Composer of the Month: Scott Joplin
This February we are learning about the life and music of Scott Joplin - considered the “King of Ragtime.”
Joplin was born into a musical family in Texas in 1868. His father played violin, and his mother sang and played banjo. Joplin fell in love with and began playing piano as a young child. Early in life, Joplin earned a living teaching music and performing piano and in vocal groups.
In 1899, Joplin was launched into fame with the publication of “Maple Leaf Rag,” which became the archetype for the rag style and heavily influenced the genre for the next decade.
Ragtime is a musical style that originated in African-American communities in the late 1800s. It is characterized by syncopated or “ragged” rhythms. Ragtime was a dominant form of popular music from around 1890 to 1910, and heavily influenced the emergence of jazz in the 1920s.
Joplin’s mega-hits including “Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Entertainer” took the country by storm as people danced to their lively, syncopated rhythms. In addition to over 40 rags, Joplin also wrote a ragtime ballet and two operas - though the score of the first was stolen and the second deemed a failure.
Joplin breathed new life into American popular music, fostering an appreciation for African-American music among European-Americans with his exhilarating and liberating dance tunes.
Have a listen to some of Joplin’s most famous rags:
Students! Check your practice assignments and email for more Scott Joplin resources. Complete at least one of these to collect a Scott Joplin trading card!
