Scott Joplin: the King of Ragtime
Scott Joplin was an American pianist and composer. He wrote ragtime, piano music with a bouncy, skipping rhythm that makes you want to tap your feet. People called him the "King of Ragtime".
In this lesson
A boy from Texas who loved the piano
Scott Joplin was born in Texas, in the United States, around 1868. Nobody is sure of the exact date. He grew up in the town of Texarkana. His mother sang and played the banjo, and his father played the violin.
As a young man he played the piano in clubs in Sedalia, a town in Missouri. Later he lived in St. Louis and then in New York. He died in New York in 1917.
A rag goes to print
In Sedalia, Joplin played in clubs and taught piano to students. In 1899, a publisher, John Stark, printed his Maple Leaf Rag as sheet music, so pianists everywhere could learn it.
Joplin kept on writing music for the rest of his life. After he died, fewer people played his rags. Then in 1973 the movie The Sting used his music, and The Entertainer became popular again.
In 1976, he was given a special Pulitzer Prize citation, an honour for his music.
Music that skips and bounces
Ragtime is mostly written for the piano. The word "rag" comes from "ragged", because the rhythm sounds a little bumpy, like a skip.
Here is the secret. The left hand walks along steadily, one step on every beat, just like your foot tapping to a song. The right hand plays the tune, but it likes to jump in between the beats instead of landing right on them. Think of the "and" when you count "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and". That jumping-in-between is called syncopation.
Because the left hand never stops, the music keeps its steady beat, and the right hand can play around on top.
Try listening for
These four pieces show how ragtime sounds.
- Maple Leaf Rag
- Listen for the left hand striding along while the right hand skips in between the beats.
- The Entertainer
- Listen for the bright, happy tune that bounces up and down like a ball.
- Elite Syncopations
- Listen for the tune that keeps jumping just ahead of the beat.
- Treemonisha
- Listen for the singers answering each other, and for the dance music.
Listen to Maple Leaf Rag and tap your foot on every beat. Can you hear the right hand jumping in between your taps?
Some pieces to know
Joplin wrote many piano rags, plus a few songs and an opera.
- Maple Leaf Rag
- His most famous rag, published in 1899 in the United States. It may be named after a place in Sedalia, Missouri, but that link is not proven.
- The Entertainer
- A cheerful rag from 1902 that is still known all over the world.
- Elite Syncopations
- A rag published in 1903, with plenty of offbeat jumps in the tune.
- Treemonisha
- An opera in three acts, with its piano-and-voice music published in 1911. It was first fully staged in 1972.
Meanwhile, around the world
- 1889The Eiffel Tower opens
In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was built for the world fair.
- 1893A symphony from the New World
In New York, Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World", was first played.
- 1899A rag on paper
In Missouri, in the United States, Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" was published.
- 1903The first airplane flights
In North Carolina, in the United States, the Wright brothers made the first flights in a powered airplane.
- 1913A ballet that caused a stir
In Paris, Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring was first danced, with music so new that the audience made a lot of noise.
Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0).