Ragtime is a style of music that was popular towards the end of the 19th century. The rhythms usually display lively, and happy, which means this type of music is ideal for ideal for dancing. Ragtime developed from African Americans throughout the southern areas f Midwest, specifically St. Louis. The genre is usually a musical composition for the piano. Many pianists traveled throughout the south and Midwest, including Scott Joplin, Charles Hunter, Thomas Turpin, Louis Chauvin, and others. Ragtime was once described as being peppy, syncopation of any type of music. Ragtime could be described as using a wide rang of music styles, from heavy metal. jazz, rock ‘n roll, and other types. Ragtime invited the curiosity of young listeners and defined an era that went being the music. Some ragtime scholars pointed out that the music is composed for an audience, and meant for dancing.
The genre is so different and unique from others, in the form for musical compositions, and int he same period when cakewalks and coon songs started. Taking a simple, un-syncopated melody and breaking up the rhythm was known as “ragged” and lead to the music to be in ragged time. Americans were first introduced to ragtime, at the Chicago World’s fair in 1893. Artists like Ernest Hogan, Max Hoffman, and W. H. Krell were in attendance. Some songs that were popular during this era was ” You’ve Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down, Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainer, Black Bottom Stomp, and Shuffle Along. Many would try and compare Ragtime to jazz era, but with ragtime, music was usually published sheet music, and piano rolls while jazz music was usually performed live performances and spread by recordings. Additionally, ragtime is the music style that would later precede jazz music.
James Scott
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEeIX8lxxGM[/embedyt]
Scott Joplin
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzpDzikeO-U[/embedyt]
Joseph Lamb
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu6oRNOzYfw[/embedyt]