Cleopha p. 70 Scott Joplin (1867-1917) By Estelle Bertrand. Fashionable between the end of the 19th century and the 1920s, ragtime is a genre of American origin that saw a resurgence of interest in the 1950s. The quintessential ragtime instrument is the piano, whose left hand typically jumps from a bass note to a chord to establish an eighth-note beat. The right hand plays syncopated elements. If we had to choose an emblematic piece of this style, the choice would fall without hesitation on Scott Joplin's The Entertainer, made popular by the film The Sting (1973). Cleopha is in F major, a key requiring very frequent use of bar notes. Like many jazz-like music styles, the theme is played by swinging the sixteenth notes (or eighth notes). Apart from a few changes of direction encountered here and there (bars 6 and 60), this pleasant transcription will allow you to familiarize yourself with this most enjoyable style. Finally, although indicated in the score, the repeats are not obligatory: so do not be surprised when listening to the disc.