Eubie Blake’s Charleston Rag was an early work which gained popularity, as were James Scott’s Frog Legs Rag and Bohemia Rag. He even wrote what some call a ‘ragtime opera’, Tremonisha. So what makes a rag a rag Ragtime is a musical form or style that is defined as a syncopated melody (usually in 2/4 time) over a regular, march tempo bass line. Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag, Pineapple Rag and Sunflower Slow Drag, not to mention The Entertainer are some of the most familiar ragtime pieces. What are the most famous pieces of ragtime music? The title song from Berlin’s musical Alexander’s Ragtime Band is one of the composer’s most familiar, and oft-recorded, works. Jazz stars like Jelly Roll Morton, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller and even Broadway and Hollywood’s Irving Berlin would write and record some of the most popular ragtime pieces. Scott Joplin was dubbed the ‘King of Ragtime’ and is probably the most familiar name when it comes to ragtime. But this, together with its novel rhythmic style, helped it to become very popular. Ragtime’s harmonic language was about 50 years out of date in terms of the classical music of its day. What is the harmonic language of ragtime? That influence is heard in the right hand’s arpeggiated chords. This style was popular in old minstrel shows and originated in slave songs with banjo accompaniment. What are the rhythms and textures of ragtime?Ībove ‘oom-pah’ chord patterns in the pianist’s left hand (emulating the bass drum and cymbal beats of a marching band), the right hand plays a syncopated melody. Like Sousa’s marches, the final one or two sections often moved to a new key. A forerunner of jazz, typified by piano playing with evenly syncopated march-like. By the 1920's ragtime had given way to jazz.a style of music that emerged in 1890's America. Scott Joplin was a major exponent of ragtime. It was popular between the 1890's and the 1910's.

Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag inserted a repeat of the first section mid-way through the piece to give the structure AABBACCDD, which he also used in Pineapple Rag. An American style of music characterized by 'ragged' or syncopated rhythms. Piano rags were invariably cast in the sectionalised structure of the popular march, with each section repeated. Ragtime is actually an abbreviation for ''ragged time'' which referred to the rhythm in ragtime songs that had both consistent bass and interrupted off beat treble notes.

Ragtime music definition