Actually, Joplin was never a laborer. His father was, though. Also, Joplin was musically educated. He went to George R. Smith College between 1895 and 1899.
He played the piano since a little boy. He was not a laborer. If he were to live today I am sure that as a composer with his abilities he would be filthy rich. Instead he died at 49 from syphilis with little money as the attractive lady stated in the RU-vid video. He can't be blamed for getting syphilis due to the fact that he played his rag time in brothels that smelled like pussy laud come. @@josephrogers9796
I am not a piano player, I am not a history buff, and I am not a big fan of ragtime or classical music, but I found the video interesting, well produced and entertaining.
@@derschwarzejulian7201 Simp? The Piano was invented in Italy in the 1700's by: Bartomeo Cristofori. The Guitar was invented in Italy by: Gaentano Vinaccia and his brother Gennaro invented the Madeline. The Violin, Viola, Cello and other string instruments was invented by: Andre Amati and Gasparo Bertolotti. If it wasn't for my ancestors none of you Americans would be playing no string instruments. Sicilia Forza! 🇮🇹
Thanks for a very good capsule history of ragtime. It's still very much alive. You might want to give a shout-out to Max Morath who helped keep ragtime alive through the jazz years.
There is an alternate version of how the term "ragtime" came about. Starting in the 1880s, the blacks in places like Topeka, KS were doing these dances called rags and it is believed that this music started off as accompaniment for these dances and written in the timing required to perform them and so was called ragtime.
I live in Sedalia. The history of ragtime is all over the downtown area. The festival is fun, but not as much of a big deal as it used to be. Doesn't help that it starts in the middle of the week.
Very informative video! However Ragtime was not like Classical music to be played exactly as written. To quote the famous Ragtime composer Eubie Blake about the repeats 'First time play it was written, second time play it as you like it' (there are a few exceptions like Joseph Lamb who indeed didnt want his Rags to get "enchanced"). Also many famous Ragtime pianist these days don't play the Rags exactly as written, except for a few like Joshua Rifkin.
Well the tempo's are an other discussion. Indeed most Ragtime music is marked as like you say. However there is evidence about the tempo's for example Joseph Lamb's Ethiopia Rag is marked as Slow March Tempo with 100bpm. 100bpm is faster then most people would think of a Slow March Tempo. What i was reffering too is about adding extra notes or playing the same notes on a different octave. If you listen to Joplin's original piano rolls like Maple Leaf Rag and Weeping Willow you will notice he also changes octaves and adds many others notes.
Again the tempo's are an other discussion. I myself also prefer Rags to be played slower. What i was referring to in my first post are the change of notes, adding notes, different octaves etc. I can recommend to read the book "They all played Ragtime" and search for interviews with Eubie Blake and you will see what i mean.
Kuijl1 somewhere there is rare recording with eubie and meeting scott and explains how scott used to like to play his own music extra slow just to listen to the harmonies
Everyone loved The Sting when it came out. I became hooked on Scott Joplin at a ceremony, maybe for his birthday, that was open to the public at his gravesite in Astoria, Queens. They had someone play the Maple Leaf Rag on an upright piano they brought there. Years later I visited Casa Loma in Toronto where they had a soundtrack playing the Maple Leaf Rag and I was hooked. I live in St. Louis now, have been to the Scott Joplin House here, but not to the Sedalia Festival yet. I took up playing piano 10 years ago and have focused almost exclusively on ragtime, right now I'm spending time practicing The Cascades, which was beatifully written.
You might want to read the book The Magic City by Ann Matheny. She is a historian living in Middlesboro Kentucky. This is where Benjamin Harney lived in 1890. As The Story Goes he is the first person to publish music using the genre name ragtime.
After watching this video and reading all of the comments, I would like to recommend a few books in case anyone wants to learn more about ragtime music. I recommend that you start with "They All Played Ragtime" by Rudi Blesh and Harriett Janis. Next I recommend "Ragtime A Musical And Cultural History" by Edward A. Berlin (he also wrote a biography of Scott Joplin). Both David A. Jasen and Terry Waldo have written interesting and informative books on ragtime. I cannot remember the titles of Jasen's books but I do remember that Waldo's book is titled "This Is Ragtime".
I've studied art history, including music history, very extensively, and l find your pianoTV videos just super super entertaining. I am particularly taken when you open your eyes wide before the camera to make a point - it's delightful.
