Scott Joplin: The King of Ragtime Music Scott Joplin: The King of Ragtime Music May 28, 2006 I’m Steve Ember. VOICE TWO: And I’m Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the life and work of one of America’s greatest music writers: Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: That song is called “Maple Leaf Rag.” Scott Joplin wrote it more than one hundred years ago. The song changed Joplin’s life. It was very popular. The composer earned a good living from the sales of the sheet music. He also became famous. But, even today, much about Scott Joplin remains a mystery. There is conflicting information about the most basic facts, like when and where he was born.Official population documents suggest Scott Joplin was born in eighteen sixty-seven and eighteen sixty-eight. He was born in Texas, probably near the border with Arkansas. The Joplins moved to Texarkana, Texas sometime after eighteen seventy-five and Scott grew up there. (MUSIC) VOICE TWO: Scott was the second of seven children born to Giles and Florence Joplin.

His father was a freed slave who worked on the railroad. His mother cleaned people’s homes. The whole Joplin family was musical. Scott’s father played the violin. His mother played the banjo. And all the Joplins enjoyed singing together at home. Scott learned to play several musical instruments. But Florence Joplin wanted her son to learn how to play the piano. When Scott was about seven years old he began taking piano lessons with a music teacher at his school. The Joplins were poor, so Scott’s mother paid for the weekly lessons with food. Florence Joplin also got permission for her son to use a piano in one of the houses she cleaned in Texarkana. Florence and Giles Joplin separated before Scott became a teenager. Some experts think Scott blamed himself for the break-up. Many experts also think Scott Joplin’s opera “Treemonisha” included incidents of his life with his mother after Giles Joplin left. For example, the character “Treemonisha” receives music lessons paid for by her mother who cleans people’s houses. Listen to this aria from the opera. Carmen Balthrop is Treemonisha.

(MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Scott Joplin’s early piano lessons did not include ragtime. That kind of music was played in dance and drinking places and was not considered acceptable.Scott first studied classical music with several teachers. They included a German immigrant named Julius Weiss who probably had the strongest influence on the boy. VOICE TWO: Scott left Texas when he was a teenager. He worked as a piano player and gave lessons in the guitar and mandolin. In his twenties he settled in Sedalia, Missouri. He formed a group called the Texas Medley Quartet. The group sometimes traveled great distances to perform. Scott Joplin began his music-writing career in Sedalia. He attended college classes to learn to become a composer. Joplin also got a permanent job in Sedalia playing the piano in a new nightclub. Sedalia’s most important citizens visited the Maple Leaf Club. The job permitted Joplin time to write and play his own work. Something even more important happened to Joplin in Sedalia. He met John Stark, the owner of a local music store. In eighty ninety-nine, Stark published the song “Maple Leaf Rag.” It was not Joplin’s first published music.

But it was the he was most proud of. Stark offered to pay Joplin a percentage of each sale of “Maple Leaf Rag” sheet music. This was an extremely unusual business agreement for a white publisher and black composer at that time. Usually, white publishers paid only a small amount of money for full ownership of music written by African-Americans. The agreement was very good for both Scott Joplin and John Stark. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Ragtime music is dance music. It combines a solid, often lively, beat with a looser, complex melody. Most experts agree that the traditional music and dance of American slaves played a big part in the development of ragtime. Here is a perfect example. Scott Joplin and John Stark published “A Breeze From Alabama” in nineteen-oh-two. It is music for a dance called the two-step. (MUSIC) VOICE TWO: John Stark decided that Scott Joplin was going to become too popular to stay in the small town of Sedalia. He decided to move his music business to the big city of Saint Louis, Missouri. Joplin moved to Saint Louis with a woman named Belle Hayden. Later they were married.

But Joplin was not as successful in love as he was in music. He and Belle separated in nineteen-oh-two. Two years later Joplin married again. But his wife, Freddie Alexander, died just three months later. The Scott Joplin Organization in Sedalia, Missouri says Joplin wrote this rag, “The Chrysanthemum,” for his second wife. (MUSIC) After his wife’s death, in nineteen-oh-five, Joplin wrote a concert waltz called “Bethena.” The piece has a sad sound to it, quite unlike Joplin’s earlier work. You might recognize it as the theme music for the Special English program Words and Their Stories. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Joplin lived in many places in the years that followed. He also worked on his opera, “Treemonisha.” He had hoped his longtime business partner John Stark would publish it, but he refused. Stark did not think a ragtime opera would sell. After nineteen-oh-seven Joplin lived mostly in New York City. He and his new wife Lottie tried for many years to get “Treemonisha” produced.

But its opening night did not come until more than fifty years after Joplin’s death. By about nineteen fifteen, Scott Joplin began suffering badly from syphilis. The disease robbed him of his ability to play piano. It also destroyed his ability to write music. He died in New York City in nineteen-seventeen. Scott Joplin left the world sixty musical works. These include many piano rags that are still played today. (MUSIC) This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Barbara Klein. VOICE ONE: And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English. We leave you now with one of Scott Joplin’s prettiest rags, “Heliotrope Bouquet.” Biography - Scott Joplin, 1867?-1917: The King of Ragtime Music (VOA Special English 2006-05-28) Scott Joplin, 1867?-1917: The King of Ragtime Music Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.) I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Barbara Klein with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Today we tell about the life and work of one of America's greatest music writers: Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime. That song is called "Maple Leaf Rag." Scott Joplin wrote it more than one hundred years ago. The song changed Joplin's life. It was very popular. The composer earned a good living from the sales of the sheet music. He also became famous. But, even today, much about Scott Joplin remains a mystery. There is conflicting information about the most basic facts, like when and where he was born. Official population documents suggest Scott Joplin was born in 1867 and 1868. He was born in Texas, probably near the border with Arkansas. The Joplins moved to Texarkana, Texas sometime after 1875 and Scott grew up there. Scott was the second of seven children born to Giles and Florence Joplin. His father was a freed slave who worked on the railroad. His mother cleaned people's homes. The whole Joplin family was musical. Scott's father played the violin. His mother played the banjo. And all the Joplins enjoyed singing together at home. Scott learned to play several musical instruments.

