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From the infectious melody to the challenges it poses for performers, this archetypal rag will keep putting smiles on faces for years to come. Scott Joplin, the musical pioneer and an inspiration for African-Americans in the 19th and early 20th century, was born sometime in the year 1868.
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Maple Leaf Rag is still one of Scott Joplin’s most popular works. As the main melody is repeated near the end as the music moves back into the home key of Ab major, the hands unite for the final chords to create a bold conclusion. The frivolity of the work masks the serious concentration and dexterity required from the performer. The suspended melody line trickles down the scale as Joplin’s chromatic writing grows into fruition. Viewed as the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin was the foremost composer of the genre in the early 20th century, known for works like The Maple Leaf Rag. This athletic rag requires focused coordination for both hands to make sure each off-beat inflection and bass line motif meet and part at the right time. Joplin’s persistent use of seventh chords also creates that archetypal sound for a ragtime piece. The four sections of this rag create diversity in the melody and show the development of the bassline. With Maple Leaf Rag Joplin writes bounding leaps for the bass line and off-beat melodies on the other hand. The march-like style paired with the cakewalk-inspired melody creates the archetypal ragtime composition. The quick tempo and huge leaps for both hands makes this a difficult rag for any pianist. This quintessential rag brings together many aspects of a rag into one neatly packed piano work. It is often known as the most famous ragtime piece that has gone on to inspire a number of composers. American popular music at its classical best This is a complete edition of these wonderful piano pieces, all newly. He was the King of Ragtime, the talented composer of The Maple Leaf Rag, which sold over. Maple Leaf Rag was one of Joplin’s earliest rags for the piano. Scott Joplin ranks as one of Americas leading black composers. This piece is said to have started the ragtime madness. A number of his piano rags and his opera Treemonisha have become some of the most recognisable music of the genre. One of Joplins biggest hits was the Maple Leaf Rag, which sold over a million copies in sheet music. It wasn’t until some ground-breaking recordings done in the 1970s that Joplin’s music found a new lease of life.
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Scott Joplin wrote Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainer. Joplin’s music went out of fashion, with only a small number of ragtime aficionados keeping his music alive. Scott Joplin originally did We Will Rest Awhile, The Wreath, Confusion, Surprised and other songs. After Joplin’s death in 1917, ragtime music came out of the ‘mainstream’ line and started to form into the likes of jazz, big band swing and the blues. Scott Joplin is remembered for being one of the most memorable ragtime composers of the turn-of-the-century during his lifetime (1868-1917).
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