Scott Joplin Maple Leaf Rag Analysis

At the turn of the twentieth century, jazz was still in its early phases. While there are many musicians that are credited with making jazz into what it is today, one of the earliest attributors was the “King of Ragtime,” Scott Joplin. Joplin earned his title due to his success—despite racial barriers—in developing the sub-genre of ragtime in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Joplin’s sound and style created a crucial link in the history of jazz and laid the foundations for future musicians to further progress the genre. The term “ragging” is derived from the art of breaking a melody up into syncopated rhythms over a steady beat, or taking an unsyncopated melody and breaking up the rhythm. A popular fad in music was adding …show more content…
As previously noted, Joplin hailed from a family of former salves. This meant that his style contained traits of African-American music. His mentoring from Julius Weiss introduced the European classical forms to him, and it is clear that his work is comparatively more similar to classical styles than that of African-American styles. For example, there are four melodic sections to the rag (A, B, C, D) and the form is much like that of a classical piece. Even so, the combination of both African-American and European classical forms were what led to his creation of ragtime. This piece was structured in sixteen-measure increments like most rags, as discussed earlier. “Maple Leaf Rag” contains a typical technique in ragtime in which the left hand is in direct coordination with the right hand. Specifically in this piece, the left hand alternates between playing chords and playing the bass while the right hand plays the melody and gives the life to the rag. Composed in 2/4, there is a fast tempo put in place—almost as if too fast, one of the characteristics of novelty piano. There is little improvisation by Joplin, and bridges over the measures between repetitions are smooth and consistent with the forms and keys of the