![]() The works of black ragtime composers-such as Scott Joplin and James Scott-became a part of everyday American life, crossing racial divides even in the midst of blatant inequality. For starters, ragtime really emerged from nineteenth-century African American culture. It’s important to understand the context of ragtime music, especially considering what the musical is all about. In 1913, Scott Joplin, perhaps the most famous ragtime composer of all time (“The Entertainer,” anyone?), said that there was “ragtime music in America ever since the Negro race has been here, but the white people took no notice of it until about twenty years ago.” Regardless, ragtime emerged as a blended, American style of music-and people loved it. However, to say that it was invented at this time would be a mistake. This unique style of music became popular around the turn of the century early twentieth-century clubs and music halls were brimming with energetic ragtime. A syncopated top melody above a steady beat is classic ragtime. Taking the steady march music popularized by John Philip Sousa some time earlier, and adding ragged African syncopation, creates a style rife with energy and excitement. Ragtime is full of syncopated rhythms, or notes played on the off beats. It’s easy to tell when you’re hearing ragtime: you’ll hear a “ragged” beat. It is a combination of classical European music with various African styles. Like America itself, ragtime is a synthesis, a melting pot of styles and cultures. Ragtime is sometimes considered the first truly American form of music. It is a group of disparate stories and themes, like an orchestra with many different instruments all playing to the same tune, the same style: ragtime. This season’s musical, Ragtime, is about a lot of things-the struggles of immigrants and the working class, the ignorance of white middle-class America, racial tensions and inequality, and the innovations and lives of several historical figures. ![]() Ragtime: The First True American Form of Music
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