Paragon Rag
by Scott Joplin · arranged by David Blackwell
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1909
- Duration
- 0'38''
- Publisher
- ABRSM (Cello Exam Pieces from 2024, Grade 2, List C no. 2, arranged by David Blackwell; (c) 2023 ABRSM, AB 4105); also sold as a single digital download
Purchase or download
About this piece
Scott Joplin published Paragon Rag in 1909 with a dedication to the C.V.B.A., the Colored Vaudeville Benevolent Association [1]. David Blackwell arranged it for ABRSM's Grade 2 cello list [2]. After two bars of piano the cello plays one short strain, repeats it, and closes on a single accented high C [2]. ABRSM's note traces ragtime to the African American community and says its syncopations shaped the steps people danced to it, as they will shape a student's bowing here [2]. Katherine Jenkinson and Martin Cousin recorded it for ABRSM's Grade 2 album [3].
Technical overview
C major, 4/4, march tempo at quarter note = c.120, all in first position from open G to the C on the A string. The eighth-quarter-eighth figures and ties across the beat are the main work, and printed x fingerings mark the stretches for the chromatic notes, including A flat and D sharp. A few slurs, accents, and a crescendo to forte in the middle of the strain.
Technical focus
- 2 Note Slurs
- Accidentals
- Bow Control
- Collaboration with Piano
- Dotted Rhythms
- Extensions
- String Crossings
- Syncopation