But Florence Joplin wanted her son to learn how to play the piano. When Scott was about seven years old he began taking piano lessons with a music teacher at his school. The Joplins were poor, so Scott's mother paid for the weekly lessons with food. Florence Joplin also got permission for her son to use a piano in one of the houses she cleaned in Texarkana. Florence and Giles Joplin separated before Scott became a teenager. Some experts think Scott blamed himself for the break-up. Many experts also think Scott Joplin's opera "Treemonisha" included incidents of his life with his mother after Giles Joplin left. For example, the character "Treemonisha" receives music lessons paid for by her mother who cleans people's houses. Listen to this aria from the opera. Carmen Balthrop is Treemonisha. Scott Joplin's early piano lessons did not include ragtime. That kind of music was played in dance and drinking places and was not considered acceptable.Scott first studied classical music with several teachers. They included a German immigrant named Julius Weiss who probably had the strongest influence on the boy. VOICE TWO: Scott left Texas when he was a teenager.

He worked as a piano player and gave lessons in the guitar and mandolin. In his twenties he settled in Sedalia, Missouri. He formed a group called the Texas Medley Quartet. The group sometimes traveled great distances to perform. Scott Joplin began his music-writing career in Sedalia. He attended college classes to learn to become a composer. Joplin also got a permanent job in Sedalia playing the piano in a new nightclub. Sedalia's most important citizens visited the Maple Leaf Club. The job permitted Joplin time to write and play his own work. Something even more important happened to Joplin in Sedalia. He met John Stark, the owner of a local music store. In eighty ninety-nine, Stark published the song "Maple Leaf Rag." It was not Joplin's first published music. But it was the he was most proud of. Stark offered to pay Joplin a percentage of each sale of "Maple Leaf Rag" sheet music. This was an extremely unusual business agreement for a white publisher and black composer at that time. Usually, white publishers paid only a small amount of money for full ownership of music written by African-Americans.

The agreement was very good for both Scott Joplin and John Stark. Ragtime music is dance music. It combines a solid, often lively, beat with a looser, complex melody. Most experts agree that the traditional music and dance of American slaves played a big part in the development of ragtime. Here is a perfect example. Scott Joplin and John Stark published "A Breeze From Alabama" in 1902. It is music for a dance called the two-step. John Stark decided that Scott Joplin was going to become too popular to stay in the small town of Sedalia. He decided to move his music business to the big city of Saint Louis, Missouri. Joplin moved to Saint Louis with a woman named Belle Hayden. Later they were married. But Joplin was not as successful in love as he was in music. He and Belle separated in 1902. Two years later Joplin married again. But his wife, Freddie Alexander, died just three months later. The Scott Joplin Organization in Sedalia, Missouri says Joplin wrote this rag, "The Chrysanthemum," for his second wife.

After his wife's death, in 1905, Joplin wrote a concert waltz called "Bethena." The piece has a sad sound to it, quite unlike Joplin's earlier work. You might recognize it as the theme music for the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. Joplin lived in many places in the years that followed. He also worked on his opera, "Treemonisha." He had hoped his longtime business partner John Stark would publish it, but he refused. Stark did not think a ragtime opera would sell. After 1907 Joplin lived mostly in New York City. He and his new wife Lottie tried for many years to get "Treemonisha" produced. But its opening night did not come until more than fifty years after Joplin's death. By about 1915, Scott Joplin began suffering badly from syphilis. The disease robbed him of his ability to play piano. It also destroyed his ability to write music. He died in New York City in 1917. Scott Joplin left the world sixty musical works. These include many piano rags that are still played today.

This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Barbara Klein. And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. We leave you now with one of Scott Joplin's prettiest rags, "Heliotrope Bouquet." Who was called the King of Ragtime Add this question to a group or test by clicking the appropriate button below. Grade 5 Twentieth Century and Modern - 1900-2000 Who was called the "King of Ragtime"? Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Scott Joplin Home · Stage/Screen · Music · Sports · Politics · Military · Literature · Crime · Business · Art · Journalism Scott Joplin (1868-1917), African American composer and pianist, called the "King of Ragtime," son of Jiles and Florence (Givins) Joplin, was born on November 24, 1868, probably at Caves Springs, near Linden, Texas. His father, a laborer and former slave who possessed rudimentary musical ability, moved the family to Texarkana by about 1875.

Encouraged by family music making, Scott, at age seven, was proficient in banjo and began to experiment on a piano owned by a neighbor, attorney W. G. Cook, for whom Florence did domestic work. At about age eleven, young Joplin began free piano lessons with Julius Weiss (born Saxony, ca. 1841), who also taught him the basics of sight reading, harmony, and appreciation, particularly of opera. Weiss lodged as family tutor for lumberman Col. R. W. Rodgers, and possibly introduced Scott to the same academic subjects he taught the Rodgers children. Indeed each of the Rodgers family learned a musical instrument, and young Rollin Rodgers became a lifelong opera enthusiast (the same subject which would haunt Joplin in his later years) due to Weiss's encouragement. The second-hand square piano that Jiles Joplin bought for Scott probably came from the Rodgers home when the family bought a new instrument during Weiss's residence there. After Colonel Rodgers died in April 1884 and following the subsequent departure of Weiss, Joplin may also have left Texarkana.

