Interactive piano piece
Learn Something Doing
A compact, punchy rag co-written with Joplin's student Scott Hayden — 87 tightly drilled measures that show what the Sedalia school of ragtime could do at moderate difficulty. Something Doing is a co-composition — use the Pianodemy desk to loop the second strain's bass line and notice how much propulsion comes from the left hand alone.
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Press Play for the full piece, or choose Opening and switch to Wait for note for guided right-hand practice.
About the piece
A collaboration that captures Sedalia's ragtime community at its most active.
Something Doing was published in 1903 with co-authorship credited to Scott Joplin and Scott Hayden, Joplin's former pupil and future brother-in-law. The two had already collaborated on Swipesy Cake Walk in 1900 and Sunflower Slow Drag in 1901, and Something Doing continues that partnership with a rag that leans toward the assertive, driving character its title promises. Hayden was a younger Sedalia pianist who absorbed Joplin's approach closely, making their joint compositions stylistically seamless.
The piece was published by John Stark & Son during Joplin's most productive years, when he was also drafting his opera Treemonisha and producing a string of solo rags. Something Doing stands out for its particularly active left-hand part — the bass figures in the second strain go beyond simple um-pah patterns into short melodic runs that give the accompaniment its own momentum. The title's swagger is carried through: this is one of the more energetic entries in the Stark catalog.
Practice path
Activate the left hand first.
Practice the left hand alone for each strain before adding the right — in Something Doing the bass part has genuine melodic content that gets lost if treated as pure accompaniment. At 60% tempo, make the left-hand runs crisp before adding the syncopated right-hand melody. The second strain's bass is the most demanding section; loop it until it feels natural at full tempo before combining hands.
Score basis: Generated MusicXML from Mutopia MIDI. Public domain composition; Public Domain (CC0) — Mutopia; MusicXML generated for Pianodemy. Attribution: Mutopia Project (https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=1541).
MIDI source: Mutopia Project (https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=1541). Public Domain (CC0) — Mutopia.
Questions
Before you practice.
Short answers for learners and for searchers deciding whether this is the right version to start with.
01Who wrote Something Doing — Joplin or Hayden?
Both. Something Doing is a credited collaboration between Scott Joplin and Scott Hayden, published in 1903. Joplin co-wrote several rags with Hayden, his Sedalia student, and the two shared royalties.
02Is Something Doing a good Joplin rag for intermediate players?
Yes — at 87 measures it is shorter than most Joplin rags, and the left-hand patterns are straightforward. It is well-suited for players who have finished The Entertainer and want more ragtime without the full complexity of Maple Leaf Rag.
How to use this V1
The title is the instruction.
Something Doing earns its name through forward momentum — avoid any hesitation on the offbeats. Use the loop feature on the second strain at 70% tempo to lock in the active bass before bringing the hands together. Once hands are combined at that tempo, the style's natural energy takes over and the jump to full speed feels smaller than it looks on paper.