Scott joplin ragtime party music1/22/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() Like initial reactions to rock & roll in America when it first emerged, the reception to ragtime was also quite polarized. It swept through America and beyond just as the 18th century ended and the new century began. Scott Joplin’s “Solace,” performed by Phillip Dyson. Joy and sorrow were forever intertwined, as in Joplin’s beautifully elegiac “Solace.” Many of his songs merged joy with strains of deep sorrow, reflecting the reality of life for black Americans. It has the spirit of hope, but the purity of real life. Lest anyone subscribe to the notion that it is simplistic music in any way, all you need to do is listen to “Maple Leaf Rag” or any of Joplin’s compostion? Does that sound simplistic? How about trying to play it? As any pianist knows who has played Joplin, it is no easier to master than the work of Bach or Debussy. Its rhythms were compelling and new, and inspired dance. It was fast festive music, uplifting and exultant. Ragtime was much more than many realized. Listen to any of Stevie’s records, especially those on which he played all the instruments, such as “Higher Ground” or “Superstition.” Is that simplistic? Yet some truths, as Jefferson wrote, are self-evident. There was those who suggested the music of Stevie Wonder was also simplistic and not worth remembering. Yet it’s a pattern which has been woven through American culture for decades, to bolster one segment of the populace by attacking the emerging art of another. In retrospect, this seems sadly ludicrous. As with jazz, rock and roll, and other uniquely American genres, the distinguishing greatness of ragtime derives directly from its intersection with the black and white experience-in this instance, from European classical music combined with the rhythms and harmonies of Joplin’s African heritage.Īs with other genres of music which seemed foreign and overwhelming to many Americans, many tried to minimize its impact with derision, suggesting it was simplistic music, undeserving of too much attention. Its dense pianistics, replete with suites of complex counterpoint and elaborate arpeggios, resound to this day like soul-injected Liszt. Characterized by syncopated melodic phrases inbetween metrics of rapid-fire bass lines, it evolved from jigs and marches into a rich and singular genre. Ragtime also remains, and is recognized as the first American classical music. Yet rock & roll remains more than fifty years since its birth. Just as rock & roll was considered only a fad at first, and not a serious and lasting style of music, so was ragtime dismissed by many who refused to recognize its significance. It went by fast, but you got a whole lot of song in those few minutes. Yet it was also modern, and not simplistic. It was music which would lift the heart with its joyous spirit. He was The Beatles of his time, delivering to an astonished and delighted public a bravely new style of music ideal of the fast changing spirit of modern times. Not only the primal force in propelling ragtime into the culture, and establishing it as a serious musical genre, he wrote the songs that, to this day, defined and distinguished this music. The undisputed king of ragtime was Scott Joplin. It was the first black genre of music to have a major impact on mainstream popular music. ![]() Music founded on oddly exultant “ragged,” syncopated rhythms. It was a serious, sophisticated and complex style of instrumental Real ragtime, however, was more than a concept or a passing craze. ![]()
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