September 1884 seems to be a seminal month in Joplin's life, signifying either his departure from the border town or the date when he became an assistant teacher in Texarkana's Negro school. Some authorities believe that he remained there until about 1888, performing in Texarkana and area towns. After several years as an itinerant pianist in brothels and saloons, Joplin settled in St. Louis about 1890. A type of music known as "jig-piano" was popular there, and the bouncing bass and syncopated melody lines were later referred to as "ragged time," or simply "ragtime." During 1893 he played in sporting areas adjacent to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and the next year moved to Sedalia, Missouri, from whence he toured with his eight-member Texas Medley Quartette as far east as Syracuse, New York, and in 1896, into Texas, where he possibly witnessed the staged collision of two M.K.&T. railroad trains near Waco. In 1897 he enrolled in Sedalia's George R. Smith College for Negroes, studying piano and theory.

During this time he was an "entertainer" at the Maple Leaf Club and traveled to Kansas City, where in 1899 Carl Hoffman issued Joplin's first ragtime publications, including his best-known piece, "Maple Leaf Rag". The sheet music went on to sell over one million copies. Thereafter Joplin entered into an on-and-off arrangement with John Stark, a publisher in Sedalia, but later in St. Louis and New York. In addition to his output of increasingly sophisticated individual rags, Joplin began to integrate ragtime idioms into works in the larger musical forms: a ballet, "The Ragtime Dance" (1899), and two operas, "The Guest of Honor" (1902-03) and "Treemonisha" (1906-10). Unfortunately the orchestration scores for both the operas were lost. A piano-vocal score and new orchestration for "Treemonisha" was later published. When he moved back to St.

Louis in 1901, Joplin renewed an acquaintance with Alfred Ernst (1867-1916), conductor of that city's Choral-Symphony Society, and possibly took theory lessons from him. The German Ernst noted, "He is an unusually intelligent young man and fairly well educated." Joplin had a strong conviction that the key to success for African Americans was education, and this was a common theme in his works. After further periods of residence in Sedalia, Chicago, and St. Louis, with a possible visit home to Texarkana, Joplin followed publisher Stark to New York in 1907, using the city as a base for his East Coast touring, until he settled down there permanently in 1911, to devote his serious energies to the production of "Treemonisha", mounted unsuccessfully early in 1915. Joplin had contracted syphilis some years earlier, and by 1916 his health had deteriorated considerably, as indicated by his inconsistent playing on the piano rolls he recorded. He was projecting a ragtime symphony when he entered the Manhattan State Hospital, where he died on April 1, 1917.

He was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery in New York City. Joplin was married twice: to Belle Hayden (1901-03) and Lottie Stokes (from ca. 1909); one daughter (born ca. 1903) died in infancy. Joplin's works include the ballet and two operas, a manual, "The School of Ragtime" (1908), and many works for piano: rags, including "Maple Leaf", "The Entertainer", "Elite Syncopations", "Peacherine"; marches, including "Great Crush Collision", "March Majestic"; and waltzes, including "Harmony Club", "Bethena". Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century Scott Joplin's music has won more critical recognition. His collected works were published by the New York Public Library in 1971, and his music was featured in the 1973 motion picture "The Sting", which won an Academy Award for its film score. In 1976 Joplin was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for "Treemonisha", the first grand opera by an African American.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Theodore Albrecht, "Julius Weiss: Scott Joplin's First Piano Teacher," College Music Symposium 19 (Fall 1979). Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis, They All Played Ragtime: The True Story of an American Music (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1958; 2d ed., New York: Oak Publications, 1966). James Haskins and Kathleen Benson, Scott Joplin (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1978). Vera Brodsky Lawrence, ed., The Collected Works of Scott Joplin (2 vols., New York Public Library, 1971). Theodore Albrecht "JOPLIN, SCOTT." The Handbook of Texas Online. < > [Accessed Wed Jul 12 15:27:30 2000 ].

Scott Joplin - The King of Ragtime Writers by Ted Tjaden 1) Introduction [ top ] Although classic ragtime piano is a relatively narrow aspect of music, most people have heard of Scott Joplin, or if not, they have heard some of his more well known compositions, including The Entertainer ( below ) or The Maple Leaf Rag ( below ). Although the popularity of the Maple Leaf Rag made Joplin a relatively well-known composer, perhaps more so after his death, it was the enduring quality of his compositions that have cemented his reputation as the "King of Ragtime Writers." John Stark, the main publisher for the "Big 3" ragtime composers (Scott Joplin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb ), was prone to fanciful puffery in his sales brochures for the rags he published, but there is something to be said for Stark's descriptions of these rags: We have advertised these as classic rags, and we mean just what we say. They are the perfection of type. "The glass of fashion and the mold of form." "Age cannot whither or custom stale their infinite variety".

They have lifted ragtime from its low estate and lined it up with Beethoven and Bach" (Stark ad, page 23, in Ragtime Review ( Vol 1, No 2: January 1915 ). Jasen and Tichenor ( 1987 :83) describe Joplin's compositions in these terms: He combined the traditions of Afro-American music folk music with nineteenth-century European romanticism; he collected the black Midwestern Folk rag ideas as raw material for the creation of original strains. Thus, his rags are the most heavily pentatonic, with liberal use of blue notes and other outstanding features that characterize black folk music. In this creative synthesis, . . . the traditional march became the dominant form, and the result was a new art form, the Classic rag ï¿½ a unique conception which paradoxically both forged the way for early serious ragtime composition, and, at the same time, developed along insular lines, away from most other ragtime playing and composing. Fortunately, Joplin's rags have been widely recorded (see below ) and published and there is much commentary on his music available.

