Scott Joplin is known as the father of ragtime and has played a critical role in evolution of American music. Within this paper, I will discuss how the primary elements within Joplin’s piano rags are reflective of his life and the time period in which he lived, how his music played a role in the American culture at the time he was actively composing and performing, and how his genre became the essential pioneer in the evolution of jazz. While arguing this, I will use the scores of his most popular piano rags such as Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer, as well as multiple biographical sources. Joplin was an African American born and raised in the south within the era of reconstruction directly following the Civil War. More specifically, he was born and raised in Northeast Texas, beginning at some point of later 1867 or early 1868. From there he spent the majority of his life in Missouri, where he settled and began to create his reputation. Growing up in this time period, Joplin’s living conditions were definitely not ideal for a black man with the ambition to make it big. At that time, African American music was hardly known to mainstream America: in fact, it was hardly considered truly American at all. Other than many traditional folk songs, there weren’t many elements of true dance or groove music within the music of white America. This did many things for the potential direction of Joplin’s career and overall life: ultimately, he could have either been completely shut down by his surrounding societal expectations, or he could innovate society in ways that had not even been fathomed before. White America had yet to be exposed to the laid back but energetic feeling that existed through tapping your foot or clapping on beats... ... middle of paper ... ... that he followed to name The Crush Collision March. Another principle characteristic of Joplin’s rags is his use of chromaticism within melodies, giving it the feeling associated with a carnival or State Fair. This is especially prominent in Joplin’s other most famous work, The Entertainer. According to many critics, The Entertainer was the turning point at which ragtime music was no longer simply considered leisurely saloon music and reached a whole new level of sophistication, that comparable to the classical works of the time period. These chromatic harmonies can be seen in Example b1. Perhaps one of the greatest repercussions to have resulted from the rise of ragtime was its influence to assist the evolution of jazz. There are some that refer to ragtime as the “first American art music,” as it led to what became the musical staple of America (Reed, 74).
Ragtime Dance was completed by Joplin in 1902. This rag was written to act as a type of preliminary sketch for a following ragtime opera composed shortly thereafter named A Guest of
Ragtime takes place in New York City, during the 1900’s. This time period is referred to as the Progressive Era. This era was true to its name because many insightful people endeavoured to make the society of the ...
The music of jazz became an important aspect of American culture in the early 20th century. The crisp syncopation of ragtime and the smooth tunes of the blues seeped into American mainstream music through dance halls and saloons and later through ballrooms. Instruments like the piano, trumpet, trombone and clarinet became important and symbolized the “swing-feel” of jazz because of their capability to syncopate and improvise precisely. With the help of the booming recording industry, musical geniuses were discovered and their talent and contributions to the emergence of jazz spread throughout the entire country. Such musicians include composer, arranger and pianist Jelly Roll Morton who heavily influenced the development of early jazz by his unique piano style, his “invention” of musical notation for jazz, and his compositions that have become the core in the jazz repertory. Because the style was new and different and so successful in drawing in large audiences, musicians around the world tried to mimic it. Furthermore, Morton’s masterpieces were the first to show notation for complicated jazz music and thus, formed the basis for standard notation in jazz compositions today.
Impact of Music of the Harlem Renaissance Upon the Artists of Today. Musicians during the Harlem Renaissance created a style and movement that simply took Americans by storm. Musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong have inspired others all over the country. The Renaissance itself was not only an observation of life for African Americans, but it also showed Americans that they have a place in society.
Throughout history, and even today, music has shaped America’s culture, society, and even politics. One of the most outstanding and enduring musical movement has been from African American artists, ranging from bebop to jazz to hip-hop to rap. During the 1920’s , jazz artists stepped into the limelight and began their impact on American and even world history. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential leaders during the Harlem Renaissance and his jazz legacy and impact of American history is everlasting. A master of his craft, Armstrong and his music heavily influenced America’s white and black populations from the 1920’s and up until his death.
write my research paper on composer Scott Joplin. He was dubbed the “king of Ragtime.” Ragtime is a style of music that is like classical concert music, in it is printed music. I listened to some of Scott Joplin’s pieces and they had a happy upbeat sound. Ragtime is considered piano music, it is a multi-themed music usually grouped as (ABACD). It is Harmonic and has syncopation and tends to be recapitulation. The term “Ragtime” originated from the term “ragged time” which refers to rhythmically broken melodies. The era of Ragtime was from 1896-1917.
