A Classy Rag (Intermediate Piano Solo) Alfred's Adult Level 3
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
- TEACHER DEMO. This is an excellent song to play as an introduction to the ragtime style of jazz music. This type of music was very popular in the early 1900's and is still a favorite of mine today.
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Alfred's Adult All In One Course Level 3 - www.sheetmusic...
Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Level 3 - www.sheetmusic...
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Performed on a Bosendorfer 7'4" Concert Grand Piano (225SP) by Norma Meis
Camera: Samsung Galaxy S5
Microphone: CAD U37 USB Studio Condenser Recording Microphone
Audio Software: Audacity
Editing Software: Blender
Hello
I've been watching your videos for quite some time, and they're a huge help.
I'm currently working on Alfred's book 3 and come to your channel for reference.
Your versions are definitely the best on UA-cam!
Your piano is awesome too!
I'm currently learning A Classy Rag.
Thanks again! 🙂
You are so very welcome!! Thank you for listening and taking the time to comment! A Classy Rag is one of my favorites in the Level 3 book. Enjoy the musical journey! --Norma
Time sure changed, now it’s in level 6
Such a fun old timey rag piece. Feel like I am walking into a western saloon and desiring to have a mug slung down the bar to me!
I am working through book 2 at the moment (pg 50) - I have found your demos very helpful, thanks Norma!
Hopefully in a year or two I'll be playing this piece and see my comment :D
You're very welcome! So glad that you've found the videos helpful! Yes, keep up the good work and you will be playing this piece in the near future. A fun one to look forward too! This piece is one of my favorites in the Level 3 book. I've always been partial to ragtime. --Norma
Oh man, I am struggling on this song so much, making mistakes. I definitely need to slow down. Well done on the video, it was a big help!
So glad that you've found the video helpful! Yes, slow practice is well worth the extra time. I like the saying, "Play fast, learn slow. Play slow, learn fast." It really does work. --Norma
Very nice. Can't wait until I get the level 3. I have been at it for 5 month now and just about complete with level 1.
Good for you! You are making great progress. Keep it up! Norma
OMG LOVE YOUR TUTORIALS helps me a lot
Thank you so much!! So glad that you are finding them helpful! --Norma
When any of the notes is raised by 1 semitone in diminished 7th chords, it makes them minor 7th flat 5/half diminished 7th chords.
Thanks for the videos,
When i was working on first second bar, i noticed something that
Ddim7, Fdim7, G#dim7, Bdim7, they are all sound the same, contain same notes, they are 1st, 2nd, 3rd inversion.
Also C#dim7, Edim7, Gdim7, A#dim7
And Cdim7, D#dim7, F#dim7, Adim7.
The book tells us to play a dim7 chord on each note of the chromatic scale and it successfully gave me a headache, now with this i only need to learn 3 dim7 chords, invert them and BOOM all 12 dim7 chords. 😁
Yes, pages 32-35 in the book get so involved in all of the details of the diminished 7th chords that they failed to provide the summary that you so succinctly discovered. Yes, there are actually only 3 diminished 7th chords with a whole bunch of different names depending on what the root of the chord is. Great job analyzing!! --Norma
Nice
Thank you Shouyun! --Norma
Good job 👏
Thank you! --Norma
I learned this one today
@@juliamay2156 Wonderful! It's a very fun song!
Bravo. Now, I don’t want to appear rude and inconsiderate but have you considered playing with a little more swing to it? Like more of a “Wild Western bar” type of style?
It’s something I bought up because it’s the way I play this tune. Just saying Otherwise, it’s beautiful.
Yes, you could totally play it with a "swing" rhythm (long/short). It would lend itself well to that. Typically, ragtime is played with even eighths which is why I chose to record it this way, but there is certainly room for varying the rhythm for a different effect. There are several songs in the Alfred's series that I will play for students with even eighths and then long/short eighths and give them the option of how they want to play it. That was not a rude or inconsiderate comment at all. There is plenty of room with this type of music for different renditions. --Norma
I’ve been watching your videos helping me learn songs as I go along. Currently I’m learning this song in book six of the Alfred series. As usual, this video is a huge help. Any suggestions on lesson books after completing the Alfred series? Thank you again!
You're very welcome! So glad that you're finding the videos helpful! There are many different books and sheets that I use when a student is at the intermediate level depending on their tastes and preferences. Here are a few ideas for you:
In the Classical category: Alfred's Masterwork Classics Levels 1 - 10, Essential Piano Repertoire edited by Keith Snell Levels 1 - 10, (In each of these series you could probably start at about level 4.)
In the Jazz category: Jazz, Rags & Blues by Martha Mier Books 1 - 5 (could start about book 2-3), Especially in Jazzy Style by Dennis Alexander Books 1 - 3 (could start in book 2).
Both Martha Mier and Dennis Alexander have nice series of more lyrical compositions that they call "In Romantic Style" or "Romantic Impressions" or "Especially in Romantic Style" with several books in each set. (could start in book 2)
In the Pop/Movie/Broadway category: Alfred's Greatest Hits Level 3 (in their Adult series) offers some very good arrangements.
In the Sacred category: Alfred's Sacred Performer series, many great books to choose from, look for those that have the Intermediate label.
For Technique: Alfred's Technical Skills Levels 1 - 10 (could start about Level 4), "Burgmuller, Czerny & Hanon" edited by Ingrid Jacobson (start in book 1).And that's a very brief offering of some of the books that I use with students.
