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Listening to Ragtime

Module by: Catherine Schmidt-Jones

Summary: For the beginning listener, how to recognize ragtime music and what to listen for while enjoying it.

What is Ragtime?

Please see Ragtime and Scott Joplin for more in-depth introductions to this style of music. Classic ragtime, which developed in the U.S. around the beginning of the twentieth century, is not jazz, but it was a very important precursor that strongly influenced early jazz. Taking important elements from both African-American and European-American musical traditions, ragtime was wildly popular in its heyday. It was also one of the first musical styles invented in the U.S. to have an important influence on music history.

Basic Elements of Ragtime

Here are some of the basic musical elements that are typical of classic ragtime.

Rhythm

The name ragtime refers to the "ragged", or off-the-beat, syncopated rhythms of ragtime. To rag a piece of music is to play with its rhythms, to make them jazzier. This is one of the most important characteristics of ragtime.
In classic ragtime, in order to give the ragged rhythms something to play off of, the beat is strongly established. Usually this is done with a strong march-like "boom-chick-boom-chick" or "oom-pah-oom-pah" rhythm in the accompaniment. Ragtime was originally considered a dance music, so the strong, steady beat was important.
ragbass.png
Figure 1: Listen to this steady march-like accompaniment, with the bass on every beat and chord on every upbeat. This type of accompaniment is often described as "boom-chick" or "oom-pah".
Against this strong, steady rhythm, the melody gives its ragged, syncopated rhythms.
ragmel.png
Figure 2: Here is the melody along with the accompaniment. Notes that are off the beat (in this case, not lined up with a bass note) that are also higher or longer than surrounding notes are in red. Notice that most of the high notes and long notes in the phrase are not on the beat; this is the essence of syncopation. Listen to just the melody or to both.

Melody and Accompaniment

The texture of ragtime is normally strongly homophonic. There is a single obvious melody with a strongly chord-based accompaniment. The accompaniment usually includes mostly parallel harmonies or chords that support the melody and have the same rhythm, and the independent rhythmic accompaniment described above in rhythm.

Instrumentation

Scott Joplin and most of the other great classic ragtime composers were also performers who made a living playing piano. Some (including Joplin) also played in and directed bands. Most classic rags were written for piano. Many have been transcribed for band. The original piano compositions are easiest to find, but some of the lively band transcriptions (particularly those for a dixieland-style combo) are also popular.

Tonality

Ragtime music is strongly tonal. The chordal accompaniment not only establishes a very strong beat; it also very strongly establishes the key. Most sections of the music end very strongly on the tonic chord and never stray far from the key. But look again at the example above from Scott Joplin's "Easy Winners". In spite of its strong tonality, ragtime has plenty of accidentals. Just as the syncopations (the notes that aren't on the beat) play with the strong beat and keeps it from getting boring, the accidentals (the notes that aren't in the tonality) play with the strong tonality and keep it from getting boring.
The accidentals that show up often in ragtime are related to the "blue" notes in blues and jazz. In some rags, for example Joplin's "Solace", the general effect of these chromaticisms is wistful and blue rather than cheerfully playful. European traditions favored strongly tonal music and simple rhythms. Like the syncopations, rag's departures from tonality are part of the heritage of the African-American music tradition.

Form

The rhythms and pitches of ragtime were strongly influenced by African-American traditions, but the overall form of classic ragtimes was borrowed from European-American traditions.
Many classic rags have a short (not repeated) introduction, followed by several longer repeated sections. The key often changes for the last section or two, usually by adding a flat or subtracting a sharp
A Typical Rag Form
ragform.png
Figure 3: This is an outline of a very typical rag. The structure is very similar to a Sousa march as well as many European dances. A classic rag may leave out the intro or the key change, or shorten or leave out the return of the first strain.
This pattern will be very familiar to anyone who has played a lot of traditional European or American marches or dances. In fact, the section at the key change in a rag is sometimes marked as the "trio", just as it is in marches and many other European forms. Traditional dances and patriotic marches were an integral part of American life at that time, and ragtime composers would have been as familiar with these Western European-American forms as they were with African-American music styles.

Recognizing Ragtime

That ragged rhythm is the key to recognizing ragtime. If you suspect that music you are listening to is a classic rag, or strongly influenced by ragtime, listen for the "boom-chick" accompaniment and the syncopated melody. The general effect is usually cheerful and jaunty, although it can be frantic if played very fast or wistful if played slowly. (Joplin often cautioned people not to play ragtime too fast.)
    Other hints that you may be hearing ragtime:
  • The music is played on a solo piano. Or it may be played by a band or orchestra featuring jazz instruments like the clarinet, trumpet, and trombone.
  • The style and mood of ragtime is very distinctive and easy to recognize once you have heard some of it. Compare the piece you are listening to with familiar rags.
  • Besides Scott Joplin, some composers who wrote classic rags were Scott Hayden, James Scott, and Tom Turpin. Eubie Blake also composed some rags, but he is better known for his important contributions to early jazz.
  • Songs or pieces that call themselves "ragtime" may not be classic rags, but may share some of the characteristics. Several Irving Berlin songs fall in this category.

Listening to and Enjoying Classic Ragtime

As always, the most important thing to do when you are listening to the music is to listen to it. Enjoy it and pay attention to your own personal reaction to it. The following suggestions are not necessary to enjoy the music or to "get something" out of it; they are suggestions that apply if you want to learn more about music theory, practice, and history while you are listening.
While you are enjoying a classic rag, see if you can hear the syncopations. Tapping your hand or foot to the beat may help you see how many important notes are not on the beat.
Speaking of that strong beat, this was dance music. Children and other uninhibited people may want to heed the invitation in the music to move to the beat.
Can you hear the accidentals and chromaticisms in the music? Many of them involve short sections of a chromatic scale.
Can you hear the repeated sections? Can you hear a key change at the beginning of any of the sections? Because the sections are repeated and have such definite endings, rags can be a great place to practice listening for the form of a piece of music.

Suggested Listening

  • Any and all Scott Joplin rags. The best-known and easiest-to-find are probably "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer".
  • Any piano piece with "Rag" in its title. Scott Hayden, James Scott, Joseph Lamb and Tom Turpin all wrote quite a few rags. Some classic ragtime pieces are not entitled "rag", like Eubie Blake's "Fizz Water" and "The Chevy Chase".
  • The soundtrack to the movie "The Sting".
  • As of this writing, the Ragtime Piano MIDI files of Warren Trachtman had many ragtime files to listen to.
  • Finally, listen to some old-style dixieland jazz. Can you hear some of the influence of ragtime? What is different?

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