How hard is The Entertainer to play?

Its passages grade from level 6 to level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 5–8 at level 9.

Is there an easy part of The Entertainer for beginners?

Its easiest passage is level 6, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 25–32 for the left hand alone, the level-6 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 6 because a hand plays full chords and its chords go beyond simple triads.

What key and time signature is The Entertainer in?

The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.

Can I practice The Entertainer online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 33 graded passages from The Entertainer in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

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The Entertainer

Scott Joplin (1868–1917) · sheet music

Time 4/4
Levels 6–9
Passages 33

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Scott Joplin, American modern (1868–1917). The reading release has 33 passages from this piece at levels 6–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 25–32 for the left hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 5–8 at level 9.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of The Entertainer.

Left hand alone · bars 25–32 level 6
Hands together · bars 17–20 level 7
The hardest bars · bars 5–8 level 9

How to play The Entertainer

Keep the tempo relaxed and steady; Joplin marked it not fast, and the syncopations sound best when the beat underneath never hurries.
The left hand alternates low bass notes on beats one and three with middle-register chords on two and four; practice this pattern alone until your hand can find the jumps without looking.
The right hand often plays the melody in octaves or with added harmony notes on top; keep the top note strongest and the wrist loose to avoid fatigue.
Learn the piece strain by strain, starting each one slowly hands separately; since every strain is repeated, mastering one sixteen-bar unit covers a large share of the piece.

Structure

Like most classic rags, it is built from short sixteen-bar strains. A brief introduction leads into the first strain, which is repeated, then a second strain, also repeated, after which the first strain returns. A third strain moves to F major in the original, followed by a fourth strain, each repeated, and the piece runs about four minutes.

About The Entertainer

Scott Joplin published The Entertainer in 1902, subtitling it a ragtime two-step, during the years when his rags made him the leading name in the style. It faded after his death, then became famous again through the 1973 film The Sting, whose soundtrack brought Joplin's music back to a mass audience.

Why the first passage is level 6

That passage is level 6 rather than 5 because a hand plays full chords, its chords go beyond simple triads.

The Entertainer is Scott Joplin's 1902 ragtime classic, and its reading challenge is syncopation: the right-hand melody keeps landing between the beats while the left hand marks them with a bass-chord stride pattern. Count the left hand steadily and let the right hand's tied notes sit against it.

Questions about The Entertainer

How hard is The Entertainer to play?: Its passages grade from level 6 to level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 5–8 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of The Entertainer for beginners?: Its easiest passage is level 6, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 25–32 for the left hand alone, the level-6 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 6 because a hand plays full chords and its chords go beyond simple triads.
What key and time signature is The Entertainer in?: The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
Who composed The Entertainer?: Scott Joplin, American modern (1868–1917). Scott Joplin published The Entertainer in 1902, subtitling it a ragtime two-step, during the years when his rags made him the leading name in the style.
Can I practice The Entertainer online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 33 graded passages from The Entertainer in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 33 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 6: bars 25–32 left hand
Level 7: bars 17–20 both hands · bars 17–24 both hands · bars 21–24 both hands · bars 25–32 both hands · bars 25–28 both hands · bars 29–32 both hands · bars 41–44 both hands · bars 53–56 both hands
Level 8: bars 9–12 both hands · bars 17–28 both hands · bars 29–40 both hands · bars 33–40 both hands · bars 65–68 both hands
Level 9: bars 5–8 both hands · bars 5–16 both hands · bars 7–18 both hands · bars 13–16 both hands · bars 17–32 both hands · bars 25–28 both hands · bars 31–34 both hands · bars 49–56 both hands · bars 57–64 both hands · bars 57–60 both hands · bars 61–64 both hands · bars 65–68 both hands · bars 89–92 both hands · bars 89–96 both hands · bars 93–96 both hands · bars 97–104 both hands · bars 97–100 both hands · bars 101–104 both hands · bars 105–108 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261001-mutopia-ly reading release.

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