By: Jaclyn Breeze — Ragtime is one of the oldest types of jazz, and is usually played on the piano. It started in the 1890s and was influenced by the music of Polish composer, Frédéric Chopin, who lived from 1810-1849. Ragtime is recognized by its syncopated style. Usually in music, the downbeats (strongest beats) are the ones that are emphasized. When a piece is syncopated, the upbeats (weaker beats) are brought out more. Ragtime keeps a very strict beat, not speeding up or slowing down, and often has a form of AABBACCDD. This means that there are 4 musical ideas (A, B, C, and D). Each is heard two times, with the opening idea (A) heard once in the middle of the song. Listen to a few ragtime pieces and see if you can pick out the musical ideas! Which ones follow the form and which ones don’t?
The first published rag was Mississippi Rag by William Krell in 1897.
One of the most popular rags today is the Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin, published in 1899. Another you may know by Scott Joplin is The Entertainer, published in 1916.
Jelly Roll Morton was another popular composer. Perfect Rag, recorded in 1924.
Ragtime was paired with a dance style called the cakewalk. Try the cakewalk with your favorite song after watching this tutorial video!
Here is one of Frédéric Chopin’s pieces, Impromptu No. 1. What similarities do you hear to ragtime that could have influenced the genre?
John Philip Sousa is a composer who wrote marches for the military around the same time that ragtime was popular. What similarities do you hear between these two genres? The White Rose published in 1917.
Scott Joplin
William Krell
Jelly Roll Morton