... Bohlman, Philip V. Music and the Racial Imagination. University Of Chicago Press, Chicago. 2001. Print.
The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.
Jazz is referred as “America’s classical music,” and is one of North America’s and most celebrated genres. The history of Jazz can be traced back to the early era of the 20th century of the U.S. “A History of Jazz” presents From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been a part of a proud African American tradition for over 100 years. A strong rhythmic under-structure, blue notes, solos, “call-and response” patterns, and
African-American culture was spread through several artistic forms and mediums through the decades that the Harlem Renaissance took place in. One of the biggest and arguably the most important forms that Black culture was spread in was the form of music. During this era, music was an indispensable form of artistic expression that conveyed the thought and feeling of the Black people occupying Harlem and the surrounding areas. Music was an important art form at the time as “No aspect of the Harlem Renaissance shaped America and the entire world as much as jazz. Jazz flouted many musical conventions with its syncopated rhythms and improvised instrumental solos. Thousands of city dwellers flocked night after night to see the same performers”. This music created by the African-Americans in Harlem transformed the negative outlook of many into a positive one or one of some understanding toward the Black populus. This introduction of Jazz and Blues into the society of the era gave birth to several influential and pivotal artists such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. This popularized the Jazz and Blues music genres and brought major notoriety to African-American bringing much needed change in the perceptions of Black
The history of jazz music is one that is tied to enslavement, and prejudice. It is impossible to separate the development of jazz music from the racial oppression that occurred in the United States as they are inextricably connected. Slavery was a part of our country’s development that is shameful and yet, led to some of the greatest musical advances of the twentieth century. Slavery in the United States first began in 1619 when Dutch traders seized a captured Spanish slave ship and brought those aboard to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. When the North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the vast land proved to be more work than they had anticipated and there was a severe shortage of labor.
Scott Joplin was know as the kings of ragtime. I will explain also explain how he grew up and what type of music he played. I will also write about why I believe he deserves the title that he has been bestowed upon him.
In conclusion, the evidence is overwhelming that jazz has left a large impact on American culture. The birth of jazz started with African Americans and has lasted throughout the years because of African Americans. Events such as the Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance allowed for artists such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to spread the popularity of jazz. Jazz was able to change how Americans viewed African Americans and their culture and essentially invited Americans into their culture and shape America to where it is today. This change was happened because jazz brought a change to the music scene, acceptance of African Americans, and a change of lifestyles to the everyday people. Although some will never be convinced, but jazz is here to stay.
The captivating elements of ragtime, the booming instruments of marching band music, along with highly emotional Blues, created a genre of music that encapsulates history during important transitioning phases in the United States. Jazz music is considered an American art form, developed by citizens of the United States through tough times of trouble and turmoil. Jazz was the domestic starting point to many creative artists, one in particular Louis Armstrong. Armstrong grew up in New Orleans where music was an important part of culture and in the community (Famous People). Through hard work and determination, Armstrong became one of the most important jazz figures in history, and influenced American
The ragtime is one of the first truly American musical forms and a great influence in the development of jazz. Young Americans were amused, dancing to new syncopated music, popularized in the salons, brothels, and steamboats of the Mississippi River. Ragtime consisted in transferring the musicality of the black songs to an instrumental form at the piano, through melodic lines that had constant rhythm played through the bass. In the founding time of jazz music, from 1904, ragtime had its main exponent in the white pianist Jerry Roll Morton, who came to attribute himself to having been the inventor of