Aside from his famously ragged voice, Bob Dylan brought a smooth touch to his show on Sunday at TD Garden, spending much of the concert at a piano, hammering out contemplative melodies beneath lyrics that ran from boasts to ruminations.

The slow burn began with “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” which Dylan transformed into a ragtime arrangement, chopping up lyric phrasings to fit the tempo shifted from its original country lope. Dylan’s voice was full and clear from the start, which isn’t always the case, and made for a nice launch.