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Scott
Joplin — The King of Ragtime Composers
Featuring
the Maple Leaf Rag (1899) by Scott Joplin and
other Joplin Rags
By Ted Tjaden
(originally
published June 2006 and updated periodically)
Recordings available on this page (see below):
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Maple Leaf Rag (performed by Ted
Tjaden)
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Sheet music available on this page:
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See below to download or
view the sheet music for ragtime
compositions by Scott Joplin.
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Recommended reading:
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Edward Berlin, King of Ragtime: Scott
Joplin and his Era, 2nd ed. (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2016) [book details from
edwardaberlin.com/works.htm].
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Scott Joplin is regarded by most
as the "King" of Ragtime Writers, in part due to his
early success with the best-selling Maple Leaf Rag
(below) but more importantly due to
the enduring nature and quality of his ragtime
compositions. This page sets out information on Scott
Joplin in the following topics:
1) Introduction
2) Life of Scott Joplin
3) Sheet music of Scott Joplin
compositions
4) Recordings of
Scott Joplin compositions
5) Bibliography
1) Introduction [top]
Although classic ragtime piano is
a relatively narrow aspect of music, most people have
heard of Scott Joplin, or if not, they have heard some
of his more well known compositions, including The
Entertainer (below)
or The Maple Leaf Rag (below).
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Although the popularity
of the Maple Leaf Rag made
Joplin a relatively well-known composer,
perhaps more so after his death, it was
the enduring quality of his compositions
that have cemented his reputation as the
"King of Ragtime Writers." John Stark,
the main publisher for the "Big 3"
ragtime composers (Scott Joplin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb), was
prone to fanciful puffery in his sales
brochures for the rags he published, but
there is something to be said for
Stark's descriptions of these rags:
We have advertised these as classic
rags, and we mean just what we say.
They are the perfection of type.
"The glass of fashion and the mold
of form." "Age cannot whither or
custom stale their infinite
variety". They have lifted ragtime
from its low estate and lined it up
with Beethoven and Bach" (Stark ad,
page 23, in Ragtime Review
(Vol 1, No
2: January 1915).
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Jasen and Tichenor (1987:83)
describe Joplin's compositions in these terms:
He combined the traditions of
Afro-American music folk music with
nineteenth-century European romanticism; he
collected the black Midwestern Folk rag ideas as raw
material for the creation of original strains. Thus,
his rags are the most heavily pentatonic, with
liberal use of blue notes and other outstanding
features that characterize black folk music. In this
creative synthesis, . . . the traditional march
became the dominant form, and the result was a new
art form, the Classic rag – a unique conception which
paradoxically both forged the way for early serious
ragtime composition, and, at the same time,
developed along insular lines, away from most other
ragtime playing and composing.
Fortunately, Joplin's rags have been widely recorded
(see below) and published and
there is much commentary on his music available. The
launch of the movie The
Sting in 1973, which featured a number of
Scott Joplin compositions as part of the soundtrack,
was responsible for extending the ragtime revival of
the 1950's to the present day (with Joplin's The
Entertainer, featured in the movie, making
it in the "Top 10" of the "Songs
of the Century" as determined by the Recording
Industry of America and the National Endowment of the
Arts). Ironically, the movie was set during the
Depression, about 10 to 20 years after ragtime's
heyday, making the music of Joplin chosen for the
movie slightly anachronistic.
2) Life of Scott Joplin (1868 ~ 1917) [top]
Fortunately, much has already been
written about the life of Scott Joplin. I highly
recommend Edward Berlin's King of Ragtime: Scott
Joplin and his Era (NY: Oxford University
Press, 1995) as being the definitive biography on
Scott Joplin (Berlin has his own webpage here).
Berlin has also prepared a
brief online biography of Scott Joplin for the Scott
Joplin International Ragtime Foundation).
Another useful research resource on Scott Joplin is
Nancy Ping-Robbins' Scott Joplin: A Guide to
Research (New York: Garland Pub, 1998),
which contains 1,268 separate bibliographic entries or
citations for information on Joplin and the ragtime
era. Because so much has already been written about
Scott Joplin, I set out below only some of the more
significant events in his life:
The Early Years and Family Life
- Most references cite November 24, 1868, as the
date Scott Joplin was born, but research by Berlin (1995:4-5) suggests that
this date, based on what is likely the faulty memory
of Joplin's widow, may be in error. Census data
surrounding Joplin's age is also inconsistent and
hence inconclusive. Despite this, Joplin's date of
birth is likely sometime in 1868, give or take a
small period of time. In his online
biography of Scott Joplin, Berlin suggests
that Joplin was most likely born sometime between
June 1867 and mid-January 1868.
