1. Scott Joplin
The King of Ragtime

2.
Ragtime Music
One of the first genres of music to originate in the U.S. (in the Midwest) instead of Europe.
Mainly piano music, started by musicians playing in saloons and brothels.
Scott Joplin was a trained pianist and composed the most famous ragtime tunes such as “The Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Entertainer”.
Ragtime led to Jazz, which would eventually replace it as the new popular genre of American music.

3. Scott Joplin - piano duel
Scott Joplin - piano duel
This scene is from the movie Scott Joplin, which was made in about the composer’s life.
It shows a “Piano Cutting Contest”, or duelling pianos - with the prize money of $100 for the best pianist.
Though probably not historically accurate, in the movie the man who offers the prize money, John Stark, is who actually published Joplin’s incredibly popular “Maple Leaf Rag” in