Scott Joplin - Silver Swan Rag Piano Roll

This is an old piano roll

Category:

Music

Tags:

• scott
• joplin
• ragtime
• silver
• rag
• then
• entertainer

[KawhackitaRag]

I think it should be evident to everyone, but let the record stand that this is an arranged roll, not a hand-played one. That means that a staff arranger at the roll company (in this case, Peerless/Master Record in St. Johnsville, New York), took either the published sheet music (or in this case, some kind of manuscript) and created the roll arrangement using a drafting-board type method.

[FreeTheJambon]

Wow thanks I didn't know most of that :D

[JamesPriceJohnson]

its actually silver swan rag

[FreeTheJambon]

Oh okay thanks, Im gonna edit the title

[treewindle]

Imagine if this had been lost for good? What a great loss that would have been. Excellent vid.

[MrNinteenhundred]

No 3 for me.

no 2 is maple leaf and no 1 is the entertainer

[pianiplunker]

@illidnarg I can see the similarities to Marshal's composition but this is certainly a Joplin composition. The voice-leading, harmonic progressions and melody completely suggest Joplin and not Marshall. Plus the minor second strain have has a very similar feel to the minor key strains of Scott Joplin's New Rag and Magnetic Rag probably composed around the same time.

[OperaMystery80]

This is clearly influenced by the music of Tchaikovsky and with such a title as Silver Swan most likely Swan Lake; the melody seems like a ragtime version of it

[illidnarg]

Silver Swan Rag is Most Likely an Arthur Marshall composition with Joplin contributing or "smoothing out the C or Trio section--Marshal's style was virtually identical to Joplin's--and Marshall wrote and published other rags with Silver in the tittle--of course ONLY--JOPLIN -- would be credited on the roll --because JOPLIN was a well known name--Silver Swan is Similar to Marshall's Lilly Queen-(1907)-in which Joplin did some editing on--but as with Silver Swan-Joplin is NOT the Main Composer !!

[Doug19752533]

@WillHirsch1 i agree, i like the C section too..... i add a little to it, the 2nd measure for example, i play in 3rds under the melody, lovely harmony which blends perfectly into the next measure

[Doug19752533]

@illidnarg i agree, i play Silver Swan around 70 bpm, the A section being majestic and stately, the B section slightly faster but not too much, the C section is my favorite in the work

[Doug19752533]

@JamesTJoplin the roll was released in 1914, by two piano roll companies - QRS and National. National did not credit Joplin with the work, but the QRS one did.

[Starbirdy9999]

@JamesTJoplin Well, technically, it is almost for sure Joplin, since the rediscovery of the roll in the later 1970s credited Joplin as the composer.

[Grouchy2day]

@illidnarg, Dick Hyman did indeed play this at a slower tempo and it's beautiful. It can be found on a 6 LP set (not sure if it was re-issued on CD) of Scott Joplin's Complete Works For Piano on the RCA Red Seal label.