- Joplin grew up in a musical family, likely
initially in northeastern Texas. He had an older
brother (Monroe) and a younger brother (Robert) and
three younger siblings. At some point, the family
moved to Texarkana,
possibly as early as 1875 when Scott Joplin would
have been around 7 years old (Berlin, 1995:7). Brother Robert
himself became a well known dancer and vaudevillian
(Berlin, 1995:7).
- Joplin showed some promise as a youth on the piano
and took lessons from various local piano teachers.
Of note, most biographers emphasize the influence
that Julius Weiss, a German piano teacher, had on
shaping Joplin's early musical influences (Berlin, 1995:7; Jasen
and Jones, 2000:26). For a good overview of
Joplin's early life, see Addison Reed's chapter
entitled "Scott Joplin: Pioneer" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime:
Its History, Composers, and Music. New
York: Schirmer Books, 1985:117-36.
- Scott Joplin formed a vocal quartet that performed
in Texarkana; in addition, Joplin appears to have
played piano there in dance halls and taught guitar
and mandolin (Berlin, 1995:7).
- It appears that Joplin left Texarkana sometime in
his teens, likely pursuing life on the saloon and
honky-tonk circuit throughout Texas, Louisiana,
Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky as a pianist
(Berlin, 1995:8).
Berlin raises the possibility that Joplin lived in Sedalia,
Missouri, during this time and even went to
Lincoln High School, an all black school in that
city (Berlin, 1995:8).
- In 1891, Joplin was part of the Texarkana
Ministrels that faced some controversy at a
performance in Texarkana that summer where it turned
out that part of the proceeds were being raised for
Jefferson
Davis, the former President of the Confederate
States of America and supporter of slavery (Berlin,
1995:9-10).
- It is believed that Joplin
would have been in Chicago for the Chicago
World's Fair in 1893, which is where ragtime
as a musical form began to develop and be known to a
wider white audience (Berlin, 1995:11). Berlin
reports that Joplin met Otis Saunders, another
ragtime pianist, at the Fair and the two of them
went to St Louis and then Sedalia when the Fair
ended in October 1893. (Berlin, 1995:9-12).
Time in Sedalia (circa 1894 to
1901)
- Joplin lived in Sedalia from approximately 1894 to
1901, after which he moved to St Louis. Berlin (1995:13-23) describes
Sedalia at that time as a thriving city with
opportunities for blacks despite it being a largely
segregated community. The city housed the George
R Smith College for black students where it is
believed that Joplin took music courses (Jasen and Tichenor, 1987:82).
Sedalia also hosted the black Queen City Cornet Band
and a number of honky-tonks along Main Street.
- It is likely that Joplin toured a fair bit during
this time with his Texas Medley Quartette. Berlin (1995:26) notes that two
of Joplin's early songs, Please Say You Will
(below) and A Picture
of Her Face (below)
(both from 1895) were published in New York state,
likely as a result of a tour to that region by the
Texas Medley Quartette.
- Berlin also notes that since Joplin had three
pieces published in Texas (The Great Crush
Collision March, Harmony Club
Waltzes, and Combination March,
all available below),
so it is likely that Joplin also spent time in
Temple, Texas, likely on tour (1995:27). It is not
clear whether Joplin himself witnessed the "Great
Crush Collision" of trains staged on September 15,
1896 (which resulted inadvertently in the death of
three spectators), but Joplin's composition named
after this event was published one month later (more
information on the historical "collision" event is
available here
and here).
- It appears that Joplin taught piano to students
and was also a mentor to a number of up and coming
ragtimers, including Arthur Marshall, Scott Hayden
and Brun Campbell (Berlin, 1995:31).
Despite this, most authors suggest that Joplin was
likely not much of an entertainer on the keyboard
and was considered only a competent pianist,
especially when compared to the theatrics of many of
the contemporary "rag thumpers" of the time (Jasen and Tichenor, 1987:85-86).
