Ragtime Guitar Essentials

Your step-by-step approach to ragtime guitar from the master teachers at Acoustic Guitar magazine, including 14 complete songs to play.

In the early 1900s, ragtime, with its ragged, syncopated rhythms and dazzling speed, was one of the most popular styles of music, leading to spikes in sales of pianos and sheet music. More than a century later, at the mere mention of the genre, you can probably hear the first few bars of Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” in your mind’s ear.

While ragtime is traditionally piano-based, many great blues guitarists put their own stamp on the music. Blind Blake, Reverend Gary Davis, and Blind Boy Fuller were among the first, and Dave Van Ronk, Eric Schoenberg, Mary Flower, and others followed with their interpretations.

Playing ragtime on the guitar is not just musically complex, it can be a bit of a fingerpicking challenge. With this guide, the master teachers at Acoustic Guitar magazine will ease you into the style. You’ll start with some alternating-thumb patterns, simple melodies, and syncopation exercises before moving on to intermediate and advanced arrangements and transcriptions.

But if you’re feeling brave, start with Dave Van Ronk’s interpretation of “The Entertainer.” Just be sure to take things slowly—there is so much to learn and even more to play! If you put the time in the woodshed with this and the other compositions, you’ll be prepared to make your mark on the rich history of ragtime guitar.

Both the print and digital editions include downloadable video instruction, plus standard notation and tablature for the following compositions:

• "Peaceful Feeling Rag" - Jerry Snyder
• "Davis Street Rag" - Mary Flower
• "Liberal Rag" - Mary Flower
• "Jitters" - Mary Flower
• "St. Louis Tickle" - arr. Dave Van Ronk
• "The Harlem Rag" - Tom Turpin
• "Pete's Barrelhouse Rag" - Pete Madsen
• "An Operatic Rag" - Pietro Frosini
• "Maple Leaf Rag" - Scott Joplin
• "The Entertainer" - Scott Joplin, arr. Dave Van Ronk
• "The Pearls" - Jelly Roll Morton, arr. Dave Van Ronk
• "Dill Pickle Rag" - arr. Eric Schoenberg
• "West Coast Blues" - Blind Blake
• "Rabbit Foot Rag" - Dom Flemons