5 Days of Scott Joplin: Day 2, The Entertainer & A Scott Joplin Play Along

Let’s learn to play Scott Joplin’s most famous piece: “The Entertainer“!

If you watched the Spring Play and Sing Along videos I made in April, you already know most everything you need to know to play this incredible piece by Scott Joplin.

Here are some of the most helpful parts of those videos to review in case you are having trouble:

Video 1 (Spring by Vivaldi)

• 0:17 – Instruments you can use / What to do if you don’t have an instrument
• 3:03 – The “Building Blocks of Music” (a.k.a. reading sheet music)
  • 3:11 – Rhythm overview
  • 5:34 – Pitch overview
• 6:50 – What to do when you see a sharp (♯) symbol

Video 2 (Over the Rainbow)

• 4:59 – Review of the basic “building blocks”
  • 5:26 – Rhythm review
  • 6:17 – Pitch review

Video 3 (Rainbow Connection)

• 1:49 – Repeating letter names / low and high pitches
  • 2:26 – How letters can sound different in different words
  • 3:23 – Repeating notes explained with key tags
  • 4:35 – Low and high notes that share the same letter on the music staff
  • 6:13 – How to play low and high notes correctly on your instrument
• 8:26 – Introduction to Sharps (♯), Flats (♭), and Natural signs (♮)

New in “The Entertainer”: The Tie

The only thing not covered in the previous videos is something called a tie.

As pictured above, a tie is a curved line underneath two notes. It kind of makes the notes look like eyes in a smiley face!

When you see a tie, you only play the first note and then you keep making sound for the length of a second note. We call this holding a note.

For some instruments, this means you keep blowing or you keep your finger pressed. For singing, it means you keep singing the same note.

But, for percussion instruments (such as drums and the glockenspiel or xylophone), it just means you don’t play again and you let the first note ring a little longer.

First, listen to the original song:

“The Entertainer”

To play it on an instrument, download the sheet music:

Download Music:
For Most Instruments (Intermediate Treble Clef)
For Most Instruments (Treble Clef, Easier Rhythms)
Treble Clef with Ukulele Tabs

And, play along with this tutorial:

Watch “The Entertainer” Glockenspiel Tutorial

Don’t own an instrument to use at home?

Here are some ways you can practice for FREE:

• Glockenspiel: App | Paper
• Ukulele: App | Paper

Or, purchase an instrument for cheap:

• Glockenspiel
• Ukulele
• Recorder