You've probably never seen an article about dynamics in ragtime, because well... hardly anybody follows them anyway. I'm not saying I'm the best at it, but I try to pay attention, and it really does make a difference. That is... if they have any.
If someone didn't follow Mozart's dynamics, and OMG he's got them every three notes, a critical listener would say the whole thing was done wrong. And I've heard ragtime that sounds like midi, where the player is doing it note-perfect, but never gets louder, never gets softer. And it's dull.
The typical rag is like this
Intro, F or FF
First strain, mf
Second, F
Repeat the first. F or go back to MF
Third, p-mf
Fourth f, the FF or just blast away.
Or... not. We have to talk about Scott Joplin, and particular Searchlight Rag, which has a lot of MF and MP when you think it should be LOUD. Like really? I wonder if that's a character thing, that he's not going to "go there" because he's more quiet on the inside. But the end of Searchlight, quiet and legato, is much different than what I would do if I wasn't told otherwise. The third strain, the trio, is the same. it's MP and it seems like it should finally get loud, but... noooo.
Sometimes it feels wimpy. Like it's MP, and it crescendos all ... the way .. up to... MF. I think it's Magnetic Rag that does that, and so does Ophelia. That's kind of like turning your dial from 4 to 5 during rush hour traffic. Meh. but OK that's what they way, let's try it. Plus, if you can do it, make that small crescendo and make it work, that's some good playing. That way too, when you get to the louder part, you have somewhere to go with it.
Grace and Beauty by James Scott is the only instance I've seen of quieting down on the repeat. The second strain is F, then MP. It works, actually it feels like it should do that on its own, and it's a great place to slow down if you've gotten out of control.
The Thriller by May Aufderheide hits FF far too early and stays there, so I try to find a way around it. Or, just keep it there, because it's kind of ... thrilling. I think sometimes, the "feel" of the dynamic is what's important more than the volume. Like you don't want to be just play "F" all the way through a strain, but you start out, come down, come up, that's what music is all about. Next time, more intense, more relaxed, but just not "midi."
And then there's Ketchup, by Irene Giblin, that has nothing written in at all but an accent mark at the end. It's up to you. Which is cool too. I wonder if they figure that you'll know what to do so they don't bother. Fontella by Ethyl Smith is the same, but has a few more accents. But nary a dynamic. I try it with all kinds of changes and crescendos, let it speak to you, then you speak it to your audience.
"Cherry Leaf" is p-f all four strains, which makes me wonder if they just threw something in there to have something, without thinking about it. It does sort of work, if you make it so.
OH... OMG we forgot Hothouse, hard enough to begin with, that has one strain that's p-ff, and then another that's pp-f later on. Get all that down, and you're a master! It can, from a practice perspective, take a lot of time, once you get the notes to get the dynamics. But is the piece finished without them?
When our whole band plays a rag, it really shows a difference, when you play it quiet and then louder on the repeat, it's a pretty cool effect. It's a bit like archeology, you have to piece together the music by what you can find. And use other examples of dynamics to play the rags that don't have any.
Joplin was more meticulous about it, and even some of his don't have a lot. But he knew how he wanted it to sound.
I was once at an event where the men were playing ragtime fast and loud as they could, each one kicking the other off the communal piano. Then a woman showed up and slowed it down, played with emotion, I'd never head anything like it. Wow, everyone just shut up and really paid attention. It was a whole different ballgame. Also, find Mimi Blais playing May Aufderhiede's "A Totally Different Rag" really slow and it's sexy as it gets.
Ketchup - a slow drag, works slow, and even "That Poker Rag," is supposed to slow down at the end. it says so. So does "Don't Jazz Me." It add drama, and it's "what they want you to do." They don't write in "Slow down" so you should do a presto double-forte.
Anyway, just a thought. Since there aren't a lot of dynamics I see it as a guide post vs. a hard and fast rule, but it's a good start, and gives you some idea of what the composer (or at least the publisher) thought would work.
Any thoughts? Feel free to share.
