The Entertainer

Scott Joplin published The Entertainer in 1902, and the piece — re-popularised by its use in the 1973 film The Sting — is one of the most-played examples of the classic ragtime style. Joplin's writing sits at the centre of the rag tradition: a steady left-hand alternating bass-and-chord pattern under a syncopated right-hand melody, with carefully-shaped four-strain form and a moderate tempo that Joplin was emphatic about preserving.

Technically the piece tests three things at Grade 5 level: a steady left-hand alternating bass-and-chord pattern that holds the pulse, a syncopated right-hand melodic line that locks in with the bass without rushing, and the four-strain form that defines ragtime architecture (each strain has a contrasting harmonic plan and the strains return in a fixed order). Hand position expands beyond a five-finger frame; the syncopated right-hand patterns need a planned fingering.

Two pitfalls. First, Joplin's tempo marking is almost always ignored — he wrote not fast on the score and meant it. Students who play The Entertainer at the speed of a Hollywood opening lose the ragtime poise; the piece works best at the moderate walking tempo Joplin specified. Second, the syncopated right-hand patterns often pull the pulse off the bass; practise the left hand alone with a metronome, then re-add the right hand carefully.

Joplin's complete rags are on IMSLP in clean public-domain editions. Hearing his Maple Leaf Rag alongside The Entertainer gives a strong sense of the four-strain rag form and the right tempo plan.