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Scott Joplin's Originality In Ragtime Music

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Scott Joplin was an African-American composer and pianist. He is most famously known for his ragtime compositions such as “The Entertainer” or “Maple Leaf Rag” which still resonate with many audiences today. I believe that Scott Joplin is indeed the pioneer of ragtime. To this day, many refer to him as being the “King” of ragtime. It was Joplin who created this “ragtime madness” that instantly swept the world. Throughout my paper, I will discuss how his originality in ragtime helped establish himself as an artist. I will also mention how his music has been so influential to many musicians and how even after 100 years, his music is still as popular and iconic. Joplin has also received a handful of awards and honorable mentions; I must add that all of these happened after his death which proves of him being such a timeless musician. Lastly, I will mention a few of his many songs that indeed define ragtime and showcase who he was as an artist. I will first mention Joplin’s unique originality of ragtime music, however, let me first mention exactly what ragtime music is. Ragtime can be defined as a musical genre most noted for its syncopated (“ragged”) rhythm. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, ragtime quickly became a known music genre to the public. This new music was composed of a blend …show more content…

John Stark said that it was this piece that showed Joplin’s coming to maturity as a composer of marches. Like “The Entertainer”, this piece was published in the year of 1902, and helped establish Joplin as a musician and his known title of being the King of ragtime. This is a very famous ragtime march and like “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag”, showcased the absolute talent and originality of Joplin’s music. All three of these pieces are considered to be the “holy grails” of ragtime music and still serve as an inspiration to many other composers to this

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