Woods - Slippery Elm Rag

Ragtime music still has a following and popularity after over 100 years. It was a bona fide sensation after the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago that celebrated the 400th anniversary of the founding of the New World by Columbus. While Ragtime and its earlier forms had been around for a number of years before then, it was around the fair at many venues (not actually inside the fair) that ragtime was first heard by those who never heard it before. Scott Joplin and other pioneers of the form made the trip to Chicago to perform in taverns, restaurants, and bordellos in the area.

The affinity for ragtime grew until Scott Joplin had his biggest hit of all, his 1897 Maple Leaf Rag. It was Joplin who insisted that despite the roots of ragtime, it had become a classical form and should be treated and played as such. This lead to Joplin admonishing potential players right on the sheet music - "Don't play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast." This was also part of the rehabilitation of ragtime, as black ragtime piano players would have competitions against one another to see who could come up with the best ideas, and who could play the fastest.  Of course tempo is a relative thing, and the tempo of a ragtime piece can be pushed to a certain extent, if the character of the piece calls for it. But the slap-dash, break neck speed that ragtime's been subjected to by some is what Joplin was against. 

Clarence Woods was born in 1888, raised in Eastern Kansas, and Carthage, Missouri right in the middleof Ragtime country when he was learning how to play the piano. He left home early on, and began traveling with vaudeville shows and stock companies as an accompanist. He also started working as a silent movie accompanist as well. In 1907 he was performing in the Fort Worth, Texas area and wrote some of his early ragtime pieces there. His first folk rag was Slippery Elm, written in 1912.  He continued to write ragtime as well as early blues pieces. He was married and divorced, continued to work as a professional musician. During the Depression, his livelihood was hit hard like many musicians, and when he lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he was an organist at a local skating rink.

Opportunities increased after WW II, as he lead an orchestra, became a local radio personality, and began composing more. His last compositions were never published, and much of his compositions and arrangements were for concert band. He also worked for a time as a composer/arranger for Ringling Bros. Barnum And Bailey Circus, as well as performing on the organ and steam calliope. He passed away in 1956 while visiting his son in Davenport, Iowa. 

Slippery Elm is an instance where a composer took Joplin's advice about playing fast seriously. Woods tempo indication is 'Very Slow', and when it is heeded, the piece can remind the listener of a Chopin Nocturne. Slow and easy, a little bit of drama with a touch of melancholy. Good ragtime is indeed classical in nature, and shows that it graduated from its roots of bordello and tavern hectic qualities to bitter sweet music. And in many ways, when ragtime is played slowly, it has a whole other set of difficulties in performing it. A steady, clear underlying beat that will naturally accentuate the syncopations, and a rounding off of the edges into a smooth, meditative style of music. 

The name Slippery Elm also fits the music quite well. The inner bark (sometimes leaves) of the Slippery Elm was used by Native Americans and in folk medicine for the treatment of skin rashes, upset stomach, colon issues, sore throats, and other uses. The inner bark releases a gelatinous substance that is used for many kinds of inflammation. There is scant evidence as to the efficacy of its use, but some people still use it. It was said to soothe and comfort inflamed tissues, as the music of this rag gives soothing comfort to the ear.