Scott Joplin (1868-1917), known as the "King of Ragtime", wrote many pieces that became hits in his day. In the 1960s, a "ragtime revival" re-awakened interest in the composer.

Many of his scores include the instruction "Not fast" - but how fast is "fast" by his standards? In this video, I present the finding that "fast" probably meant 140 or more beats per minute; the standard tempo of his pieces was, in fact, around 100 beats per minute to the quaver, a speed rarely used by many ragtime players of today who prefer a slower approach.

The video also shows samples of rags played to the speed in which they were written. Recordings of ragtime specialist Richard Zimmerman were used, and digitally sped up to meet these tempo indications. This should give us a "feel" of the ideal speed of ragtime.

Fast for some ears today used to the more sentimental, refined takes on the rags, let's remember that the tempo markings are not strict rules, but guidelines; in fact, Scott Joplin stopped putting such indications after 1908, perhaps realising that his ragtime pieces were indeed better suited for a gentler tempo to be heard by serious listeners - maybe!

List of Pieces:

Maple Leaf Rag (S. Joplin, Uni Record roll)
Sugar Cane (R. Zimmerman, sped up 45%): 2:25
Eugenia (R. Zimmerman, sped up 9.1%): 5:22
Fig Leaf Rag (R. Zimmerman, sped up 52%): 9:52
Wall Street Rag (R. Zimmerman, sped up 29%): 12:51
Pineapple Rag (R. Zimmerman, sped up 33%): 16:07