"Weeping Willow" is a 1903
classic piano ragtime composition by
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...
.
It was one of Joplin's simpler and less famous
ragtime scores, written during a transitional period in his life, and one of the few pieces that Joplin cut as a piano roll in a 1916 session.
Music
"Weeping Willow" is sub-titled "A rag time two step", which was a form of
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
popular until about 1911, and a common style among rags written at the time.
Its structure is: Intro A A B B A C C D D
The A and B sections are in the key of
G major very lofty and highly melodic. The "B" section makes good use of alternating patterns creating interesting melodic shifts. The Trio ("C" section) is in the key of
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
; its chord progression was popular in black folk songs, and was used in
Eddie Miller's ''Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do''. The D section emphasizes another fine melody, and accentuates the variety found between sections.
Publication history
Joplin's recent scuffle with
John Stillwell Stark over the publication of
The Ragtime Dance created a level of animosity between composer and publisher. Weeping Willow became the second of many pieces published by a firm other than Stark's since
Maple Leaf Rag
The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered on September 18, 1899) is an early ragtime musical composition for piano composed by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent compos ...
.
The copyright was registered June 6, 1903, and sheet music was published by the Val A. Reis Music Company of
St. Louis. The piece was also released on Connorized piano rolls.
See also
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List of compositions by Scott Joplin
The following is a complete list of musical compositions by Scott Joplin ( 1867 – April 1, 1917).
Scott Joplin was born in Arkansas in around 1867, just outside Texarkana, and was a street performer before settling in Sedalia, Missouri, St. ...
References
External links
"Perfessor" Bill Edwards plays Joplin with anecdotes and research.
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Compositions for solo piano
1903 compositions
Rags by Scott Joplin
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