+

Ragtime Unit PresentationMiss Biscella7th and 8th Grade Classes

+What is Ragtime? Style of music which served as a

precursor to JAZZMelody features highly syncopated (or

“ragged”) rhythms above a rhythmically steady harmony

Began as improvisation“Ragging” the classics

Mostly piano music

+Origins of Ragtime

Developed in the 1890s and remained popular into the 1920s

Partially inspired by a dance called the CAKEWALKCompetitive couples dance invented by

African Americans in slavery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Dm

FXjNDoM

+Origins of Ragtime Combination of Classical/European and African

music conventionsEuropean Elements included:

Supported rhythm in the harmony Set form (either ABCD or ABACD) Chord progressions (I and V)

African Elements include: Syncopation Multiple layers of rhythm Repetition of short rhythmic or melodic patterns

+Composer of the Day (3/5)

Thomas Turpin (1871-1922)

+Thomas Turpin (1871-1922)Born in Savannah, Georgia Moved with his family to St. Louis,

MissouriFather—business man and politician Invested in gold-mining with brother,

Charles in NevadaMoved back home and eventually

married his wife Willamete

+Thomas Turpin (1871-1922)Rosebud Bar—St. Louis

Often served as his own star of the show by performing at the piano each night

Opened numerous other businesses in the years that followed

Died at the age of 50

+Turpin as a Composer Gifted pianist since his early teensOften only composed when business was

downWrote “The Harlem Rag” in 1897

First ragtime piece published not only in St. Louis, but anywhere

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx6XmoH30qs

Other compositions include the “Buffalo Rag”, “Pan Am Rag”, “St. Louis Rag”, and “A Ragtime Nightmare”.

+Let’s Review, Shall We? What is the primary instrument in rag? What is the relationship between the melody and

harmony in ragtime? When was this style popular? Ragtime is a mixture of musical conventions from

which two areas of the world? Who was the composer we discussed yesterday? What song is considered the first published

ragtime piece?

+Syncopation Definition—placing the accent on the

off-beat (or “and” of a beat) in a piece of music

Very important in ragtime and later jazz Here’s what it looks like!

+Composer of the Day (3/6)

James Scott (1885-1938)

+James Scott—Beginnings Considered one of the BIG THREE in ragtime**

Born in Neosho, Missouri to former slavesMother taught him as well as his five

siblings to play piano by ear Had some actual lessons as wellAbility to notate music

Met Charles R. Dumars of Dumars Music--made him a published composer

+James Scott—Career PeakPublished his first rags in 1903

“A Summer Breeze” and “The Fascinator”Performed in cities around the country on his own or with the Light Guard Band

Travelled to St. Louis and met Scott JoplinIntroduced to prominent publisher John StarkFrog Legs Rag (1906)Most works since were published by him

+James Scott—Later Years1920—moved to Kansas City and opened

his own teaching studioLed to nickname “Little Professor”

Theater and silent film bands Continued composing despite the decline

in ragtime’s popularity Nothing published since 1922

Works ignored and grave unmarked until the “ragtime revival” during the 1970s

+Review Questions What is syncopation? Who can demonstrate syncopation for the

class? Who was the composer we studied

yesterday? This composer is part of the _________

_________ What was the name of the piece we listened

to yesterday? What was the name of the publisher James

Scott met in St. Louis?

+Let’s Play….Name That Tune!

“The Entertainer”

by...

+Scott Joplin (1868?-1917)

+A Brief Overview Considered the “King of Ragtime” and a

member of the BIG THREE Composed over forty piano ragtime pieces

including “The Entertainer” and “The Maple Leaf Rag”

Wrote both rag and classical pieces Finished composing two full-length operas

before his death in 1917. Able to perform on several instruments

including the piano, cornet, violin, and voice

+Joplin’s Early Years Despite his prominence in ragtime, some of

the details of his early life are a mystery Birth year and place

Taught himself piano He had perfect pitch too!!

Eventually worked with a piano teacher from Germany Introduced him to classical music

Went to high school in Sedalia, Missouri—which later served as his “home base”

+Start of Joplin’s Career 1891—first concrete evidence of Joplin’s

career Performed in various ensembles in SedaliaAttended some college-level courses to

study music notation which then allowed him to compose away from the piano

Wrote a few classical pieces and started writing rags with only some success

1899—Met John Stark who helped him publish “The Maple Leaf Rag”

+Joplin’s Later Years1901—moved to St. Louis (the heart of rag)

Where he composed “The Entertainer” in 1902Able to focus on composing, teaching, and

collaborating with other ragtime musicians1903—First opera called A Guest of Honor

Opera company dissipated after just a couple months

Three marriages between 1901 and 1917

+More on his Later Years Began work on his second opera,

Treemonisha, in 1907Submitted it to Irving Berlin for publishing

in 1910 but it was rejected Eventually published it himself in 1911

Tried many times to put on a full production but could never see it happen in his lifetime

Finally staged during the rag revival of the 1970s

+Here’s Some More Review! Who is considered the “king of ragtime”?Name one piece we listened to by this

composer? What city is considered the heart of rag?Who was Scott Joplin’s main publisher? What other types of music did he write while

he was alive? Anyone want to demonstrate syncopation

today?