This is a bit of an odd one. For example, Joplin often wrote "Not fast. It's never right to play ragtime fast" on his rags, but evidence suggests he often did just that.
Great job, & thinks for the presentation! I remember-- In the early 1970's, some people thought that Rifkin's versions were too "classical" and missed the point of the music. But I like them: If a piece is great, there's more than one way to play it, and different approaches to a piece bring out different dimensions of it. There's room for Rifkin's versions ad also for more "swinging" versions.
Not once she mentioned the fact that rag time has an origin deeply rooted in the African American community. These racist folks are always overlooking our accomplishments .
Complete WHITE WASH of Ragtime music. This genre...like most other popular music from the states was a contribution from the AFRICAN AMERICAN contingent. To not mention this is calculated and dishonest.
Okay. You call it 'cakewalk', I call it polka. ... Although i guess one could argue cakewalk is between polka and ragtime. The missing link if you will.
Excellent video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. It is obvious to me that you have a great passion for music history. It is kept alive when younger people value the music of past generations. My first experience with Joplin was with 'The Sting.' I think I was 10 and all ears. There was something so attractive about it. I have the sheet music my dad gave me in 1972. Good as new. The sound of Ragtime never gets old for me.
Goddamn I love Scott Joplin, such an incredible pianist and composer. I just love learning his pieces. I just recently finished the maple leaf rag and it's one of the funnest pieces I play (although learning it took a very very very long time, even just practising the left hand alone was a great challenge) and now that I've finished maple leaf, I just can't stop, I'm addicted to playing his pieces because they're so fun. Trust me, learning his stuff is a huge challenge and will take a lot of time but keep going, it's worth it in the end
That’s my exact experience of learning ragtime: i am a very amateur averagey musician- I enjoy it to relax. Glad I’m not the only one who found this challenging to learn. But after months tapping away I love playing it. It makes me feel sophisticated
James Naismith invented basketball and he was a white man of Canadian origin. You think any black basketball players care that he was white or who invented the game for that matter? No they don't
When you look at the profile of Scott Joplin, people tend to forget there is a racial bias to his music. Like the French composer St. George a century and a half ago, he was essentially a man of African descent trying to make it in the White world of Classical music. St. George was turned down for the job as the Director of the Paris Opera House because of his skin color. Scott Joplin's operas were not well received partly because of his skin color and partly because operas were seen as a European thing that was not very popular in America. Jazz & Pop music tend to be improvised. Jazz & Pop musicians tend to create original compositions in jam sessions and rely on listening & recordings to reproduce pieces of music. Many don't learn to read or write music notations. Scott Joplin was a music trained in Classical music by a Jewish pianist in Germany. He notated his compositions like Classical composers would. There are people who are into Classical music would play a piece by Joplin out of the book without improvisations.
While "The Sting" gave the ragtime piano genre a second wind, the genre was featured anachronistically in that movie. If I remember correctly, the movie was set in 1936, when the swing era was well underway. But you heard no Goodman, no Dorseys, no Artie Shaw, Count Basie, or Duke Ellington.
Ragtime music never fails to put a smile on my face its jolly for no reason and for that I love it if I had one wish I wish for one week the whole world would be like a 1930s cartoon with the physics and all
It was mentioned in connection with the revival of ragtime in the 1970's and the movie "The Sting" in which that tune is the theme song and became a huge hit. I remember you could not go anywhere without hearing that tune.
The first published ragtime song was by Ben Harney. "You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down" was published in 1895. Worth a mention perhaps.
I'm not quite sure this is the case, as Ernest Hogan's "La Pas Ma La" was published the same year. I have not been able to find exact dates for either compositions.
Haha, Joplin was hooking people up with jobs left and right. I love the sound of ragtime. Sounds so chaotic and jumbled but also precise. Reminds me of people having a good time during a barroom brawl.
For Joseph F. Lamb, try something like Ragtime Nightingale. You might then want to change your mind about your "emotionally investing" statement at 8:14. Also check his "Ragtime Treasures" collection, published in 1964 (!). I'm lucky enough to have a copy, but I see it's retailing online now for upwards of $200!
