Ragtime help

Martijnn

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Hi there,

I can't seem to find some good methods to start with ragtime. Do you guys have some tips or videos on how to play ragtime? Or some nice ragtime chords? I really like that kind of music on a uke.
 
How long have you been playing and listening to music? Ragtime, like most genres/styles is something you need a feeling for. Immerse yourself in the music. Listen to Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton to name a few. You can strum and pick F, C7, Bb or : E - E7 - A - A7 - E - C#7 - F# - B7 - E -. There are many tutorials out there. Go find it. This may seem harsh or blunt but, if you really want it, you will do it.
 
You could start here...
http://ukulelehunt.com/2007/06/17/brian-hefferan-the-entertainer/
There's a tab attached to this too. If you've played rags on guitar you'll probably already have some idea of the rhythm of rags. Plenty of stuff on YouTube on ragging the ukulele. Go for it :D

To me the key feature of ragtime isn't the chords that are played (or implied) but its rhythm. It's the syncopated melody played over an accompaniment in strict time. On a piano, the left hand alternates bass, chord, bass, chord, strictly on the beat while the right hand plays the syncopated melody. On a solo uke that's going to be very difficult, if not impossible. The comment under the video in the link above makes the point about losing something being necessary and the choice, quite rightly is to focus on the syncopated melody. If you have a friend who can accompany you on another instrument, they could play the accompaniment but on a solo uke, really you have to compromise by just playing the melody with periodic chords to imply the harmony as the player in the YT video does.

You could create a midi file to play the accompaniment and play it back through a synth (most computers either have a software synth or one is downloadable) then play the melody over it on your uke.

Totally irrelevant to this thread but it struck me while writing this that an accordion would be a good instrument for playing ragtime as the bass side is set up for the bass-chord type accompaniment while the right hand plays the melody.
 
I am pretty good at rhythm, for me it's the chords of rag, and maybe I need to learn more about fingerpicking for rag, I'm not sure if travis picking works.
 
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