Scott Joplin

ragtime · composer · American music · piano

King of Ragtime. Scott Joplin wrote more than 40 ragtime pieces and became so famous for this style of music that people called him the King of Ragtime. He even composed a ragtime ballet and two operas to show how serious and important this music could be.

Maple Leaf Rag. One of Joplin's first songs, the Maple Leaf Rag, became the biggest hit of ragtime music and is still considered the perfect example of what a rag should sound like. It made ragtime famous all over the world.

Syncopated rhythms. Ragtime music has a special bouncy rhythm where the notes don't land where you'd expect them to. Joplin used this surprising pattern to make his music exciting and fun to listen to.

Classical music mission. Joplin believed ragtime was a real form of classical music that deserved to be played in concert halls with fancy audiences, not just in rowdy saloons. He spent his life trying to show people that ragtime was serious art.