- Sedalia was also home to two black social clubs,
the Black 400 Club and the Maple Leaf Club, that
hosted dances and social activities, some of which
included white residents as guests. (Berlin, 1995:34-44) provides a
fascinating look at the history of these clubs,
their competition with each other, their role in
promoting ragtime music, and their ultimate demise
in early 1900 when they were shut down by the city.
- Berlin (1995:47)
documents that Joplin likely had written Original
Rags (below) as early
as 1897 and had tried unsuccessfully to publish that
piece, along with Maple Leaf Rag (below) and possibly Sunflower
Slow Drag (below),
in 1898 with AW Perry & Son in Sedalia. Joplin
was successful in having Original Rags
published by Carl Hoffman (Kansas City) (Jasen and Jones, 2000:27), but
Berlin (1995:48) doubts
that Charles Daniels actually arranged Original
Rags (as is indicated on the cover, here).
- Joplin's most famous composition, the Maple
Leaf Rag (below),
was published by John Stark, then of Sedalia. Many
commentators have noted the importance to Joplin of
Stark granting a one-percent royalty for the
composition since the composition subsequently sold
very well, possibly as high as one half-million
copies (Berlin, 1995:58).
The original cover of Maple Leaf Rag (below) was an advertisement from
the American Tobacco Company portraying the famous
vaudevillians, Bert
Williams and George Walker (and their dance
partners and future wives).
- One of the many "myths"
surrounding Joplin and his work is the naming of The
Maple Leaf Rag and whether it was named
after the Maple Leaf Club in Sedalia. One theory is
that there is a Canadian connection to the
composition (since the
maple leaf was a recognized national symbol in
Canada since at least the mid 1850's with the
Maple Leaf Forever, available here
in PDF, being composed in 1867, for example). One
possible theory, I think unlikely, is that Joplin
named the piece to commemorate the Underground
Railway to Canada (discussed here
in Ragtime Music in Canada)
(Berlin, 1995:61).
Another theory connected to the composition, or at
least to the Maple Leaf Club, is that the "Maple
Leaf Club," which was owned by Will and Walker
Williams who were from London, Ontario, was named
for Canada's symbol: Timothy McGee, The Music of
Canada. New York: WW Norton, 1985. Berlin, on
the other hand, has a much more practical
explanation: Sedalia was a city whose streets were
lined with maple trees and there was a current vogue
in town to name things after leaves and trees:
Berlin, 1995:62.
Joplin also used arboreal and floral themes for
naming a number of his subsequent rags.
- During the time Joplin was in Sedalia, he is
believed to have married Belle Hayden, the widow of
Scott Hayden's brother: Berlin, 1995:84. However, the
couple separated around 1903 shortly after the death
of their infant daughter.
- Berlin (1995:85) notes that on
his departure from Sedalia in 1901, Joplin "was well
known locally as both a pianist and composer, was
quickly gaining nationwide fame as the composer of
the Maple Leaf Rag, and was soon to be known
as "the king of ragtime writers."
Time in St Louis (circa 1901 to
1907)
- Compared to Sedalia, St Louis in 1901 was a much
larger and more vibrant city. Berlin notes that
Joplin first moved to the city's red-light district
which was "a major center for the early development
of black Midwestern ragtime" (1995:89).
- This was a prolific time for Joplin, with a number
of his compositions being published in St Louis by
John Stark, who had also moved to St Louis.
- In 1903, Joplin filed a copyright application for
an opera called Guest of Honor, which
was briefly performed on tour, but unfortunately,
Joplin was unable to cover the payroll after a
certain point, and his possessions, including the
score to the opera, were seized, and to this date,
no known copy of Guest of Honor has
survived (Berlin, 1995:
Chapter 7).
- In 1904, the St
Louis World Fair (the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition) brought a number of ragtime pianists to
the area. It would have been an exciting time to
hear ragtime piano (although the Fair was not
without controversy because of the continuing
discrimination that blacks faced). Berlin, for
example, describes a "cutting contest" between Tom
Turpin and Louis Chauvin (Chauvin won) (1995:134).
- It is likely that Joplin wrote The Cascades
(below) to commemorate the
Cascades Gardens at the World Fair, pictured on the
cover of his sheet music (see below).
- Also in 1904, Joplin met a 19-year old woman,
Freddie Alexander, to whom he dedicated The
Chrysanthemum (below).
They were married shortly thereafter on June 14,
1904. After the marriage, the couple went to Sedalia
where Joplin performed. However, his new wife took
sick and eventually died of pneumonia on September
10, 1904. Berlin (1995:208)
has an interesting theory that Joplin may have
memorialized Freddie in the main character in his
opera Treemonisha.
