![]() Marches were, in part, originally conceived to be played for military exercises to help give structure and beat to soldiers marching, enforcing a uniform appearance. It is usually a fast walking tempo at an average of 2 steps per second, a tempo later strongly associated with pulsing Disco genre of the 1970s and 21st century dance pop music. Listen to a typical recording of Stars and Stripes Forever, Under The Double Eagle, or even some E.T. range (using quarter notes in a 2/4 measure for metronomic reference). Marches tend to be brisk, and are typically in the 110 to 125 b.p.m. O ne of the most common benchmarks used as a tempo reference, even in the rags of Scott Joplin, is that of March Tempo. Most of what was recorded then were the three section novelties which lasted less than 3 minutes. In addition, many four section classic piano rags at what may be considered average (not lethargic) playing speeds can last from 3½ to 4½ minutes, so even performances of the 1920s and 1930s were affected by the 3½ minute limitation of 10" discs at 76 - 80 rpm, necessitating rushed tempos or omissions. So other than a recording of Black and White Rag in 1908 (on a cylinder, not a disc), and some cuts by New York ragtime performer Mike Bernard who played fairly fast (in part because he could), little of note exists before 1918 or so. It took quite a bit of experimentation by engineers to ascertain the best studio dynamics, piano size and placement, horn size and shape, and cutting lathe characteristics until they felt comfortable recording pianos alone, and by then the era was mostly over. ![]() Most of the early recordings of similar music forms are of concert bands, as piano did not record well into many acoustic recording horns, much less reproduce well at the consumer end. One may hope.Į ven after much research, we have only scant evidence of actual ragtime playing tempos, other than the occasional metronome marking and the few ragtime piano recordings made prior to 1918 or so. Hopefully, this will answer more questions than it generates. As always, questions and comments are welcome, and many questions and comments in the past have led to the necessity for articles such as this in the first place. So whatever you take away from this that is most pleasing to you, as long as it does not result in mushy, lethargic or frenzied performances, will most likely be accepted as good, provided the notes are there. ![]() There is a level of "wrong" or "bad" technique, but there are many possibilities for what is correct. What is presented here is collective opinion of performance techniques in these regards, with more latitude being given to tempo and more definition to pedaling. Should ragtime be played slow or fast? What constitutes "Not Too Fast?" What did the composer intend? How much or how little pedal should be used? When and how should the pedal be applied? How do you determine legato phrases from portato or staccato? There is no one answer to any of these speculations, any more than there is to the "po-tae-to po-tah-to" or chicken and egg questions. T wo continually controversial topics among ragtime performers and aficionados are that of Tempo and Pedaling for Piano Rags.
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