The launch of the movie The Sting in 1973, which featured a number of Scott Joplin compositions as part of the soundtrack, was responsible for extending the ragtime revival of the 1950's to the present day (with Joplin's The Entertainer, featured in the movie, making it in the "Top 10" of the " Songs of the Century " as determined by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment of the Arts). Ironically, the movie was set during the Depression, about 10 to 20 years after ragtime's heyday, making the music of Joplin chosen for the movie slightly anachronistic. 2) Life of Scott Joplin (1868 ~ 1917) [ top ] Fortunately, much has already been written about the life of Scott Joplin. I highly recommend Edward Berlin's King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and his Era (NY: Oxford University Press, 1995) as being the definitive biography on Scott Joplin (Berlin has his own webpage here ).

Berlin has also prepared a brief online biography of Scott Joplin for the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation ). Another useful research resource on Scott Joplin is Nancy Ping-Robbins' Scott Joplin: A Guide to Research (New York: Garland Pub, 1998), which contains 1,268 separate bibliographic entries or citations for information on Joplin and the ragtime era. Because so much has already been written about Scott Joplin, I set out below only some of the more significant events in his life: The Early Years and Family Life Most references cite November 24, 1868, as the date Scott Joplin was born, but research by Berlin ( 1995 :4-5) suggests that this date, based on what is likely the faulty memory of Joplin's widow, may be in error. Census data surrounding Joplin's age is also inconsistent and hence inconclusive. Despite this, Joplin's date of birth is likely sometime in 1868, give or take a small period of time.

In his online biography of Scott Joplin , Berlin suggests that Joplin was most likely born sometime between June 1867 and mid-January 1868. Joplin grew up in a musical family, likely initially in northeastern Texas. He had an older brother (Monroe) and a younger brother (Robert) and three younger siblings. At some point, the family moved to Texarkana , possibly as early as 1875 when Scott Joplin would have been around 7 years old (Berlin, 1995 :7). Brother Robert himself became a well known dancer and vaudevillian (Berlin, 1995 :7). Joplin showed some promise as a youth on the piano and took lessons from various local piano teachers. Of note, most biographers emphasize the influence that Julius Weiss, a German piano teacher, had on shaping Joplin's early musical influences (Berlin, 1995 :7; Jasen and Jones, 2000 :26).

For a good overview of Joplin's early life, see Addison Reed's chapter entitled "Scott Joplin: Pioneer" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime: Its History, Composers, and Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1985:117-36. Scott Joplin formed a vocal quartet that performed in Texarkana; in addition, Joplin appears to have played piano there in dance halls and taught guitar and mandolin (Berlin, 1995 :7). It appears that Joplin left Texarkana sometime in his teens, likely pursuing life on the saloon and honky-tonk circuit throughout Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky as a pianist (Berlin, 1995 :8). Berlin raises the possibility that Joplin lived in Sedalia, Missouri , during this time and even went to Lincoln High School, an all black school in that city (Berlin, 1995 :8).

In 1891, Joplin was part of the Texarkana Ministrels that faced some controversy at a performance in Texarkana that summer where it turned out that part of the proceeds were being raised for Jefferson Davis , the former President of the Confederate States of America and supporter of slavery (Berlin, 1995 :9-10). It is believed that Joplin would have been in Chicago for the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, which is where ragtime as a musical form began to develop and be known to a wider white audience (Berlin, 1995 :11). Berlin reports that Joplin met Otis Saunders, another ragtime pianist, at the Fair and the two of them went to St Louis and then Sedalia when the Fair ended in October 1893. (Berlin, 1995 :9-12). Time in Sedalia (circa 1894 to 1901) Joplin lived in Sedalia from approximately 1894 to 1901, after which he moved to St Louis.

Berlin ( 1995 :13-23) describes Sedalia at that time as a thriving city with opportunities for blacks despite it being a largely segregated community. The city housed the George R Smith College for black students where it is believed that Joplin took music courses ( Jasen and Tichenor, 1987 :82). Sedalia also hosted the black Queen City Cornet Band and a number of honky-tonks along Main Street. It is likely that Joplin toured a fair bit during this time with his Texas Medley Quartette. Berlin ( 1995 :26) notes that two of Joplin's early songs, Please Say You Will ( below ) and A Picture of Her Face ( below ) (both from 1895) were published in New York state, likely as a result of a tour to that region by the Texas Medley Quartette. Berlin also notes that since Joplin had three pieces published in Texas (The Great Crush Collision March, Harmony Club Waltzes, and Combination March, all available below ), so it is likely that Joplin also spent time in Temple, Texas, likely on tour ( 1995 :27).

It is not clear whether Joplin himself witnessed the "Great Crush Collision" of trains staged on September 15, 1896 (which resulted inadvertently in the death of three spectators), but Joplin's composition named after this event was published one month later (more information on the historical "collision" event is available here and here ). It appears that Joplin taught piano to students and was also a mentor to a number of up and coming ragtimers, including Arthur Marshall, Scott Hayden and Brun Campbell (Berlin, 1995 :31). Despite this, most authors suggest that Joplin was likely not much of an entertainer on the keyboard and was considered only a competent pianist, especially when compared to the theatrics of many of the contemporary "rag thumpers" of the time ( Jasen and Tichenor, 1987 :85-86). Sedalia was also home to two black social clubs, the Black 400 Club and the Maple Leaf Club, that hosted dances and social activities, some of which included white residents as guests.

(Berlin, 1995 :34-44) provides a fascinating look at the history of these clubs, their competition with each other, their role in promoting ragtime music, and their ultimate demise in early 1900 when they were shut down by the city. Berlin ( 1995 :47) documents that Joplin likely had written Original Rags ( below ) as early as 1897 and had tried unsuccessfully to publish that piece, along with Maple Leaf Rag ( below ) and possibly Sunflower Slow Drag ( below ), in 1898 with AW Perry & Son in Sedalia. Joplin was successful in having Original Rags published by Carl Hoffman (Kansas City) ( Jasen and Jones, 2000 :27), but Berlin ( 1995 :48) doubts that Charles Daniels actually arranged Original Rags (as is indicated on the cover, here ). Joplin's most famous composition, the Maple Leaf Rag ( below ), was published by John Stark, then of Sedalia.