+This Week’s Agenda…

Monday and Tuesday—Finish new materialWednesday—Substitute Teacher

Likely watch a movie in the band room May want to take the time to study what

we’ve covered in class Thursday—Review Game Friday—RAGTIME UNIT TEST

Study guide to come soon!

+ Historical Contexts of the Time

Industrial Revolution It’s all about

efficiency!Planes, trains, and

automobiles Segregation Women’s Suffrage

Right to voteFeminism

Peak of immigration“Melting Pot”

Age of Giant Corporations

World War I (1914-1919)Sinking of Titanic (1912) Prohibition (1919)

Speakeasies

+Daily Life at the Time of Rag Faster-paced living Sports

Baseball Basketball (invented 1893)Bicycling

Radio/ Playing music Ballroom dancing (1900s-on)Travel becoming faster/easier

+Connections to Ragtime Fast-paced tempoUp-lifting melody/mood Blending of cultural music conventions Precision is key!

Piano rolls Improvisation was unacceptable

+Composer of the Day (3/10)

Joseph Lamb (1887-1960)

+Joseph Lamb Childhood Born in 1887 in New Jersey Came from a musical family—learned

piano and composition from this older sisters who received formal training

Inspired by Scott Joplin at an early age Attended school in Ontario, Canada Began writing/publishing work in the

early 1900s

+Career Beginnings

1908—Chance to meet his idol Scott Joplin

Performed his rag “Sensation” for himJoplin was impressed and took the

young composer under his wing Introduced to publisher John Stark

who published most of his works since

+Rest of his Early Career Married in 1911 and moved to Brooklyn Best rags written during this time including

“The Bohemia”, “American Beauty”, and “Alaskan Rag”

Got into the textile business and music became a hobbyRarely performed publicly

When rag eventually lost favor in the 1920s, Lamb removed himself from the public eye living a normal life with his family

+The Come-Back KidJoseph Lamb returned to the spotlight

when his pieces started regaining popularity in the late 40s and early 50s

Now that music recording was available he reworked some of his pieces and created piano albums

One of just a couple original composers to see the rag revival before his death at the age of 72

+Time for Some Review! What were some historical events that happened

while rag was popular? What were some aspects of daily life at the time? What connections can be made between these

last two questions and ragtime? Who was yesterday’s composer of the day?What were some things that made him unique

from Joplin and Scott? Can someone NOTATE an example of

syncopation for the class today?

+Composer of the Day (3/11)

Jelly Roll Morton (1885?-1941)

+Morton’s Childhood Born in New Orleans, LA Several different dates provided for his birth

date, no one is sure which one is correctReal name is Ferdinand Joseph LaMotte When mother married William Mouton—he

took that name changing it slightly to “Morton” Interested in a variety of instruments including

the violin, drums, trombone, and guitarStarted learning piano at the age of 10

+Early Career Moved in with his grandmother in 1901 in a

district of New Orleans that exposed him to a variety of musical styles—including rag

Travelled all over the South playing piano in vaudeville shows

Liked to make-up stories and exaggerate his own life story Claimed to have “invented jazz” in 1902

Some of his early performance techniques would later become standard practice in jazz

+More on his Career…Lived in Chicago from 1914-1917 and

began composing his own pieces including the popular rag “Frog-I-More-Rag” and a blues piece titled “Jelly Roll Blues”

From the 1920s on he focused solely on jazz now that ragtime had lost its popularity

Some of his major jazz compositions included “Grandpa’s Spells” and “Black Bottom Stomp” which were recorded with his jazz band between 1926 and 1930

+How Rag Later Influenced Jazz New Orleans, Louisiana Blues, Ragtime, and Marching Bands were

everywhere and quite popular Many musicians in the area enjoyed these

styles, but also had a passion for improvisation (a low-class practice at the time)

Started to combine their respective styles together with added improvisation and imitation thus jazz was born!

+Why Rag Eventually Lost FavorRagtime did not experience much

development as a style People grew tired of the strict rules

involved and wanted to have room to interpret the music for themselves

Jazz really grew in popularity and it’s new freedom was more appealing to the general public

Considered a brief but important fad in music history

+That’s All She Wrote Folks! REMEMBER:

Written test is on FRIDAY (3/15)Performance Assessment (Syncopation)

will occur early next week—See me if you are struggling

Study Guides will be posted on Showbie by the end of the day

Questions?

+References A History of Western Music (8th Ed) by J. Peter

Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/t/tu

rpin/index.html http://www.jazzinamerica.org/jazzresources/stylesheets

/4 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.2000358

11/default.html http://ragpiano.com/comps/tturpin.shtml http://allmusic.com http://jstor.org http://www.scottjoplin.org/biography/ http://www.grainger.de/music/composers/lambj.html

+References Continued… http://wwwappskc.lonestar.edu/popculture/19thcentury

1890.htm http://wwwappskc.lonestar.edu/popculture/20thcentury

1900.htm http://wwwappskc.lonestar.edu/popculture/20thcentury

1910.htm

http://www.scaruffi.com/history/jazz1.html http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/compose

r-jelly-roll-morton-ragtime-early-jazz http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/page10a.html#onthe http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/morton-jelly-roll-

ferdinand-joseph-lamothe