There is so much excellent music and resources available to us now, the options are endless, but that should give you a starting point for some to consider. Those books are available from Amazon.com and SheetMusicPlus.com and often will show preview pages. I do not have a sheet music store on my island so I have to rely on the internet for purchasing music. Also, I do digital downloads from MusicNotes.com and SheetMusicPlus.com when I'm looking for a specific song.
There are some videos on my You Tube Channel from "Masterwork Classics", "Essential Piano Repertoire", "Jazz, Rags, & Blues", and "Alfred's Greatest Hits" to give you an idea of some of those. They are easy to find through the "playlist" option.
You could also browse through my "Intermediate" and "Late-Intermediate" playlists for ideas as well.
Hope that helps as you continue your musical journey and please let me know if you find some great books or single sheets that you particularly enjoy. --Norma
@@92pianokeys40 Norma, this information is so much more than I even hoped for! Thank you so much for your helpful guidance. A few months ago I was able to purchase some of the old Readers Digest songbooks but most of the sheet music in them are still above what my level is currently. I am hoping to continue learning from some of your suggested technique series books until I can finally use the Readers Digest books. Thank you again for your time and advice. You help so many early pianists like me!
@@JD-72191 You're so very welcome! Glad that I could offer some help! I have one of those old Reader's Digest songbooks too. :) --Norma
Hello Norma. In this page, the book wants us to play all diminished chords on the chromatic scale. But for instance, when it's C7, B is flat. And when it is D7, F is flat. How do we know which notes are flatted in seventh chords? I must have missed something in the process.
Yes, you are correct that a C7 chord is made up of C, E, G, Bb. That's an excellent starting point for seeing the pattern of a "Dominant 7th" chord. Study that one first and look at the distance between each note, actually count the black and white keys between the notes that you are playing. Then you can transfer that pattern to all of the other "Dominant 7th" chords. For example, a D7 is D, F#, A, C. An F7 is F, A, C, Eb. A G7 is G, B, D, F, etc....
A "diminished" chord has a different pattern. A Cdim7 is C, Eb, Gb, A. If you look at that pattern, you will see that the upper 3 notes have all been lowered. That's the difference between a C7 and a Cdim7.
A "Major 7th" chord is different yet again and a CM7 would be C, E, G, B. So with a "Major 7th", you raise the upper note of the chord.
Hope that makes sense. Try some of those out and let me know if you need some further clarification. --Norma
@@92pianokeys40 Thanks Norma that helps. 🙏
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😄
Thank you! Norma
Nicely played. Just learned this piece myself. I wonder if you know of any rag books that are pitched at the same level as this one in terms of music reading ability? (my reading ability is way behind my playing ability and loving rags as I do a book of rags at this level would suit me for improving my reading).
I've always enjoyed Ragtime too! It is a great genre for improving sight-reading because of its vertical structure. I looked on Amazon for something at this same level and found "Simply Joplin: The Music of Scott Joplin" which looks like a very comparable level. Here's the link to that one: goo.gl/tRt5Gc. You could also use the "Jazz, Rags, & Blues" series by Martha Mier. It comes in Books 1-5 and I think you'd find Book 2 to be a good starting point and then you could work through the other levels. Here's the link for that: goo.gl/GqXm8. All the best and let me know if one of these books works well for you or if you find another gem out there in this category. Norma
Awesome, thank you so much, I'll give those a look. :)
Hola 92
I've been watching you since I started learning to play the piano here at home. Thank you for the book suggestions. I find the third level very enjoyable. What's next? Luis, 73 yo.
Hi! First off thank you for your videos. Second, do you use the sustain pedals for the entire piece? When I play my notes sound very choppy and I can’t make it sound as smooth as when you play!
You're very welcome! Yes, I do like the sound of the sustain pedal in this piece and I use it throughout the song. --Norma
As this is a piece in F major, why isn't the B flat (second measure, third line on page 17, played at 0:18 in the video) played as an A?
I believe you're talking about the "G# diminished 7th" chord that is in the 1st measure of the song and also the 1st ending??
@@92pianokeys40 No, I was talking about the note directly after the G# diminished 7th in the 1st ending, namely the B flat and E. I guess have a different version of the book (the basic version, that is), so maybe the accidental I described is not included in yours. I asked someone else, and it turns out it is a 'courtesy accidental'. I find it incredibly confusing that the flat symbol in this case has no meaning whatsoever, but I am glad the issue is resolved haha. Thank you for trying to help. I really appreciate your videos!
@@aiai52 I've found that "courtesy accidentals" cause constant confusion for students and I often get the question of "Why is this here?" I would prefer if they didn't include those. Sometimes they will put them in parentheses. Glad that you got the question answered, you'll see them again at some point. --Norma
You should hear me trying to play this. You'd think I was playing like a stuttering snail. 🤣Doesn't sound at all like this but I know I need time. I'll likely speed it up a bit after a couple of months.
Hang in there "stuttering snail". I know that you'll see improvement and I appreciate your patience with the process and acknowledgement that it takes time. Too many expect things to happen too quickly, piano is a long journey but well worth the effort. Keep up the good work! You've made it to the Level 3 book!! --Norma
She forgot to count the correct amount of rests on 2nd page, 4th line...😮
Oops!