Editing Scott Joplin (section)

===Performance skills===
{{Listen|type=music|filename=Pleasant_Moments_Piano_Roll.ogg|title="Pleasant Moments – Ragtime Waltz" – played by Scott Joplin (April 1916)|description=April 1916 piano roll recording of Scott Joplin – thought lost until discovered by a collector in New Zealand in 2006<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pianola.co.nz/pleasant_moments.htm|title=Pianola.co.nz|access-date=April 20, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803132505/http://www.pianola.co.nz/pleasant_moments.htm|archive-date=August 3, 2009}}</ref>|filename2 = Maple leaf rag - played by Scott Joplin 1916 V2.ogg|title2="Maple Leaf Rag" – played by Scott Joplin (June 1916)|description2=June 1916 piano roll recording of Scott Joplin for [[Aeolian Company|The Aeolian Company]]}}

Joplin's skills as a pianist were described in glowing terms by a [[Sedalia, Missouri|Sedalia]] newspaper in 1898, and fellow ragtime composers [[Arthur Marshall (composer)|Arthur Marshall]] and [[Joe Jordan (musician)|Joe Jordan]] both said that he played the instrument well.<ref name="Jasen88"/> However, the son of publisher John Stark stated that Joplin was a rather mediocre pianist and that he composed on paper, rather than at the piano. [[Artie Matthews]] recalled the "delight" the St. Louis players took in outplaying Joplin.<ref>[[#J&T|Jasen & Tichenor (1978)]] p. 86.</ref>

While Joplin never made an audio recording, his playing is preserved on seven [[piano roll]]s for use in mechanical [[player piano]]s. All seven were made in 1916. Of these, the six released under the Connorized label show evidence of editing to correct the performance to strict rhythm and add embellishments,<ref name=Berlin237/> probably by the staff musicians at Connorized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pianola.co.nz/artists/minor.html |title=List of Piano Roll Artists |publisher=Pianola |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629133047/http://www.pianola.co.nz/artists/minor.html |archive-date=June 29, 2011 }}</ref> Berlin theorizes that by the time Joplin reached St. Louis, he may have experienced discoordination of the fingers, tremors, and an inability to speak clearly—all symptoms of the [[syphilis]] that killed him in 1917.{{sfnp|Berlin|1994|pp=237, 239}} Biographer Blesh described the second roll recording of "Maple Leaf Rag" on the UniRecord label from June 1916 as "shocking...disorganized and completely distressing to hear."{{sfnp|Blesh|1981|p=xxxix}} While there is disagreement among piano-roll experts as to how much of this is due to the relatively primitive recording and production techniques of the time,<ref>[[#Siepmann|Siepmann (1998)]] p. 36.</ref><ref>[[#CUP|Philip (1998)]] pp. 77–78.</ref><ref>[[#Howat|Howat (1986)]] p. 160.</ref><ref>[[#McElhone|McElhone (2004)]] p. 26.</ref> Berlin notes that the "Maple Leaf Rag" roll was likely to be the truest record of Joplin's playing at the time. The roll, however, may not reflect his abilities earlier in life.<ref name=Berlin237>{{harvp|Berlin|1994|p=237}}</ref>