Talk:Magnetic Rag

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This is the first article I have ever written on Wikipedia. (Not surprising that this was the one.) Please, please, don't delete it! I've worked hard to make it up to WP standards. However, since I'm new, please discuss areas for improvement on this talk page and I'll address them ASAP. Thanks! Magnetic Rag (talk) 04:13, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Nice job. I have a question, though: isn't the "A" melody in B-flat major? I'd also use the word 'key' instead of 'mode' there, since 'mode' usually references something that's not Aeolian (major) mode. 157.252.71.177 (talk) 21:29, 15 December 2007 (UTC)SFTB

Thanks for pointing that out. I changed it to read B-flat major. About the key/mode thing, I thought about that quite a bit before writing it in. I looked at the articles for scale and Major_and_minor, which indicated that such terms usually denote the scale used (i.e., which notes are used out of the 12 available). On the other hand, mode indicates not only scale, but also gives reference to the primary, or tonic, note. I chose "mode" because in the "A" strain, while bars 11-12 use the same scale as the rest of the melody, they are clearly in a different mode. What do you think? Magnetic Rag (talk) 02:26, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] That last paragraph...

Nice to see such a well referenced article about this piece. But that last paragraph seems a bit opinionated, especially as it doesn't seem to be sourced -- it reads like the end of an essay. I think it'd be best to just axe it (most articles don't summarize at the end like that), but I figure I'd ask first for opinions. ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 14:45, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

I have to agree. Overall an great article which covers a very interesting piece of music - well done! The final paragraph is problematic. As written is does seem to be POV and therefore should be edited. However, I've just looked at the introduction to my copy of Joplin's rags which does seem to support the statements in that final para:

"Magnetic Rag fully justifies its unusual subtitle: Syncopations classiques. It covers a range of moods unusual even in Joplin's work, one that almost strains the capacity of the short form. Magnetic as pure music is an impressive, although sadly premature, close to Scott Joplin's piano works. It hints at future directions and demonstrates ragtime's potential of expressing profounder musical thought." (Scott Joplin Collected Piano works, New York Public Library 1981, pxxxvii).

I'll take a proper look at this as soon as I can, currently time is short though. If anyone wishes to use the above in some fashion in the meanwhile, please go ahead. I've used references to this work on the Scott Joplin page if you want the long form reference. Major Bloodnok (talk) 21:17, 4 June 2008 (UTC)