CORRECTION;; THE FILM "THE STING" CAME OUT IN 1973, NOT 1974. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT. REMEMBER THAT THE FILM WON THE OSCAR FOR BEST PICTURE IN 1973. ALSO, MARVIN HAMLISCH IS CREDITED FOR THE HIT VERSION OF "THE ENTERTAINER" IN 1974.
Nice video, thank you! I was trying to figure out if Ragtime was influenced by Vaudeville music and how both of those genres influenced Blues. Could you possibly answer those questions?
"90% of ragtime music isn't piano music"- Ragtime, Ed Berlin, 1983. I have about 100 ragtime cylinder recordings in my collection (1899-1917), not a single one is piano! They are for small ensemble or songs.
Just a question, hope nobody gets upset: How did Scott Joplin have success and a publishing deal with all the racism and segregation going on at the time?
bad hair .day racism wasnt that large. scott was considered a musical genius. the first roller derby big star was black. my child hero was ronnie Robinson jr. also, earnie banks. some people are known for their talents, not their skin color. Some people are known for their skin color...now thats racism
As the video states, Joplin played in Missouri during the zenith of his career. Relatively speaking, Missouri was more tolerant of blacks than the deep South, like his native Texas. St Louis in particular, had a thriving district where black entrepreneurs operated saloons and bars known as the Chestnut Valley True this was also the "red light" district of the city but it offered talented musicians, like Joplin, Scott, and Turpin the opportunity to earn a decent living. By today's standards, the Ragtime era (1985-1917) this society was racist, but for its time, this was considered a tolerable and enlightened place. There was even a number of whites in St Louis, like ragtime publicist, John Stark who recognized the genius of the black ragtime composers and did everything possible to promote their style of play. I believe its a common mistake to judge a time, using today's standards.
Enjoying your series. Have you thought of a video on Louis Moreau Gottschalk. He was a precursor and influencer(?) of ragtime. Perhaps the first American serious composer. He also led a pretty colorful life.
Now I'mma quarrel with you about ragtime being "fast." The inventor of the form himself, Scott Joplin, specifically said "Ragtime should NEVER be played fast." He was far more invested in accurate and clean performance than in being a speed demon. The custom of playing ragtime at breakneck speed came along after WWII, when white players co-opted it and turned it into a showoff genre, sacrificing everything for sheer velocity. This is why Rifkin's recordings on Nonsuch in the 1970s were such eye-openers: he gave the music room to breathe, and to be heard in its full complexity.
You mentioned Joe Lamb's rags were "simple". You obviously never tried playing his Ragtime Nightingale or Topliner Rag. Lamb's later rags were technically difficult to play.
I wish you'd have chosen a performance of the "Maple Leaf Rag" that is played correctly - instead of being altered with those corney doo-wacka-doo rhythms. Also - did you just call it a "song" ???
Debussy wrote his piece as a tribute to ragtime, an African-American musical style. However he ironically chose to name it using the racial slur "Golliwog" which is highly offensive to most European based black people. The G word has been removed from modern prints of the this piece and it is now simply called Cakewalk.
You underestimate Joseph Lamb. Take a listen to American Beauty, Ragtime Nightingale, or Alaskan Rag. These are as sophisticated musically, if not more so, that anything Joplin did. Sensation is not a good example because that was his first composition and was just a crude copy of Joplin's style.
only been playing for six months and a big fan of rag time so I'm giving it a go,ive sort of mastered the 1st 8 or 9 bars of maple leaf rag all be it slow (compared to some of the videos I think ive stopped).but it makes me happy and to me that's what playings all about.
I have long enjoyed your videos, but I object to you recommending that we liaten to a piece called the Golliwog Cakewalk. Golliwog is a racist term. I hope you will bear this in mind for any other similar instances in the future. .
This is good as an intro to the genre. What I would like to know about (a future vid?) is how the written 16th notes got transformed into the dotted rhythms we hear so often in ragtime, and, how the tempos got to be so upbeat after Joplin's admonition not not play rags too fast.