- During the two and one half years following the
death of Freddie, Berlin (1995:161)
notes that Joplin's output was significantly
diminished with the publication of only three new
rags (Leola, Eugenia,
and The Nonpareil, all below), Bethena (below) and a number of less
successful compositions.
- In 1905, John Stark opened an office in New York
(Berlin, 1995:151).
However, it appears that Stark found the sheet music
industry in New York cutthroat and extremely
competitive since he only lasted in New York until
1910 (Berlin, 1995:195).
- Trivia: Joplin's Augustan
Club Waltzes (below)
should have been spelled "Augustain"
after the Augustain Club in Sedalia (Berlin, 1995:79-80). In
addition, Joplin's Bink's Waltz (below) should have been named
"Bing's" waltz, the nickname of the boy in whose
honor the piece was composed (Berlin, 1995:149).
Time in New York (1907 to 1917)
- Joplin moved to New York, likely in the summer of
1907.
- Berlin (1995:223-25)
discusses detailed research regarding Lottie Joplin,
who Joplin "married" (likely in a common law
marriage) sometime in the late 1910's. Lottie also
ran a boarding house and appears to have managed
some of Joplin's late career, being a partner in
Scott Joplin Music Publishing Ltd, which published
Magnetic Rag in 1914 (below). Lottie
survived Scott Joplin's death and continued to be
involved in the affairs of his estate by renewing
copyrights in his compositions. Berlin discusses
some of the litigation surrounding Joplin's estate
in Chapter 13 of his book.
- Joplin made contact with several new publishers in
New York, including:
- Joseph Stern, who published Gladious Rag
(1907) (below), Searchlight
Rag (1907) (below),
Stoptime Rag (1910) (below) and Scott
Joplin's New Rag (1912) (below);
- Joseph Daly, who published Rose Leaf Rag
(1907) (below); and,
- Seminary Music, who was the selling agent for
Joplin's piano exercises entitled School of
Ragtime (1908) (below)
and who also published Sugar Cane
(1908) (below), Pine
Apple Rag (1908) (below),
Wall Street Rag (1909) (below), Solace: A
Mexican Serenade (1909) (below), Pleasant
Moments: Ragtime Waltz (1909) (below), Country Club
(1909) (below), Paragon
Rag (1909) (below),
and Euphonic Sounds (1909) (below).
- It is likely that Joplin explored publishers other
than John Stark due in part to a growing rift
between the two men regarding Stark's reluctance to
pay royalties (Berlin, 1995:186).
- Late in 1907, it is believed that Joplin met with
Joseph Lamb in Stark's New
York store (Berlin, 1995:173).
Later Lamb visited Joplin and played several of his
rags. It is likely that Joplin played an influential
role in having Lamb's compositions published with
Stark. Evidence of this is Joplin being named as
"arranger" of Sensation (available here), although it
is likely that Lamb wrote and arranged the piece
himself.
- Despite his increasingly declining health, life in
New York was relatively good for Joplin, where he
was enjoying some public success (Berlin, 1995: 192):
In New York, he displayed a renewed vigor. In a
span of two and a half years he had sixteen
publications: twelve independent rags, one
collaborative rag, one syncopated waltz, one
habanera and one instruction manual. Many of these
publications were artistic successes, both
developing ideas introduced earlier and pointing
to new directions in ragtime.
- It is believed that Joplin
finished his opera, Treemonisha (see
below), in 1910. He
apparently approached a number of publishers,
including Stark, Seminary and Joseph Stern, each of
whom rejected his 230-page score. Joplin eventually
published the opera himself in 1911 (Berlin, 1995:198). More
information on Treemonisha is
available here;
the Library of Congress also has an online essay on
Treemonisha here.

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Left: Cover
page of dance "Frolic of the Bears" from Treemonisha.
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- Joplin was described as
depressed and morose by William Sullivan, a white
Canadian who was taking piano lessons from Joplin in
New York from about 1910 to 1912: Berlin (1995:213). Apparently he
was depressed over money, health and the
difficulties he was facing in getting Treemonisha
staged.
