How Did Scott Joplin Influence Ragtime Music

When you hear Scott Joplin’s name the first thing that probably comes to mind is his delightfully entertaining music written in the ragtime genre and how he is a pianist. Scott Joplin’s influence on ragtime music goes beyond the genre’s conception as entertainment music. His music was played in bars and parlors all over in his time. But his music was more than just for entertainment. Throughout his life he struggled in gaining acknowledgement on a scholarly level in his time, due to his race and many other factors. Scott Joplin’s music today still has its influences in entertainment and more. His works can still be heard in everyday life, even from the neighborhood ice cream truck.

Born between the years1867-1868 as an African American, just a few years after the

When someone says ragtime music one of the first artists that comes to mind if not the first is Scott Joplin. His catchy tunes can be heard in movies like The Sting, an Academy Award winning picture. He can be heard on a hot summer day coming from the speakers of an ice cream truck; probably the first time most people hear his music. Scott Joplin’s music still makes its way into our lives even though most of it is over a hundred years old. His music seems to have this popularity because of how entertaining and fun it is. One of the reasons why ragtime music gained so much popularity, because you can dance to it, and it is overall very enjoyable. Scott’s music has this light hearted fun feel to it that keeps the melodies stuck in your head because they are so catchy. As Scott was growing up he performed pieces by Stephan Foster and John Philip Sousa (Mitchell, 11). Sousa’s music was written in March Form. The form of March music, AABBCDCDC is very similar to that of Classic Ragtime Form AABBACCDD. The composers of which Scott Joplin performed were influential on his own music, and its popularity