The Thriller! Rag

• "The Thriller!" rag, May Frances Aufderheide (1888-1972)
• Instrumentation: piano
• Texture: This piece seems to be thin. There is one line of music, and by no means does this composition warrant the adjective "rich."
• Range: There is not a particularly wide range on this piece. While it is noticeable that it does move up and down the keyboard a bit, it does not stretch from the highs and lows that we heard in some of the previous pieces such as Amy Beach's Scherzo.
• Tempo: This is the most consistently upbeat piece we've heard yet. It is also the most consistent piece we've heard yet. The tempo remains fairly constant throughout the whole piece.
• Meter: Ragtimes are typically written in 2/4 or 4/4, so it is a duple beat. It has a very defined musical pulse, and is very rhythmic- the rhythm is syncopated and there is always a feeling that it is catching up, or ragged (hence "ragtime").
• Volume: There is definitely a variance in volume. However, what makes it different in this case is that the variance is over a much shorter period of time. Each meter, or small bit of the music, seems to start out quietly and then crescendo towards the end.
• Other: This is the first kind of music that does not make it seem as though one needs a higher education to appreciate the music. It is more lively and upbeat, and makes you want to dance. My piano teacher told me that ragtime music came from African beats. If she is correct, than Amy Beach was proven wrong, in her own lifetime, that outside music would never prevail in America.