(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Scott Joplin

            
            
             Scott Joplin is thought to have been born in mid -1867 in or near Linden, Texas. His birth parents were Florence Givens and Jiles Joplin; Scott was the second of six children. Sometime in 1871 the family moved to Texarkana, Texas where Scott's mother cleaned the homes of the well off white people. These homes were where Scott learned to play the piano. In 1882 Scott's mother purchased the first piano for the Joplin home.
             The Joplin family was very musical. Florence sang and played banjo, while Jiles played the violin, and Scott played the piano, violin and sang.
             While in Texarkana, Scott's talents were noticed by a local music teacher, Julius Weiss. Weiss educated him further, with emphasis on European art forms and opera. It is believed that this education was his basis for his composing form.
             The 1880s found Joplin in Lincoln High School, located in the black district of Sedalia, Missouri. Records show many black families with the "Joplin" name in Sedalia at that time. It is thought that he could have been related to and staying with a number of them.
             In 1891 Joplin began his traveling. First he began touring with a minstrel group in Texarkana. Then in 1893 he was said to be in Chicago playing the cornet and leading a band, probably somewhere outside of the 1893 World's Fair. After the Fair he set up in Sedalia, and that became his home. There ha played first cornet with the Queen City Cornet Band. After a year of playing with the band, he began to itch for the road. He formed the Texas Medley Group, his first vocal group and went to Syracuse, New York. There he impressed several businessmen, who issued his first two publications, Please Say You Will and A Picture of Her Face.
             While not on the road, Joplin worked in Sedalia as a pianist and at the town's two black gentlemen's clubs, the Maple Leaf Rag and the Black 400 Club. Also he taught some of the young musicians in town, including Scott Hayden and Arthur Marshall, with which he co-wrote with later in life.


Essays Related to Scott Joplin

1. Scott Joplin: The King of Ragtime

Scott Joplin, though called the "Father of Ragtime,"" was never acknowledged as the serious composer that he really was during his lifetime. Nevertheless, Joplin succeeded in earning this title and his music was part of the evolution of jazz. Joplin was born on November 24, 1868, in northeastern Texas to Florence and Giles Joplin. His parents encouraged musical interest in their children; Florence played the banjo ... his musical career at the age of 16, forming the Texas Medley Quartette with his brother and two other boys. Scott also performed on the piano in dance halls and taught guitar a...

  • Word Count: 3626
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Has Bibliography

2. Ragtime

Scott Joplin was known as the king of ragtime. He was born to a former slave on November 24, 1868 near Linden, Texas. He stayed in Texas until the 1880's ... studying there he formalized ragtime. This style can be described as a unique blend of European classical styles with a taste of African American harmony and rhythm. Throughout the 1890's Scott Joplin wrote some of his most famous songs in Missouri. Late 1916, he had an illness that affected his brain and was forced to be institutionalized. He stayed there for less ... than a year when he died in New York April 1, 1917. Another Great com...

  • Word Count: 300
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

3. African American People

... from everyday life to historical commemoratives of African-Americans, like Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, and Matthew Henson. Joplin, Scott Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was a great composer and pianist. As a boy in Texarkana, Texas, Joplin taught himslef to play the piano. He played and composed ragtime music, a lively, unique genre. He composed ... over 60 pieces (most for piano), including the "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer," which are still popular today. Joplin also wrote two operas. Jordan, Barbara Barbara Jordan (Feb. 21, 1936-Jan. 17, 1996) was the first black U.S. c...

  • Word Count: 3305
  • Approx Pages: 13
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Jazz, Ragtime and Blues

... Ragtime and the blues emerged from different spectrums in African American backgrounds. Each genre has individual experiences that contribute to the defining characteristics of each. Scott Joplin, a ragtime pianist, was convinced that ragtime was "the kind of music that could move out of the saloons and into middle-class ... mixed their styles with that of the folk songs, dances, and hymns from the people in the region to produce ragtime's characteristic syncopated style. Joplin excelled at this "ragged" style and pursued a music career that made him not only popular, but also respected....

  • Word Count: 1458
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography

5. Music Summary - Ragtime

... track listing. The first movie to do so was "The Sting" with music by Marvin Hamlisch (Berlin). The ragtime hit "The Entertainer" by composer and musician Scott Joplin was used as the movies main theme, along with song "Solace" (Paterson). A more recognized movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", also featured the composition " ... ;Bethena: A Concert Waltz" by Joplin (Paterson). Versions of ragtime works are included in the films "The Gremlins" and "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" (Paterson). Overall, a variety of motion pictures of ... System included the series "Repton" (...

  • Word Count: 478
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Has Bibliography

6. The Evolution of Jazz

... refers to the rhythmically broken up melodies. Ragtime's styles developed more in Missouri were bands would combine the structure of marches with black songs and dances such as the cakewalk. Scott Joplin is the most famous composer of ragtime music. His two popular pieces are, "The Entertainer" and "Maple Leaf Rag." "Jelly Roll Morton music was a bridge between Ragtime and early Jazz ... piano. He combined the elements of Ragtime with the elements of the Blues along with improvisation Jazz. Joseph Lamb was a member of the "Big Three " Ragtime composers, which included Joplin and James S...

  • Word Count: 2036
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. A Comparison Of The Classical Era And The Jazz Era

... to the 1890's, created in the heart of New Orleans by mainly those of Afro-American descent. Early exponents of this dance music were Jelly Roll Martin (a blues player) and Scott Joplin (ragtime). The terms "Jazz" and "Jazz Band" first surfaced in the year 1900. Some say this occurred in New Orleans, although similar music was played at the same time in ... and continued through World War I. It combined many elements, such as syncopated rhythms, harmonic contrasts, and formal patterns of European marches. It is usually played in the time signature of 2/4. Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag"...

  • Word Count: 2090
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography

8. Woodstock 1969

... 's line up was all rock and roll (Tiber 1, Pt. 5). The proposed schedule for Saturday was Canned Heat, Country Joe and the Fish, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Keef Hartley, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Mountain, Quill, Santana, and The Who. The actual schedule was Jefferson Airplane at 8:30 am, Quill at 12:15 pm, Keef Hartley, Santana around 2:30 pm, Mountain, Canned ... Heat, The Incredible String Band, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Janis Joplin ("Woodstock Schedules" 1). Saturday had the biggest audience in history, more than 250,000 people. Janis...

  • Word Count: 3740
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Woodstock 1969

... 's line up was all rock and roll (Tiber 1, Pt. 5). The proposed schedule for Saturday was Canned Heat, Country Joe and the Fish, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Keef Hartley, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Mountain, Quill, Santana, and The Who. The actual schedule was Jefferson Airplane at 8:30 am, Quill at 12:15 pm, Keef Hartley, Santana around 2:30 pm, Mountain, Canned ... Heat, The Incredible String Band, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Janis Joplin ("Woodstock Schedules" 1). Saturday had the biggest audience in history, more than 250,000 people. Janis...

  • Word Count: 3815
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question