Joplin, Scott 219Joplin’s ragtime music was heavily syncopated and com-
plex, quite contrary to prevailing musical compositions of
the time.
By 1894, Scott Joplin was residing in Sedalia, Missouri.
He played his music in spheres and establishments of all
sorts in order to earn a living, all the while continuing to
compose his own music. In 1897, while living in Sedalia,
Scott Joplin composed the most important ragtime tune,
or “rag,” of all time, the “Maple Leaf Rag”—some say with
the assistance of Otis Saunders. Th e song was named aft er
the Maple Leaf Club, where Scott Joplin usually entertained
with his compositions and piano play. While composing
and playing at the Maple Leaf Club, among others, Joplin
enrolled in the Smith School of Music, a division of the
George R. Smith College for Colored People. He never for-
got the importance of a formal education.
While playing the “Maple Leaf Rag” one day at its
namesake club, Scott Joplin was heard by music publisher
John Stark. Th e two men formed a publishing partner-
ship, and in 1899, “Maple Leaf Rag” was published through
a publishing house. Over the next century, its sales andAfrican American self. Scott Joplin learned to embrace
African American traditions of dress, body language, and
speech—he was also exposed to traditional African Ameri-
can folk music. Folk music born out of a legacy of oppres-
sion and spiritual maintenance within the United States of
America and beyond would be embraced, melded, and de-
veloped into a unique African American musical art form
called ragtime.
During the 1870s and 1880s, Scott Joplin attended
school and learned to read and write while residing in Tex-
arkana, Texas. His mother, Florence, was a domestic ser-
vant who worked for an employer who owned a piano. It
was at the home of the W. G. Cook family that Scott Jop-
lin was introduced to the piano. Scott Joplin developed his
aptitudes and soon thereaft er attracted the attention of a
German music teacher, who off ered Joplin training in the
reading and composing of music. It was during this period
that Joplin was introduced to some of the important com-
positions of classic European musicians.
Joplin played at churches, bars, homes, fairs, and any
other venue. As an African American male, he managed to
cultivate his intellectual and musical aptitudes in a period
of rife with violence and hostility against African Ameri-
cans. He was able to cultivate his aptitudes across racial,
class, and ethnic lines during this period.
Exactly when Scott Joplin left Texarkana, Texas, is un-
certain, but he turned up in Missouri in 1890. It is assumed
that during the 8 to 10 years prior, Joplin traveled the South,
playing his music for all to hear. A continuous student of
traditional African American folk music, or “coon songs,”
Scott had begun to compose and play an up-tempo, heavily
syncopated musical form that would be named ragtime.
Th e Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Il-
linois, marked the emergence of Scott Joplin as the “King
of Ragtime.” It was at the Exposition that Scott Joplin and
his contemporaries began critically writing ragtime sheet
music, off ering their compositions to the masses. As an
“unoffi cial” musician at this exposition, Scott Joplin intro-
duced the non-African American attendees to the world of
ragtime’s richly textured music. Th e exposition also gave
Scott Joplin an opportunity to hear the works of some of
the best contemporaries of his time and to forge friendships
with such important musicians as Otis Saunders.
Scott Joplin formed a band in 1893 and toured with
Otis Saunders for years aft erward. Saunders encouraged
Joplin to further nurture his ability to compose music.
Musician Scott Joplin was known as the King of Ragtime. (Michael
Ochs Archives/Getty Images)