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Maple Leaf Rag, by Scott Joplin (1899). Classic ragtime at its best and probably the most widely recognized rag ever written. It was one of Joplin's earliest efforts and became an instant success. It virtually defined the ragtime idiom in terms of structure and presentation. What
Is Ragtime Piano? David A. Jasen and Trebor Jay Tichenor write in their book, Rags and Ragtime, that "Ragtime is a musical composition for the piano comprising three or four sections containing sixteen measures each which combines a syncopated melody accompanied by an even, steady duple rhythm." A ragtime composition closely resembles a march, although there are also ragtime waltzes. The left hand provides a steady one-two beat (with occasional variation) against a syncopated ("ragged") right hand. Well over 6000 rags were written during the "Golden Years" between 1899 and 1917. Ragtime piano has a Big Three: Scott Joplin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. Joplin (1868 - 1917) is clearly the most well-known of the trio, having composed such timeless rags as "The Entertainer" and "Maple Leaf Rag." James Sylvester Scott (1885 - 1938) began his working career as a window washer and floor sweeper. In 1906 he published "Frogs Legs Rag," which became an instant success. Considered to be the most pianistic of the Big Three, Scott wrote thickly-textured exploratory compositions. Joseph Francis Lamb (1887 - 1960) was mentored by Scott Joplin, who helped Lamb publish his first rags. Joplin's name appears on the title page of some of Lamb's early music as the "arranger." Lamb wrote such gems as "American Beauty Rag"and "Ragtime Nightingale." |
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