Many commentators have noted the importance to Joplin of Stark granting a one-percent royalty for the composition since the composition subsequently sold very well, possibly as high as one half-million copies (Berlin, 1995 :58). The original cover of Maple Leaf Rag ( below ) was an advertisement from the American Tobacco Company portraying the famous vaudevillians, Bert Williams and George Walker (and their dance partners and future wives). One of the many "myths" surrounding Joplin and his work is the naming of The Maple Leaf Rag and whether it was named after the Maple Leaf Club in Sedalia. One theory is that there is a Canadian connection to the composition (since the maple leaf was a recognized national symbol in Canada since at least the mid 1850's with the Maple Leaf Forever, available here in PDF, being composed in 1867, for example). One possible theory, I think unlikely, is that Joplin named the piece to commemorate the Underground Railway to Canada (discussed here in Ragtime Music in Canada ) (Berlin, 1995 :61).

Another theory connected to the composition, or at least to the Maple Leaf Club, is that the "Maple Leaf Club," which was owned by Will and Walker Williams who were from London, Ontario, was named for Canada's symbol: Timothy McGee, The Music of Canada. New York: WW Norton, 1985. Berlin, on the other hand, has a much more practical explanation: Sedalia was a city whose streets were lined with maple trees and there was a current vogue in town to name things after leaves and trees: Berlin, 1995 :62. Joplin also used arboreal and floral themes for naming a number of his subsequent rags. During the time Joplin was in Sedalia, he is believed to have married Belle Hayden, the widow of Scott Hayden's brother: Berlin, 1995 :84. However, the couple separated around 1903 shortly after the death of their infant daughter.

Berlin ( 1995 :85) notes that on his departure from Sedalia in 1901, Joplin "was well known locally as both a pianist and composer, was quickly gaining nationwide fame as the composer of the Maple Leaf Rag, and was soon to be known as "the king of ragtime writers." Time in St Louis (circa 1901 to 1907) Compared to Sedalia, St Louis in 1901 was a much larger and more vibrant city. Berlin notes that Joplin first moved to the city's red-light district which was "a major center for the early development of black Midwestern ragtime" ( 1995 :89). This was a prolific time for Joplin, with a number of his compositions being published in St Louis by John Stark, who had also moved to St Louis.

In 1903, Joplin filed a copyright application for an opera called Guest of Honor, which was briefly performed on tour, but unfortunately, Joplin was unable to cover the payroll after a certain point, and his possessions, including the score to the opera, were seized, and to this date, no known copy of Guest of Honor has survived (Berlin, 1995 : Chapter 7). In 1904, the St Louis World Fair (the Louisiana Purchase Exposition) brought a number of ragtime pianists to the area. It would have been an exciting time to hear ragtime piano (although the Fair was not without controversy because of the continuing discrimination that blacks faced). Berlin, for example, describes a "cutting contest" between Tom Turpin and Louis Chauvin (Chauvin won) ( 1995 :134). It is likely that Joplin wrote The Cascades ( below ) to commemorate the Cascades Gardens at the World Fair, pictured on the cover of his sheet music (see below ).

Also in 1904, Joplin met a 19-year old woman, Freddie Alexander, to whom he dedicated The Chrysanthemum ( below ). They were married shortly thereafter on June 14, 1904. After the marriage, the couple went to Sedalia where Joplin performed. However, his new wife took sick and eventually died of pneumonia on September 10, 1904. Berlin ( 1995 :208) has an interesting theory that Joplin may have memorialized Freddie in the main character in his opera Treemonisha . During the two and one half years following the death of Freddie, Berlin ( 1995 :161) notes that Joplin's output was significantly diminished with the publication of only three new rags (Leola, Eugenia, and The Nonpareil, all below ), Bethena ( below ) and a number of less successful compositions. In 1905, John Stark opened an office in New York (Berlin, 1995 :151).

However, it appears that Stark found the sheet music industry in New York cutthroat and extremely competitive since he only lasted in New York until 1910 (Berlin, 1995 :195). Trivia: Joplin's Augustan Club Waltzes ( below ) should have been spelled "Augustain" after the Augustain Club in Sedalia (Berlin, 1995 :79-80). In addition, Joplin's Bink's Waltz ( below ) should have been named "Bing's" waltz, the nickname of the boy in whose honor the piece was composed (Berlin, 1995 :149). Time in New York (1907 to 1917) Joplin moved to New York, likely in the summer of 1907. Berlin ( 1995 :223-25) discusses detailed research regarding Lottie Joplin, who Joplin "married" (likely in a common law marriage) sometime in the late 1910's.

Lottie also ran a boarding house and appears to have managed some of Joplin's late career, being a partner in Scott Joplin Music Publishing Ltd, which published Magnetic Rag in 1914 ( below ). Lottie survived Scott Joplin's death and continued to be involved in the affairs of his estate by renewing copyrights in his compositions. Berlin discusses some of the litigation surrounding Joplin's estate in Chapter 13 of his book.

Joplin made contact with several new publishers in New York, including: Joseph Stern, who published Gladious Rag (1907) ( below ), Searchlight Rag (1907) ( below ), Stoptime Rag (1910) ( below ) and Scott Joplin's New Rag (1912) ( below ); Joseph Daly, who published Rose Leaf Rag (1907) ( below ); and, Seminary Music, who was the selling agent for Joplin's piano exercises entitled School of Ragtime (1908) ( below ) and who also published Sugar Cane (1908) ( below ), Pine Apple Rag (1908) ( below ), Wall Street Rag (1909) ( below ), Solace: A Mexican Serenade (1909) ( below ), Pleasant Moments: Ragtime Waltz (1909) ( below ), Country Club (1909) ( below ), Paragon Rag (1909) ( below ), and Euphonic Sounds (1909) ( below ).

