RAGTIME

HISTORY

• Ragtime music started in the 1890's
• The first time Americans were exposed to ragtim was at a fair in 1893.
• Ragtimes main trait is its syncopated rhythm
• It began as a dance music in the African American communities in St. Louis and New Orleans

CHARACTERISTICS

• Multi-theme music
• Recapitulation (return to the theme statement) was mandatory
• Ragtime was essentially a piano music
• The left hand was supportive and never syncopated

Ernest Hogan
(1865–1909) was an innovator and key pioneer who helped popularize the musical genre, and is credited for coining the term ragtime.

Scott Joplin
was an African-American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions and was dubbed the "King of Ragtime Writers". During his brief career, he wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag", became ragtime's first and most influential hit, and has been recognized as the archetypal rag.

Jelly Roll Morton –
A prolific performer and outspoken personality, Morton made many recordings and his music is regarded as a bridge between ragtime and early jazz. His most famous pieces are “King Porter Stomp” and “Black Bottom Stomp.”

Eubie Blake –
Getting his start playing ragtime piano in vaudeville acts, Blake co-composed “Shuffle Along,” a 1921 musical revue that was the first Broadway hit composed by African Americans.

James P. Johnson –
One of the originators of the style known as stride piano, Johnson combined elements of ragtime with the blues and improvisation, leading the way towards early jazz.

Joseph Lamb –
Encouraged by his hero, Scott Joplin, Lamb had many of his rags published between 1908 and 1920. He was a member of the “Big Three” ragtime composers, which also included Joplin and James Scott.

The syncopation and synthesis of African and European classical music gave birth to ragtime jazz.