feel guilty about). Joplin took his music seriously, and when you see how long it's lasted, it's clear he had a right to.

I'm also very fond of the Magnetic Rag. My recollection is it's the last thing Joplin published, ending in a wistful coda that seems to be a farewell to the piano. I'd also recommend Wm. Bolcom's Graceful Ghost rag for those who like their ragtime slow and reflective.

"Play slowly until you catch the swing, and never play ragtime fast at any time." S. Joplin, School of Ragtime, 1908.

It is rather thrilling to imagine that someday I may be capable of partaking in such guilt-inducing diversions!

(Right now it is enough of a struggle to keep the faith that I will ever play any kind of music at all...)

Jodi,

Is your "Over the Rainbow" arrangement the George Shearing one? If you don't have that one, get it. It's fabulous! Beautifully jazzy voiced chords in the accompaniment.

Jamie.

For the Ragtime lovers amongst us here's a good ragtime site. Lots of Joplin, "Fats" Waller , Blake and many others


Perfessor Bill Edwards...

thats www.perfessorbill.com

click on the MIDI-INDEX button at top right hand corner

[ February 16, 2002: Message edited by: RKVS1 ]

Hi, Brendan:

I'm impressed. The worst thing I've ever done is have two married couples have children with each other.

I've never successfully raised a (Sim) child, either. That darn social worker sure is touchy!

How do you make them fall asleep in the pool? I definitely need to try a few more sadistic things. The fridge idea is a great one.

I think we both probably need some form of therapy.

Nina