Last updated Cover of Scott Joplin's "The Ragtime Dance"
Classic rag (short for classical ragtime) is the style of ragtime composition pioneered by Scott Joplin and the Missouri school of ragtime composers. These compositions were first considered "classic" by Joplin's publisher, John Stark, as a way to distinguish them from what he considered the "common" rags of other publishers. Today, any composition fitting this particular ragtime structural form is considered classic rag.
In the earliest days of ragtime, there was little consensus on how to print the syncopated melodies of ragtime, so there was considerable variety in the formatting of sheet music. Pieces appeared in common meter, in 4/4 time, and in 2/4 time, and often followed conventions of earlier musical forms such as the march. As the 20th century dawned, most composers, arrangers, and publishers began to settle on a common set of notational and structural conventions, and because Scott Joplin was the best-selling ragtime composer in that era, his conventions eventually predominated. The "classic rag" form can thus be considered a typical form of a ragtime piano composition, though it is by no means the only form.[citation needed]
Anatomy
In idealized form, the classic rag has the following structure:
It is set in 2/4 time.
It starts with a four-bar introduction.
It continues with a pair of 16-bar themes, in the following sequence:
An initial theme (or A strain).
A repeat of the A strain.
A second theme (or B strain).
A repeat of the B strain.
A restatement of the A strain.
It concludes with a pair of 16-bar themes in the subdominant key (the key with one additional flat, or one less sharp), commonly called the trio, in the following sequence:
A third theme (or C strain).
A repeat of the C strain.
A fourth theme (or D strain).
A repeat of the D strain.
This can be written more succinctly as: INTRO AA BB A CC DD.
Few classic rags follow this idealized form, which is only a generalization; there are a number of standard variations:
The introduction may be longer or shorter than four bars, or may be omitted altogether.
The C and D strains may continue in the original key rather than use the subdominant key.
The D strain may return to the original key rather than stay in the subdominant key.
The D strain may be omitted altogether, or replaced with a restatement of the A or B strain.
Some repetitions of strains may be omitted, usually one of the repeats of the A strain.
Brief transitional phrases may be inserted between strains.
In the later years of ragtime, under the influence of Tin Pan Alley, a shorter three-strain form (omitting the D strain) became common.
Anatomy of a rag strain
Rag strains themselves have considerable structure. The treble clef (played by the right hand) typically contains the syncopated melodic theme, while the bass clef (the left-hand part) grounds this theme rhythmically with a regular, alternating pattern of eighth-notes (a walking bass).
The sixteen-bar strain is often structurally divided into 4 four-bar phrases, the third phrase repeating the first. There is considerable variation, though. Some composers (such as James Scott) made frequent use of two-bar phrases and others (such as Joseph Lamb) tended to employ eight-bar phrases.
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated, or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott Joplin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. Ragtime pieces are typically composed for and performed on piano, though the genre has been adapted for a variety of instruments and styles.
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag", became the genre's first and most influential hit, later being recognized as the quintessential rag. Joplin considered ragtime to be a form of classical music meant to be played in concert halls and largely disdained the performance of ragtime as honky tonk music most common in saloons.
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Joseph Francis Lamb was an American composer of ragtime music. Lamb, of Irish descent, was the only non-African American of the "Big Three" composers of classical ragtime, the other two being Scott Joplin and James Scott. The ragtime of Joseph Lamb ranges from standard popular fare to complex and highly engaging. His use of long phrases was influenced by classical works he had learned from his sister and others while growing up, but his sense of structure was potentially derived from his study of Joplin's piano rags. By the time he added some polish to his later works in the 1950s, Lamb had mastered the classic rag genre in a way that almost no other composer was able to approach at that time, and continued to play it passably as well, as evidenced by at least two separate recordings done in his home, as well as a few recorded interviews.
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The "Maple Leaf Rag" is an early ragtime musical composition for piano composed by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, becoming the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. It is one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces. Its success led to Joplin being dubbed the "King of Ragtime" by his contemporaries. The piece gave Joplin a steady if unspectacular income for the rest of his life.
Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759, commonly known as the Unfinished Symphony, is a musical composition that Schubert started in 1822 but left with only two movements—though he lived for another six years. A scherzo, nearly completed in piano score but with only two pages orchestrated, also survives.
"The Entertainer" is a 1902 classic piano rag written by Scott Joplin.
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The "Swipesy Cakewalk" is a ragtime composition written in 1900 by a musical duo consisting of Scott Joplin, who composed the trio, and the young composer Arthur Marshall, who composed the rest of the piece. "Swipesy" uses the simple syncopations of a cakewalk - the first beat being a sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth note division, and the second beat an even eighth note division. The style follows the AA BB A CC DD musical form common for both cakewalks and rags, particularly after the earlier publication of Joplin's hit "Maple Leaf Rag". Only the C section, composed by Joplin, departs from the cakewalk rhythm and is more pure ragtime. The composition was written in the late 1890s when Joplin was living with the Marshall family, and was teaching Arthur composition.
Folk ragtime is a subgenre of ragtime, a distinctly American music. It is thought to have originated with illiterate itinerant African American piano players, who learned the syncopated music not formally, but through their peers. Folk Ragtime as a form stayed active until the early 1920s, when young America shifted its attention to early jazz. It was later revived, starting in 1947 with the 'rediscovery' of Sanford Brunson Campbell who was one of the most noted folk ragtimers as well as a student of Scott Joplin, and then in the early 1960s by the now foremost authority on Folk Ragtime, Trebor Jay Tichenor (1940-2014). Another exponent of folk ragtime was Thomas Shea ; his music is sometimes referred to as "prairie ragtime."
"Magnetic Rag" is a 1914 ragtime piano composition by American composer Scott Joplin. It is significant for being the last rag which Joplin published in his lifetime, three years before his death in 1917. It is also unique in form and in some of the musical techniques employed in the composition.
"Frog Legs Rag" is a classic rag composed by James Scott and published by John Stillwell Stark in December 1906. It was James Scott's first commercial success. Prior to this composition Scott had published marches. With "Frog Legs Rag", Scott embarked upon a career as a successful and important ragtime songwriter.
"Weeping Willow" is a 1903 classic piano ragtime composition by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's simpler and less famous ragtime scores, written during a transitional period in his life, and one of the few pieces that Joplin cut as a piano roll in a 1916 session.
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"The Easy Winners" is a ragtime composition by Scott Joplin. One of his most popular works, it was one of the four that had been recorded as of 1940.
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These are ‘Excursions’ in small classical forms into regional American idioms. Their rhythmic characteristics, as well as their source in folk material and their scoring, reminiscent of local instruments are easily recognized.
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