It is likely that Joplin explored publishers other than John Stark due in part to a growing rift between the two men regarding Stark's reluctance to pay royalties (Berlin, 1995 :186). Late in 1907, it is believed that Joplin met with Joseph Lamb in Stark's New York store (Berlin, 1995 :173). Later Lamb visited Joplin and played several of his rags. It is likely that Joplin played an influential role in having Lamb's compositions published with Stark. Evidence of this is Joplin being named as "arranger" of Sensation (available here ), although it is likely that Lamb wrote and arranged the piece himself. Despite his increasingly declining health, life in New York was relatively good for Joplin, where he was enjoying some public success (Berlin, 1995 : 192): In New York, he displayed a renewed vigor. In a span of two and a half years he had sixteen publications: twelve independent rags, one collaborative rag, one syncopated waltz, one habanera and one instruction manual.

Many of these publications were artistic successes, both developing ideas introduced earlier and pointing to new directions in ragtime. It is believed that Joplin finished his opera, Treemonisha (see below ), in 1910. He apparently approached a number of publishers, including Stark, Seminary and Joseph Stern, each of whom rejected his 230-page score. Joplin eventually published the opera himself in 1911 (Berlin, 1995 :198). More information on Treemonisha is available here ; the Library of Congress also has an online essay on Treemonisha here . Left: Cover page of dance "Frolic of the Bears" from Treemonisha. Joplin was described as depressed and morose by William Sullivan, a white Canadian who was taking piano lessons from Joplin in New York from about 1910 to 1912: Berlin ( 1995 :213). Apparently he was depressed over money, health and the difficulties he was facing in getting Treemonisha staged.

Joplin's later rags became much more complex and sophisticated, including Euphonic Sounds ( below ), Paragon Rag ( below ) and Stoptime Rag ( below ), and his final rag, Magnetic Rag ( below ). Berlin ( 1995 :220) describes his later works as "stretching the boundaries." For a detailed analysis of Joplin's late rags, see Guy Waterman's chapter entitled "Joplin's Late Rags: An Analysis" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime: Its History, Composers, and Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1985:232-42. Berlin ( 1995 :233) effectively summarizes Joplin's last years in New York, a time when his compositions were growing in complexity at the same time his health was seriously declining: Though the 46-year old Joplin was almost at the end of his career, in seriously declining health, he was not declining as a musician. He was still master of his craft, at the height of his creative powers.

He was continuing to respond to his musical environment, thinking in new ways, creating a new type of ragtime. This was a growing, dynamic composer betrayed by a failing body. Joplin became quite sick in early 1917 and entered Bellevue Hospital. On February 3, 1917, he was transferred to the mental ward of Manhattan State Hospital. He died there on April 1, 1917, at the age of approximately 49 from "demential paralytica" likely caused by syphillis: Berlin ( 1995 :238). Stark published Reflection Rag ( below ), which Joplin likely wrote in around 1907, as a tribute to Joplin after Joplin died (Berlin, 1995 :240).

Joplin also achieved posthumous fame in a number of other ways, including the staging of Treemonisha on Broadway and other venues, having his music featured in the 1973 movie The Sting , being awarded a special Bicentennial Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his contribution to American music, having Billy Dee Williams portray him in a 1977 movie about his life , and having his portrait issued on an American stamp in 1983. 3) Sheet Music of Scott Joplin Compositions [ top ] The sheet music below of Scott Joplin compositions is set out roughly chronologically into the following three sections: (a) Joplin rags, marches and waltzes ; (b) compositions on which Joplin collaborated or arranged ; and (c) Joplin songs . a) Joplin Rags, Marches and Waltzes [ top ] Scott Joplin. The Great Crush Collision March. Temple, TX: John R Fuller, 1896.

There are also a number of widely available commercial recordings of Scott Joplin compositions: Commercial Recordings of Scott Joplin Compositions: Set out below is only a select list of Joplin recordings; there are many, many more available. Guido Nielsen, Scott Joplin: The Complete, Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs. Basta Records, 2004. Purchase details here . John Arpin, John Arpin Plays Scott Joplin, Vol 1 and 2. Purchase details here . Joshua Rifkin, Scott Joplin Piano Rags. Nonesuch Records, 1990. Purchase details here . Richard Zimmerman, Scott Joplin: His Complete Works. Bescol Records, 1994. Purchase details here . I hope to shortly order the following CD from Deutsche Grammophon, a recording from 2005 of Joplin's Treemonisha: Gunther Schuller, conductor. Treemonisha (Deutsche Grammophon). Purchase details here .

MIDI Recordings of Scott Joplin Compositions A number of ragtime music enthusiasts have made MIDI recordings of Scott Joplin compositions available for free on the Internet: 5) Bibliography [ top ] Berlin, Edward. "A Biography of Scott Joplin (c 1867-1917)" (1998) (available online here ). Berlin, Edward. "Eleanor Stark: From Moszkowski to Classic Ragtime" in Music, American Made: Essays in Honor of John Graziano. Sterling Heights, MI: Harmonie Park Press, 2011. Berlin, Edward. King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Berlin, Edward. Ragtime: A Musical and Cultural History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1980. Blesh, Rudi & Harriet Grossman Janis. They All Played Ragtime. 4th ed. New York: Oak Publications, 1966. Curtis, Susan. Dancing to a Black Man's Tune. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1994.

