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Ragtime
Ragtime is a uniquely American musical genre with a syncopated or 'ragged' rhythm…
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Just want Ragtime?
Listen. Do you hear that happy sound. It goes plink, plonk, plink. It makes your feet want to tap, tap, tap. It makes your body want to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. My music comes from a big piano. One hand plays a steady beat, thump-thump-thump. But my other hand loves to dance all over the keys. I am a special, happy music. My name is Ragtime.
I was born a very long time ago, in the late 1890s. I started to sing and dance in cities like St. Louis, Missouri. I came from the amazing fingers of African American piano players. They were so talented. They made me sound so cheerful. A kind man named Scott Joplin loved me very much. He wrote down my songs so everyone could play them. He wanted me to fill rooms with joy. He wanted me to make everyone get up and dance together. And they did.
My bouncy, happy rhythm was so much fun. It was like a little seed that helped a new kind of music grow. That new music was called Jazz. It loved to dance, just like me. Even today, you can hear me. I hide in movies and funny cartoons. When you hear a piano playing a wiggly, giggly song, that might be me. I am the sound of pure fun. I am here to remind you that a little bit of bouncy music can make everyone in the whole world feel like dancing.
The Story of Ragtime
Listen. Do you hear that happy sound. It goes plink, plonk, plink. It makes your feet want to tap, tap, tap. It makes your body want to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. My music comes from a big piano. One hand plays a steady beat, thump-thump-thump. But my other hand loves to dance all over the keys. I am a special, happy music. My name is Ragtime.
I was born a very long time ago, in the late 1890s. I started to sing and dance in cities like St. Louis, Missouri. I came from the amazing fingers of African American piano players. They were so talented. They made me sound so cheerful. A kind man named Scott Joplin loved me very much. He wrote down my songs so everyone could play them. He wanted me to fill rooms with joy. He wanted me to make everyone get up and dance together. And they did.
My bouncy, happy rhythm was so much fun. It was like a little seed that helped a new kind of music grow. That new music was called Jazz. It loved to dance, just like me. Even today, you can hear me. I hide in movies and funny cartoons. When you hear a piano playing a wiggly, giggly song, that might be me. I am the sound of pure fun. I am here to remind you that a little bit of bouncy music can make everyone in the whole world feel like dancing.
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Ragtime is a uniquely American musical genre with a syncopated or 'ragged' rhythm, which was highly popular between 1895 and 1919. It originated in African American communities and was primarily written for the piano.
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