Maple Leaf Rag · piano sheet music & MIDI file
The free Maple Leaf Rag MIDI lives here, with the falling-notes preview and the sheet music PDF of Joplin's founding rag.
Preview played right in your browser with the app's real piano (lightweight version). Inside Pianovera: full multi-layer sound, fingering display and Wait mode.
First piece of American music to sell a million copies of sheet music. The 1899 Maple Leaf Rag launched the entire ragtime wave single-handed and paid Joplin a cent per copy for the rest of his life. It's also, let's be straight with you, the most demanding rag MIDI we're hosting: the left hand leaps without rest and the right stacks syncopated chords on top.
We file it as advanced without hesitating. Nearly eighteen notes per second on average in this file, left-hand tenths, and not one bar of rest anywhere. If you're new to ragtime, start with The Entertainer. If stride is already in your fingers, this one is a party.
What you'll be working on
- A wide, fast stride that never misses its bass note
- Short, precise syncopated chords in the right hand
- The D-flat trio and its key-signature switch
- Stamina: four themes, zero pause
Playing Maple Leaf Rag on piano with Pianovera
Build it section by section with Pianovera's A·B loop at 60% speed, hands separate. The per-piece accuracy curve will tell you honestly when each theme is ready for the next tempo notch.
Open Maple Leaf Rag in Pianovera: notes fall toward the keyboard, each hand gets its color, and Wait mode is there if you're starting out.
Try Pianovera for freeDownload the Maple Leaf Rag MIDI and sheet music
Two files are waiting for you: the Maple Leaf Rag piano MIDI file (21 KB, opens in Pianovera or any MIDI player) and the Maple Leaf Rag piano sheet music PDF (102 KB, printable). Both come from the same engraving: what you read on the score is exactly what you hear in the preview.
The work itself is in the public domain, and this MIDI engraving was placed in the public domain by its typesetter on the Mutopia Project. Use it freely, videos included.
About this piece
Is Maple Leaf Rag hard to play on piano?
We rate it advanced: 2566 notes over 2:24, spanning G#1 to G#6. The first thing to work on: a wide, fast stride that never misses its bass note.
Where can I get the sheet music for Maple Leaf Rag?
Right on this page: the "View the sheet music" button opens the PDF (102 KB), engraved by the Mutopia Project from the same source as the MIDI file, Public domain license. View it, print it, keep it.
Is the Maple Leaf Rag MIDI file really free?
Yes. Scott Joplin died more than 70 years ago, so the work (1899) is public domain. This MIDI engraving is public domain too: download it and use it freely, videos included.