- Joplin's later rags became much more complex and
sophisticated, including Euphonic Sounds
(below), Paragon Rag
(below) and Stoptime
Rag (below), and
his final rag, Magnetic Rag (below). Berlin (1995:220) describes his
later works as "stretching the boundaries." For a
detailed analysis of Joplin's late rags, see Guy
Waterman's chapter entitled "Joplin's Late Rags: An
Analysis" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime: Its
History, Composers, and Music. New York:
Schirmer Books, 1985:232-42.
- Berlin (1995:233)
effectively summarizes Joplin's last years in New
York, a time when his compositions were growing in
complexity at the same time his health was seriously
declining:
Though the 46-year old Joplin was almost at the
end of his career, in seriously declining health,
he was not declining as a musician. He was still
master of his craft, at the height of his creative
powers. He was continuing to respond to his
musical environment, thinking in new ways,
creating a new type of ragtime. This was a
growing, dynamic composer betrayed by a failing
body.
- Joplin became quite sick in early 1917 and entered
Bellevue Hospital. On February 3, 1917, he was
transferred to the mental ward of Manhattan State
Hospital. He died there on April 1, 1917, at the age
of approximately 49 from "demential paralytica"
likely caused by syphillis: Berlin (1995:238).
- Stark published Reflection Rag (below), which Joplin likely
wrote in around 1907, as a tribute to Joplin after
Joplin died (Berlin, 1995:240).
- Joplin also achieved posthumous fame in a number
of other ways, including the staging of
Treemonisha on Broadway and other venues
(including a performance to be scheduled in
Toronto by Volcano Theatre likely sometime in
2022), having his music featured in the 1973 movie
The
Sting, being awarded a special
Bicentennial Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his
contribution to American music, having Billy Dee
Williams portray him in a 1977
movie about his life, and having his portrait
issued on an American stamp in 1983.
3) Sheet Music of Scott Joplin Compositions [top]
The sheet music below of Scott
Joplin compositions is set out roughly chronologically
into the following three sections: (a) Joplin
rags, marches and waltzes; (b) compositions
on which Joplin collaborated or arranged; and
(c) Joplin songs.
a) Joplin Rags, Marches and Waltzes [top]
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Scott Joplin.
The Great Crush Collision March.
Temple, TX: John R Fuller, 1896.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Harmony Club Waltzes.
Temple, TX: Robert Smith, 1896.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
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Scott
Joplin. Combination March.
Temple, TX: Robert Smith, 1896.
[view
sheet music] [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Original
Rags. Kansas City, MO: Carl
Hoffman Music, 1899.
[view sheet music]
Source: Duke
University, Historic American Sheet Music [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Maple
Leaf Rag. Sedalia, MO: John Stark
& Son, 1899.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Peacherine
Rag. St Louis, MO: John Stark
& Son, 1901.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
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Joplin, Scott.
Augustan Club Waltzes. St Louis,
MO: John Stark & Son, 1901.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. The Easy Winners: A
Ragtime Two Step. St Louis, MO:
Scott Joplin, 1901.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Cleopha. St
Louis, MO: S Simon, 1902.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. The Strenuous Life.
St Louis, MO: John Stark & Son, 1902.
[view
sheet music] [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. The Ragtime Dance Two
Step. St Louis, MO: John
Stark & Son, 1906.
[view
sheet music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. A Breeze From Alabama.
St Louis, MO: John Stark & Son, 1902.
[view
sheet music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Elite Syncopations.
St Louis, MO: John Stark & Son, 1902.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. March
Majestic. St Louis, MO: John
Stark & Son, 1902.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. The Entertainer.
St Louis, MO: John Stark & Co, 1902.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Johns
Hopkins University Levy Collection [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Weeping Willow.
St Louis, MO: Val A Reis Music Co, 1903.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Palm Leaf Rag: A Slow
Drag. New York: Victor Kremer Co,
1903.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. The Favorite.
Sedalia, MO: AW Perry & Sons, 1903.
[view
sheet music]
Source:Johns
Hopkins University Levy Collection
[top]
|
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Scott Joplin. The Sycamore: A Concert
Rag. Chicago, IL: Will Rossiter,
1904.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. The
Cascades: A Rag. St Louis, MO:
John Stark & Son, 1904.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
 |
Scott
Joplin. The Chrysanthemum.
St Louis, MO: John Stark & Son, 1904.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
 |
Scott
Joplin. Rosebud March. St
Louis, MO: John Stark & Son, 1905.
