Scott Joplin was an African American composer born in Texas in 1868 who became known as the "King of Ragtime". He faced racial segregation that made it difficult to receive music lessons as a child, but was eventually taught by a German music teacher. Joplin went on to compose ragtime music, including his most famous work "The Maple Leaf Rag", which sold over a million copies. Ragtime involved a syncopated right hand melody over a steady left hand pulse. While ragtime was popular among young people, Joplin was not considered a serious composer during his lifetime due to both racism and ragtime not being viewed as serious music.

1. Scott Joplin –
American
Composer

2. Scott Joplin
The “King” of Ragtime
Born in eastern Texas in 1868
His father was a former slave.
Scott loved music but racial
segregation made it hard for
African American children to
take private music lessons, so
he couldn’t find a teacher very
easily.

3. His mother worked as a maid/housekeeper for a white family.
That family allowed Scott to take piano lessons with their
children’s piano teacher.
A music teacher from Germany took interest in him and began
teaching him, introducing him to all kinds of classical music.

4. • Scott’s first jobs were playing in local men’s
clubs for the members - not concerts, but
general music as background for conversation,
meals, etc.
• These clubs were places the members could
go to hang out with friends, eat, play cards
• Next he had jobs playing piano with travelling
groups of musicians

5. In the 1890s Joplin went to
George R. Smith college,
an all black school in Sedalia, Missouri.
This is a picture of one of the school
buildings.

6. Scott Joplin was really great at playing and
composing in a new style of music called
“Ragtime”. Please watch all of this next
video. Look and listen for:
a. How the left hand keeps the pulse(Beat)
b. How the right hand plays a syncopated
rhythm in the melody.
c. How at first it was improvised (made up
on the spot) and then later written down
d. How it was also for instrumental groups as
well as just piano

7. The next video describes how ragtime
was popular with the young people, and
not so popular with the older people.
There is actual video from the early
1900’s of people dancing to ragtime in a
street parade in New Orleans. Ragtime
was important in helping Jazz to develop.

8. Getting published
 Joplin was composing his own music.
 “Rags” were highly popular – but
considered “lower class” because they
were often associated with the piano
players in saloons
 Most publishers would not consider his
music because he was black and they
didn’t think it would sell
 He got a publisher in Sedalia to take a
chance with his “Maple Leaf Rag” –
named after a social club for men that
he worked at
 It was the first piece of instrumental
music to sell over a million copies of
sheet music
 He earned one cent for each copy sold –
around $10,000
 Joplin became famous
 Ragtime became more acceptable

9. Sheet music
Most homes had pianos,
so many people bought
sheet music
If people couldn’t play the
piano, they often bought
“player pianos” that could
play themselves
mechanically.
The next slide shows a
player piano playing a
ragtime piece by a
different composer.

10. The next slide shows how a player
piano paper roll is made.

11. There were other mechanical instruments.
Sometimes mechanical instruments would
combine a variety of traditional instruments.
The next slide is a “Orchestrion” playing Scott
Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag.

12. The Entertainer
This piece is one of Scott
Joplin’s most famous piano
rags. You may have even
played a little of it yourself
if you have taken piano
lessons.
On the next slide the right
hand would play the green
notes and the left hand
would play the blue notes.

13. Scott Joplin’s ragtime became
popular again in the 1970’s
because it was used as a movie
soundtrack for an award winning
show “The Sting”.

14. The next slide
is a commercial
for this movie
that made
ragtime
popular again
in the 1970s.

15. While Joplin became very famous as a
ragtime composer, he was never
considered to be a “serious” composer
during his own lifetime. This was in
part because of racial prejudice and in
part because ragtime was not
considered to be “serious” music.