The Entertainer: E-Z Play Today

The E-Z Play arrangement strips away nothing essential from Joplin's original; instead, it opens the piece to pianists who might otherwise skip it due to notation complexity. The three-page format keeps students engaged without fatigue, and the syncopation patterns teach rhythmic independence that transfers immediately to other jazz and contemporary styles.

Bouncy and conversational, with a ragtime strut that feels both playful and sophisticated. The piece carries inherent optimism, moving with infectious forward momentum that makes you want to tap your foot.

Elementary to intermediate pianists ready to tackle syncopation without wrestling through dense notation. This arrangement works equally well for students discovering jazz history and for those building confidence in sight-reading across different styles.

• Keep the left hand loose and flowing rather than metronomic; ragtime lives in the spaces between the beat, not on top of it.
• Balance the syncopated melody against a steady pulse in the bass. Let the right hand breathe where Joplin wrote rests.
• Lean into the stride piano texture by emphasizing the bass note on beat one, then lightening the chordal accompaniment that follows.

Pair this with other early jazz or stride piano pieces to show students the lineage connecting Joplin to later boogie-woogie and swing. It also works as a recital opener that immediately signals musical intelligence and period awareness to an audience.

• Syncopated rhythm reading in a jazz context
• Left-hand independence and stride piano technique
• Listening for and executing ragtime swing feel
• Navigating mixed articulation across both hands