Frew, Timothy. Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime. New York: Friedman Fairfax, 1996. Gammond, Peter. Scott Joplin and the Ragtime Era. London: Angus & Robertson, 1975. Hasse, JE, ed. Ragtime: Its History, Composers, and Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1985. Hubbard-Brown, Janet. Scott Joplin. New York: Chelsea House, 2006. Jasen, David & Gene Jones. That American Rag: The Story of Ragtime from Coast to Coast. New York: Schirmer Books, 2000. Jasen, David & Trebor Jay Tichenor. Rags and Ragtime: A Musical History. New York: Dover Publications, 1978. Piras, Marcello. "Treemonisha, or Der Freischï¿½tz Upside Down" (2012) 4 Current Research in Jazz, available online: . Ping-Robbins, Nancy. Scott Joplin: A Guide to Research. New York: Garland Pub, 1998.

Reed, Addison. "Scott Joplin: Pioneer" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime: Its History, Composers, and Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1985:117-36. Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation. Home page: < >. Total Joplin: The Complete Works of Scott Joplin (CD-ROM, Sunhawk, 1996). Introduction by Trebor Tichenor. Introduces the user to the life and music of America's ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Includes the complete collection of scores and digitally restored sheet music covers, rarely published Williams-Walker prints, a multimedia review of Joplin's life, and more than five hours of classic ragtime hits. Waldo, Terry. This is Ragtime. New York: De Capo Press, 1991. Waterman, Guy. "Joplin's Late Rags: An Analysis" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime: Its History, Composers, and Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1985:232-42.

Scott Joplin (c.1867–1917) Musical notes for school children Scott Joplin (c.1867–1917) Born: Sometime between July 1867 and January 1868, somewhere in Texas, USA. (Many books say he was born on 24th November 1868 in Texarkana, Texas, but there is no real evidence for this.) Scott Joplin’s grave in New York Died: 1st April 1917 in New York, New York, USA. Buried: Saint Michaels Cemetery, East Elmhurst, Queens County, New York, USA. Some famous pieces: Maple Leaf Rag. ( See below for a video.) A great recording: King of Ragtime (c.1898–1913). This is recorded from piano rolls—Scott Joplin did not actually make any recordings. A piano roll is a roll of paper with holes in it. This paper is fed into a special piano called a player piano. The player piano then reads the roll and plays itself!

( See below for a picture of a player piano.) Some interesting facts: He was the greatest composer of ‘ragtime’. In fact he is often called the ‘King of Ragtime’. (Ragtime is a mixture of Black American folk music and classical music . It is not quite jazz, but is certainly where a lot of the ideas for jazz came from.) He made ragtime very popular. This made people ready to hear and write the jazz that came afterwards. It also set the scene for American popular music over the last century. Put simply, Scott Joplin has had a very big influence on jazz and popular music over the last 100 years. Like classical music , Scott Joplin’s rags are written down exactly. They are pieces to be played as written on the piano. This is quite different from jazz, where it is normal for the musicians to make up some of the music as they play. He became famous with his piece ‘Maple Leaf Rag’. This piece appeared in 1899. It sold over 75,000 copies in the first six months! The piece was named after the Maple Leaf Club where Scott Joplin used to play the piano. His father had been a slave.

He was very lucky to learn music. Most Black American children around the time Scott Joplin was born would not have had this chance. His father certainly didn’t want him to learn music. However his mother was keen. And a kind local music teacher taught him for free. He also composed two operas as well as some other classical music . Scott Joplin tried very hard to make these operas popular, but didn’t succeed. In the end he died very disappointed with the failure of his operas. After Scott Joplin died, ragtime music was almost forgotten about as jazz became popular. His music became popular again in the 1970s—especially when ‘The Entertainer’ was used in the 1973 film ‘The Sting’. His music has been popular ever since! Here is video of a piano roll recording of Scott Joplin playing some of his own music. A piano roll recording of Scott Joplin playing some of his own music By the way, here is a picture of a player piano. This is the sort of instrument playing in the video above. Note the roll of paper in the middle. This is the music for the piano.

A player piano Finally, here is a video where you can see someone playing Scott Joplin’s The Maple Leaf Rag. ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ by Scott Joplin Choose another jazz artist . Picture credits: Scott Joplin. This photograph is dated 17th June 1907. The image is in the public domain. Click here for the source of this image, along with the relevant copyright information. Scott Joplin’s grave in New York. This photograph was uploaded to the Find A Grave website by Curtis Jackson. Curtis has informed me that, as far as he knows, the image is in the public domain. Click here for the source of this image. A player piano. This is a photograph of the roll mechanism of a 1927 Welte-Mignon reproducing piano. It was taken by the user Gerhard51 on Wikipedia. The image is free to use providing one credits the photographer. Click here for the source of this image, along with the relevant copyright information. Video credits: SCOTT JOPLIN ORIGINAL PIANO ROLLS. SCOTT JOPLIN ORIGINAL PIANO ROLLS. Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag.

The person who posted this on YouTube writes: About the speed: I strived to play it at this specific speed and I think it is appropriate and not excessive. Of course, you’re entitled to have your own opinion though. There is more information about this one on the video’s YouTube page . { 31 comments… read them below or add one } 1 adelia 24th March 2012 i like the music very nice facts because im doing a school report 2 juley 30th April 2012 It really did help me with my essay on Ragtime. I had no idea what Ragtime was until i saw this website. THANKYOU! 3 emma 11th June 2012 this really helped me with my homework on scott joplin and ragtime 🙂 thanks so much! Emma 🙂 Scott Joplin | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Uncle Dave Lewis Scott Joplin was "the King of Ragtime Writers," a composer who elevated "banjo piano playing," a lowly entertainment associated with saloons and brothels, into an American art form loved by millions.

Born in Texas in either 1867 or 1868, Joplin was raised in Texarkana, the son of a laborer and former slave. As a child, Joplin taught himself piano on an instrument belonging to a white family that granted him access to it, and ultimately studied with a local, German-born teacher who introduced Joplin to classical music. Joplin attended high school in Sedalia, MO, a town that would serve as Joplin 's home base during his most prosperous years, and where a museum now bears his name. In 1891, the first traceable evidence of Joplin 's music career is found, placing him in a minstrel troupe in Texarkana. In 1893, he played in Chicago during the Columbian Exposition was held, reportedly leading a band with a cornet. Afterward, Joplin settled in Sedalia, worked with other brass bands and founding a vocal group called the Texas Medley Quartette.

