Almost every pianist has played an arrangement of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer at some point in time, but what grade level is it?
The original version of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer is at least piano grade 8 standard (ABRSM/Trinity College London). There are also many simplified arrangements which have been set for lower piano grades on different exam boards, including grades 2, 3, and 4.
Why is The Entertainer Approximately Grade 8 Standard?
The original version of The Entertainer has never been set on a piano grade syllabus, at the time of writing. There are a couple of reasons why it is at least a grade 8 level of difficulty:
The Right Hand Octaves
There are many passages in The Entertainer which have consecutive right hand octaves.
These are difficult enough in themselves to play at a reasonable speed, but often a third or sixth is added into the octave chord as well.
This is quite a big stretch for most people, and challenging to play up to speed and in a relaxed way.
The Left Hand Comping Chords
The big challenge with the left hand of The Entertainer is the almost constant comping chords – a bass note is played on the beat and then there is a big jump up to a higher chord on the offbeat.
Having a really good awareness of where all the keys are without looking is necessary to play this piece. You need at least some of your brain to be thinking about the right hand at any point, so you can’t dedicate 100% of your concentration to making sure the left hand hits all the right notes. A lot of left-hand-only slow practice is needed to make sure all the jumps are secure.
Even though the tempo marking for the entertainer is “Not fast”, the continuous nature of the comping in the left hand demands a lot of practice to ensure it is accurate.
It is one thing when the bass notes are single notes that can be played with the little finger, to minimise the jump up to the chord, but it is another step harder when the bass notes are actually octaves themselves:
Scott Joplin’s The Cascades Was Set for Grade 8
Another of Scott Joplin’s rags, The Cascades, was set for the grade 8 Trinity College London syllabus 2015 – 2017.
The Cascades is similar to The Entertainer in a number of ways.
Firstly, as expected the left hand has a lot of comping chords that jump up and down the piano each quaver/eighth note.
Secondly, there are a number of passages with consecutive octaves, in this case sometimes in the left hand as well as the right hand.
The Cascades is a similar length to The Entertainer, and the first half is in the same key (C major).
Why The Entertainer Could Be Considered Harder Than Grade 8 Standard
Even though the notes of The Entertainer could be considered around a grade 8 level, to play this piece with as little tension as possible presents an additional challenge.
Both hands are required to be at an octave span quite often during this piece, so it could be tempting to let them lock into that position at times. Not only is being tense bad for your hands, but it negatively impacts the quality of the sound produced as well. When learning this piece, thought will need to be given to making sure both hands are as relaxed as they can be, to produce a better sound.
When I did the ATCL performance diploma, they had a repertoire list of pieces to choose from to perform in the exam, but they also allowed you to submit a programme request containing pieces not from that list. They would make a case-by-case decision whether your overall programme was at the ATCL difficulty level, and therefore whether you were allowed to use that programme for your exam.
I put together a programme consisting of mainly approved pieces from their repertoire list, but I decided to see if they would let me play a rag piece at the end of my programme.
I chose Joplin’s Pine Apple Rag, and submitted my programme request, which they accepted! So in their eyes, Pine Apple Rag was an appropriate standard for the ATCL diploma.
Pine Apple Rag is a similar level of difficulty to The Entertainer. The left hand has that jumping chord pattern that is characteristic of Ragtime, and the tempo is marked “Slow march tempo”. Pine Apple Rag is also a similar length to The Entertainer and most rags.
The right hand of Pine Apple Rag has some different patterns from those in The Entertainer. One of the more challenging passages is like a more advanced version of the opening of The Entertainer (see below, both rags have the same rhythm here but more chord notes are added in Pine Apple Rag), but the slow tempo of Pine Apple Rag allows this piece to not be too difficult overall.
The other thing that I wanted to mention before going on to easier arrangements of The Entertainer is that learning ragtime casually and learning ragtime in a Classical way of thinking can be two very separate processes.
It is perfectly acceptable to play ragtime in a casual, sight-reading kind of way, and arguably more historically appropriate, compared to learning a piece of ragtime in-depth and performing it in a Classical concert setting. The former approach may require less experience to play and therefore be more accessible to pianists who haven’t been playing for as long.
Easier Arrangements of The Entertainer
Because The Entertainer is such a popular piece, there are countless arrangements of it at various difficulty levels. Even if you don’t feel like you are at the level yet to play the original version, you can still enjoy playing this piece by choosing an arrangement appropriate to your current standard.
Here are some of The Entertainer arrangements that have been set on different grade exam syllabuses over the years:
Grade 2
This Chamberlain arrangement was set for piano grade 2 on the LCM 2006 – 2012 syllabus:
This second arrangement was on the Rock School grade 2 syllabus in 2014:
This third grade 2 arrangement is from the AMEB series 1 syllabus:
Grade 3
The ABRSM had this arrangement of The Entertainer set for grade 3:
Grade 4
Trinity College London had this arrangement on their grade 4 electronic keyboard syllabus in 2015 – 2018:
Is The Entertainer Harder Than Maple Leaf Rag?
The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag are similar levels of difficulty, and to some extent it may differ from person to person which is hardest according to them. Here are my thoughts:
Maple Leaf Rag is slightly more difficult to play than The Entertainer, for two main reasons. Firstly, the key signature of Maple Leaf Rag is harder than in The Entertainer. Secondly, the right hand has passages which require playing alternating octaves and single notes.
The Entertainer is in the key of C major (no sharps or flats in the key signature) throughout, with the exception of one section which is in F major (one flat in the key signature). Maple Leaf Rag begins in A flat major (four flats in the key signature), and modulates to D flat major (five flats in the key signature) for the Trio section. These are both more difficult key signatures to playing than those in The Entertainer.
One of the most difficult elements of Maple Leaf Rag is the right hand passages where octaves alternate with single notes (see below). This requires the hand to splay out into an octave span very quickly, and creates the potential for mistakes.
However, Maple Leaf Rag does not have passages with the octaves with the added third or sixth like The Entertainer has, so there is certainly an argument for either rag to be considered harder than the other.
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