Location (grandparent | parent | this page): RodMer Arts Home Page | Rod's Music | Beaver Rag (piano) Program Notes

If you've already read the program notes immediately below, or want to skip them for now, you can click --> to be taken immediately to the MP3 and MIDI files.

Table of Contents (TOC) of these Program Notes

• The Basics
  • Instrumentation
  • Duration
  • Composition date
  • Ragtime Elements
  • Performances
  • Computer performers (when human ones are absent)
  
  
• Structure notes
  
  
• MP3 and MIDI files
  
• Score package
  

The Basics

Instrumentation

Duration

Composition date

This rag was originally composed around 1972 but the MIDI version was created 25 years later (in February 1997).

Actually, it was the very first of a couple of dozen rags I composed back in the 70s. 'Beaver' seemed good as a Canadian name (I'd spent several canoe trips over the years hauling canoes over or around beaver dams up in Algonquin Park or Temagami). Also 'Beaver' was my son's nickname when very young. And finally, other Canadian symbols (such as the maple leaf) were already taken. In fact, Joplin's wonderful Maple Leaf Rag was the very first rag I learned to play and my introduction into the genre.

Ragtime Elements

The basic elements of ragtime are: (1) a steady underlying 4/4 beat, (2) syncopation in the melody, and (3) some characteristic (often chromatic) harmonies. The syncopation can be seen in certain accented notes where the accent comes in each case an eighth note in advance of the regular beat. Here (in a second window) are A Few Additional Notes on Ragtime

Performances

I have performed the Beaver Rag countless times. Some of these performances have included:

• Oct/95 & Nov/95 house concerts here at SwallowHill
• Mar/01 & Dec/01 house concerts here at SwallowHill
• Feb/03 house concert here at SwallowHill with San Murata playing a jazz violin descant along with my piano
• Nov/06 at a small ragtime concert in Quebec city (more info shortly and see 2 images below)

Computer performers (when human ones are absent)

Like all the MIDI files here, it is in General MIDI form. The General MIDI patches (on the 0-127 numbering system) are:

	Part	General MIDI patch
		name	#
	Piano	Acoustic Grand Piano	0

How it sounds will depend on your own playback software.

On my own synth I used the following patches:

	Part	Sound Module	Patch
			name	#
	Piano	Roland RD500	Gr Piano A1	0

This is what you hear on the mp3 files.

Structure notes

The structure follows the classical ragtime format perfected by that early genius of the form: Scott Joplin.

Intro AABBA CCDD

• where, as was customary with Joplin, the CCDD parts are in the dominant key.

Specifically, in this rag the AABBA is in C major and the CCDD in G major.

MP3 and MIDI files

Year	Title ... Instrumentation -- Movements ...... Excerpts	Min: Sec	Complete MP3 files (better sound)** file size	MP3 file excerpts (better sound)** file size	Complete MIDI files (not as good sound but quick)**
	The complete piece:
1972	Beaver Rag ... piano solo	5:08	3.5 MB
	How the MIDI file sounds depends, of course, on your playback mechanism. On my computer, MIDI files are played by the QuickTime PlugIn and the piano is OK but a little pingy. In comparison, the mp3 file (recorded from my sound-module patch) sounds mellower. Of course, if you have a synthesizer, you can download the MIDI file and set the piano to your own preferred patch -- but that's more work than downloading the complete mp3 file.
	Short extracts:
	...... Intro & Section A1	0:35		0.3 MB
	This mp3 excerpt of the Intro and Section A1 gives a marginally better piano timbre than the usual MIDI-playing plug-in.
	...... Section C2	0:45		0.4 MB
	This mp3 excerpt of Section C2 has again a marginally better piano timbre (particularly a more resonant bass) than the usual MIDI-playing plug-in.
	...... Section D2 to end	0:21		0.2 MB
	This mp3 excerpt going from the last half of Section D2 on to the end has again a marginally better piano timbre than the usual MIDI-playing plug-in.

** If you have a high-speed connection, forget about the MIDI files and just use the MP3 files (better). If you have a dial-up connection, consider the faster (but not as good) MIDI file only if the MP3 files seem to be taking too long to play or download.

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Score Package
(Click on icons below to download pdf and rtf files)

Year	Title ... Instrumentation	Description	No. of score pages	Score (pdf file) file size	No. of text pages	Text (rtf file) file size
1972	Beaver Rag ... piano solo	Piano score	6	0.3 MB	2	28 KB

(you will need the free Stuffit Expander for decompressing the rtf.sitx files)

http://www.rodmer.com/RodMusic/ProgramNotes/BeaverPianoNotes.html -- Revised Jul 28, 2005
Copyright © 1997 - 2005 Rod Anderson
rod@rodmer.com

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