Beginning in the late 19th century, the “ragtime” genre was defined by the stereotypical presentations of Black people in songs and social dances, and its syncopated rhythm. Originally, the playing style of ragtime was highly improvisational by African American musicians. However, with the publication of sheet music in the 1890s, the ragtime genre was no longer confined to just live audiences, and as it was performed across vaudeville theaters, saloons, and dance halls, it became a staple genre for Americans, regardless of race and socioeconomic status. Because white middle- and upper-class pianists were the targeted consumers for publishers, the commercialized lyrics of rags often reflected the racism of the time, however this more overt racism began to detach itself from the name “ragtime,” in the 20th century, which came to just represent syncopation in instrumental songs.
What made ragtime a genre that everyone enjoyed?
Considering the roots of the ragtime tradition, this article will analyze two performances using ragtime terminology and compare and contrast connections to race and contexts of American music.
The first video comes from the musical/documentary “Scott Joplin,” which details Joplin’s life and how he became “The King of Ragtime Writers.” In this clip we see that it is set in a brothel where the audience is majority Black. The two pianists are going back and forth, reiterating the original tradition of ragtime as a improvisational genre for African Americans. This video highlights the class ragtime melody and an emphasis on the offbeat. Early in the video one pianist exclaims, “I’m playing a cakewalk”, referring to the social dance that represented stereotypical images of Black people. In contrast, the second video, which comes from the 1938 film, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” shows a white band attempting to play a slightly syncopated piece for the first time in front of a white audience. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” is a piece composed by Irving Berlin and while it lacks the full-fledged syncopated rhythm of a ragtime piece, is is highly influenced by the genre. This clip provides an idea of how different syncopation really was in the context of current American music, as one character reading the sheet music says, “What kind of time is this” and the audience laughs at the strangeness of the performance.
