Maple Leaf Rag, Progress Video

This weekend, I decided to (finally) figure out the tempo at which I can play Maple Leaf Rag (MLR) without missing notes in the octaves.

It looks like 72 is the magic number. I can play parts of MLR at a faster tempo, but Section C, along with the final line of Section D, keeps me stuck at 72.

Now that I have all the notes and the piece is memorized, today begins the journey of picking up speed, just a few metronome notches every few days. As I'm doing this, I'll work more on articulation and working a few ornaments into the repeats.

Here is MLR at 72. The goal? Technically 100, but I'm going to push it a little higher (120?) so that (1) 100 is easy, and (2) I'm prepared to play a fast "show off" rendition for an audience if I so desire.

It will be a long journey even to 100, but I'm on my way!

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