Ragtime
Also known as classic ragtime
A bright, syncopated American piano style that rose in published form in the 1890s, ragtime moved from Black musical communities into the national mainstream and helped shape the language of early jazz. Scott Joplin sits at its center, but the style’s history is wider, rooted in sheet-music culture, itinerant pianists, and a distinctly off-center sense of swing.
Origins and context
Published ragtime took shape in African American musical communities and flourished first in the South and Midwest, especially Missouri, before spreading nationally through sheet music and performance.
The sound
Characteristics
- Piano
- Syncopated treble melody
- Steady bass
- Duple meter
- Multi-strain form
How to listen
Mood
- Lively
- Nimble
- Sly
- Elegant
History
Ragtime emerged in published form in the mid-1890s and spread quickly through sheet music, pianos, and popular performance. The Library of Congress describes it as a uniquely American, syncopated musical phenomenon, and notes that it was especially active in Missouri and the broader South and Midwest before becoming a national craze. (loc.gov) Scott Joplin is the name most closely tied to the genre, and the Library of Congress and Smithsonian both place him at the center of ragtime’s history. Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag helped propel the style into the mainstream after its publication in 1899, and ragtime’s classic era fed later piano traditions and the early language of jazz without simply disappearing into them. (loc.gov)
Notable artists
- SJScott Joplin
- JSJames Scott
- JLJoseph Lamb
Essential listening
- 1
- 2
Explore connected genres
Sources and further reading
- loc.gov
Ragtime is a distinctly American syncopated piano genre with a steady bass and highly syncopated treble lead.
- loc.gov
Scott Joplin is the figure most closely associated with ragtime.
- classical.music.apple.com
Maple Leaf Rag was published in 1899 and helped spark a ragtime boom.
- Ragtime | Topics in Chronicling America
- King of ragtime: Scott Joplin and his era