I used the Covid Lockdown to learn keyboard. The Alfred 'Learn to play piano' book for adults is a delight. There are a couple of simplified versions of Scott Joplin which took me forever to play, but I love them. 'The Entertainer' makes me smile, 'Solace' (aka 'Mexican Serenade') centres me. I'm a rubbish player but ragtime makes me happy. :)
I never liked "the Entertainer" because I thought it was too repetitious and too simple. Bur once I heard "maple leaf rag" I became a big fan. To me it has a much more complex and engaging sound.
its considered classical because many pieces are played in rondo form. also, scott never wanted his music to be played fast. heliotrope bouquet was co written by louis chauvin. euphoric sounds is a joplin piece that leaves you wondering if its ragtime or just a nice classical piece. ragtime nightingale is awesome too. not written by joplin. and i concur with joshua rifkin, if played the way it is written, scott joplin deserves to be in the category of classical.
Very few ragtime pieces, if any, are in rondo form. Most are in AABBACCDD form, which is traditional march form, something the uploader failed to mention as a ragtime influence.
It is considered classical by white conservatory-trained musicians. It was absolutely NOT classical music, which is why Scott Joplin had to go out of his way to try to convince people that it belonged in the concert hall. Ragtime was popular dance music for young people, which is why old people thought it was devil music at the time. Ragtime sheet music was written to sell sheet music, and was therefore simplified. Professional ragtime pianists NEVER played exactly what was written on the sheet music. The entire point was to show how unique and creative you could be. It was like jazz. As for playing it "slow": We have recordings of people like Eubie Blake, who was literally there during the ragtime era playing ragtime music (and was far more admired as a ragtime pianist than Scott Joplin was). He played fast all the time as well as slow. There isn't one correct tempo for a ragtime piece.
Pet peeve of mine- it's not a "song" if it's not sung, meant to be sung, or based on something that's sung, or if the composer indicates that it's supposed to be indicative of a song- e.g. "Songs Without Words" (although I think if you're going to get HAIR-splittingly technical, M's Songs W/out Words" are NOT really songs.) So you can call it a ragtime, you can call it a piece, but unless they have words for singing, they are NOT "songs." I think it bothers me because I grew up learning the terms for many different terms for music e.g. "piece" (which is the word which should RIGHTFULLY be used in default, as it covers just about any musical composition imaginable) "chaconne" "Sonata," "theme and variations," etc.... but no matter what I wrote or played people my age would call it a "song" no matter WHAT it really was, and I came to resent that they ignorantly assumed everything was a "song" just because almost all the pop and rock music they myopically listened to and obsessed over was broken down into one knuckle-draggingly simplistic category: "SONG." So now it's so ubiquitous I know I'm fighting a losing battle, but.... I feel the OCD compulsion to fight it anyway. *sigh* But that hair-splitting detail aside, thank you for the video. It was very interesting. I didn't know much about where ragtime came from before.
Have you read "Ragtime: A Musical and Cultural History" by Edward A. Berlin yet? According to this book, Berlin states that there were more ragtime songs than instrumental pieces during the decade (1900 to 1910) when ragtime was most popular.
@@laurencegray4720 No, I've not read that book- thanks for sharing! Sounds interesting! So, it's a little confusing since I'm not sure you're using "song" the same way I was saying, but if I understand you correctly you're saying there were more SONGS with words to be sung than instrumental pieces in ragtime during that decade? That's really interesting. I know, I'm actually fully aware that it's a minor point and I can come across as a hair-splitting jerk when I get on my soapbox about it. But... idk, I suppose all my British and Germanic blood can't stand the imprecision, and I just can't help myself. LOL
Yes Edward A. Berlin did mean music with both words and music when he uses the word "songs" in his book. He does make a clear distinction between purely instrumental pieces and music with words. If you like ragtime and are genuinely interested in it, I recommend that you read his book.
@@karenryder6317 Hmmm... nice point, and *I* am inclined to agree. If people used the word "tune" instead of "song" I wouldn't mind very much I think. Not nearly as much, anyway. Certainly with most ragtimes. "Tune" is more informal, probably not very precise, but at least it is a correct use of the word. The only time it might be misleading is if you're talking about very complex, orchestral, or even atonal music. Does it still have a "tune"? If you told me you were playing a 12-tone "tune" Schoenberg wrote for orchestra, (no voices) people in the know would laugh, but it would at least not be as inaccurate as calling it a "song," which is just plain wrong. A little like if I called a Honda Accord a "lampshade." It's just plain incorrect. Either that or the meaning of the words have to change, or they are just completely pointless.
Ragtime was mostly written it evolved into a much more adventurous and demanding form "Stride Piano" which evolved into jazz and bebop... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KDMOkgSdy3E.html