During an 1895 appearance in Syracuse, NY, the quality of Joplin 's original songs for the Texas Medley Quartette so impressed a group of local businessmen that they arranged for Joplin 's first publications. Around 1896, Joplin enrolled in Sedalia's George R. Smith College for Negroes to study formally, publishing a few more pieces in the years to follow. In 1899, publisher John Stark of Sedalia issued Joplin 's second ragtime composition, "Maple Leaf Rag." It didn't catch on like wildfire immediately, but within a few years the popularity of "Maple Leaf Rag" was so enormous that it made Joplin 's name; and Joplin earned a small percentage of income from it for the rest of his days, helping to stabilize him in his last years. By the end of 1899, Joplin presented his first ambitious work, the ballet The Ragtime Dance, at the Wood Opera House in Sedalia. It didn't appear in print until 1902, and then only in a truncated form. Joplin moved to St.

Louis in 1901, as did Stark, who set his new publishing venture up as "The House of Classic Rags." Joplin wrote many of the other rags he is known for during this time, including "The Entertainer," "The Easy Winners," and "Elite Syncopations." In 1903, Joplin organized a touring company to perform his first opera, A Guest of Honor, which foundered after a couple of months, leaving Joplin destitute. He had recovered well enough to appear at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to present his rag "The Cascades," which proved his second great success. Joplin also married for a second time to a woman who died only a few weeks into their marriage after a bout with pneumonia, plunging Joplin into another bout of despair. During a visit to Chicago in 1907 he renewed an acquaintance with the St. Louis pianist Louis Chauvin , who did not long outlast the visit.

Joplin utilized a strain drawn from Chauvin 's playing into the finest of his "collaborative" rags, "Heliotrope Bouquet." This was published after Joplin moved to New York in 1907. Stark had also resettled there, and they resumed their partnership to some degree, but Joplin also published through Seminary Music, likewise home to aspiring songwriter Irving Berlin . Through Seminary many of the best of his late works appeared, such as "Pine Apple Rag," the transparently beautiful "Mexican serenade" "Solace," and the harmonically adventurous "Euphonic Sounds." From 1911 until his death in 1917 most of Joplin 's efforts went into his second opera, Treemonishia, which he heard in concert but never managed to stage during his own lifetime. With his third wife, Lotte Joplin, Joplin formed his own music company and published his final piano rag, "Magnetic Rag" (1914), one of his best.

By this time, debilitating, long-term effects of syphilis were beginning to break down Joplin 's health, although he did manage to make seven hand-played piano rolls in 1916 and 1917; though heavily edited, these rolls are as close as one is likely to get to hearing Joplin 's own playing. One of them is W.C. Handy 's "Ole Miss Rag," which suggests that Joplin might have had a hand in its composition or arrangement. Joplin was tireless and selfless in his advocacy of his fellow ragtime composers, collaborating with James Scott , Arthur Marshall , Louis Chauvin , and Scott Hayden and helping to arrange others by Artie Matthews and the white New Jersey composer Joseph Lamb , whose work Joplin pitched to Stark. "Maple Leaf Rag" remained a constant in popular music throughout the Jazz Age, but the better part of Joplin 's work remained unknown until the "ragtime revival" of the early '70s, during which " Scott Joplin " became a household name and Treemonishia was finally staged by the Houston Grand Opera.

Although primary sources on Joplin 's music were still extant as late as the late '40s, today not a single manuscript page in Joplin 's hand still exists and only three photographs of him have survived, along with precious few first-hand quotations. Joplin died in a mental facility convinced that he had failed in his mission to achieve success as an African-American composer of serious music. Were he alive today, Joplin would be astounded to learn that, a century after his work was first printed, he is the most successful African-American composer of serious music that ever lived -- by far. Some of his works have been recorded hundreds of times and arranged for practically every conceivable instrumental combination, played by everything from symphony orchestras to ice cream trucks. For a couple of generations of Americans who have even never heard of Stephen Foster , the music of Scott Joplin represents the old, traditional order of all things American. King of Ragtime Writers (From Classic Piano Rolls) - Scott Joplin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic King of Ragtime Writers (From Classic Piano Rolls) AllMusic Rating google+ AllMusic Review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Scott Joplin began writing "rags" in the late 1890s, and would later be known as -- thanks to compositions like "Maple Leaf Rag" -- the King of the Ragtime Writers. Like other writers of ragtime, his music featured heavily syncopated rhythms, often designed for a solo piano. Unlike the other writers, Joplin 's ambition led him to compose rags that were more complex than the average player piano product. "Cascades" darts this way and that, never settling into a predictable pattern, while "Search-Light Rag" sweeps gracefully across open expanses. There are also fascinating oddities like "Rag Medley No. 6: Pineapple Rag/Euphonic Sounds" that hint at Joplin 's reach toward classical strains. "Something Doing" suggests that even the greatest writers eventually ran out of titles for their creations. These pieces have been taken from piano rolls and reveal that ragtime wasn't necessarily played at breakneck speed. Many of Joplin 's compositions, in fact, came with the instructions "Do not play fast." The collection comes to a fitting close with Ernest L.

Stevens ' rendition of the most popular of all ragtime tunes, "Maple Leaf Rag." King of the Ragtime Writers offers a nice portrait of a composer grown into a mature artist, and the 17 pieces provide a good overview of the happiest of styles. Track Listing

Question: Who was called the King of Ragtime?
Answer: SCOTT JOPLIN