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Scott joplin ragtime piano player11/24/2023 ![]() ![]() In 1898, he first began submitting scores to publishing companies, but it wasn’t until meeting John Stillwell Stark, a white music publisher and music store owner, and playing for him in his store in 1899 that he entered a publishing contract. Like many composers of classic rag, Joplin was initially a jig pianist who then ventured into classic rag. Cover art and first page of Stark Music Co.’s version of Joplin’s “Rag-Time Dance”. Arguably the most famous classic rag composer was Scott Joplin, with his “Maple Leaf Rag” being the most popular of his works (3). Classic rag was published as sheet music and was not intended to be improvised off of it was designed to be played exactly as written. It wasn’t until 1895 when the first ragtime tune, “La Pas La Mas”, was transcribed and actually published, starting a new subgenre within ragtime known as classic rag (2). As a result, they would play in the clubs, saloons, and other social spaces around the perimeter of the fair, which is where their music thrived (1). During the Chicago World Fair, many Black jig piano players were hired to play music written by white composers at Fair events, but they were not allowed to play their own music. This early ragtime was referred to as jig music, and was all but shunned by white populations. Known by such a name due to its highly syncopated nature (which was originally referred to as “ragging the time”), ragtime emerged initially in the Mississippi Valley as bar, cabaret, and club music played by “piano-thumping… black piano professors” (1) that was mostly improvisatory. Ragtime is a genre of music created by Black pianists that was popular between 18. ![]()
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