[view
sheet music] [top]
|
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Joplin, Scott. Bethena:
A Concert Waltz. St Louis, MO:
Bahnsen Music Co Ltd, 1905.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin.
Leola. St Louis, MO: American
Music Syndicate, 1905.
[view
sheet music] [top]
|
 |
Joplin, Scott. Binks'
Waltz. St Louis, MO: Bahnsen Music
Co Ltd, 1905.
[view
sheet music] [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Eugenia. Chicago,
IL: Will Rossiter, 1906.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin, Antoinette. March and
Two-Step. St Louis, MO: Stark
Music Co, 1906.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Johns
Hopkins University Levy Collection
[top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin.
Gladiolus Rag. New York: Joseph
W Stern, 1907.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
 |
Scott
Joplin. Searchlight Rag. New
York: Joseph W Stern, 1907.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Duke
University, Historic American Sheet Music [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. The Nonpareil. St
Louis, MO: Stark Music Co, 1907.
[view sheet
music] [top]
|
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Scott
Joplin. Rose Leaf Rag.
Boston, MA: Jos M Daly Music Pub Co,
1907.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. School
of Ragtime. New York: Scott
Joplin, 1908.
[view
sheet music] [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Fig Leaf Rag. St
Louis, MO: Stark Music Co, 1908.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin.
Sugar Cane. New York: Seminary
Music Co, 1908.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Pine
Apple Rag. New York: Seminary
Music Co, 1908.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Johns
Hopkins University Levy Collection [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin.
Wall Street Rag. New York:
Seminary Music Co, 1909.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Scott Joplin. Solace:
A Mexican Serenade. New York:
Seminary Music Co, 1909.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
 |
Joplin, Scott.
Pleasant Moments: Ragtime Waltz.
New York: Seminary Music Co, 1909.
[view sheet
music] [Listen
to Connorized Roll purportedly played by
Scott Joplin] [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Country
Club. New York: Seminary Music Co,
1909.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Paragon
Rag. New York: Seminary
Music Co, 1909.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin. Euphonic
Sounds. New York: Seminary Music
Co, 1909.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress [top]
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Scott Joplin. Stoptime
Rag. New York: Joseph W Stern,
1910.
[view sheet
music] [top]
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Scott
Joplin. Treemonisha. New York:
Scott Joplin, 1911.
[view
preface and Table of Contents] (5
pages, PDF). The Library of Congress has the
complete score online, available here.
The vocal score
to the left can be purchased here
[top]
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Scott Joplin. Scott
Joplin's New Rag. New York: Joseph
W Stern, 1912.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
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Scott Joplin. Magnetic
Rag. New York: Scott Joplin Music
Publishing Co, 1914.
[view
sheet music] [top]
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Scott Joplin.
Reflection Rag. St Louis, MO:
Stark Music Co, 1917.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin. Silver Swan Rag.
Trust of Lottie Joplin Thomas, 1971.
Work still
protected by copyright. Available in Vera
Brodsky Lawrence, ed., Scott Joplin:
Complete Piano Works (New York:
New York Public Library, 1971).
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b) Joplin Collaborations and
Arrangements [top]
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Scott Joplin (and Scott Hayden). Felicity
Rag. St Louis, MO: Stark Music Co,
1911.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Johns
Hopkins University Levy Collection [top]
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Scott Joplin (and Louis Chauvin). Heliotrope
Bouquet: A Slow Drag Two-Step. St
Louis, MO: Stark Music Printing and Pub Co,
1907.
[view sheet
music] [top]
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Scott Joplin (and Scott Hayden). Kismet
Rag. St Louis, MO: Stark Music
Company, 1913.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin (and Arthur Marshall). Lily
Queen. New York: Willis Woodward,
1907.
[view sheet
music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin (and Scott Hayden). Something
Doing. St Louis, MO: Val A Reis
Music Co, 1903.
[view
sheet music]
Source:
Cover from Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin
(and Scott Hayden). Sunflower Slow Drag.
St Louis, MO: John Stark and Son, 1900.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
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Scott Joplin
(and Arthur Marshall). Swipesy Cake
Walk. St Louis, MO: John Stark and
Son, 1900.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Indiana
University Sheet Music Collections [top]
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c) Joplin Songs [top]
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Scott Joplin. Please
Say You Will. Syracuse, NY: ML
Mantell, 1895.
[view
sheet music]
Source:
Photocopy from the New York
State Library [top]
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Scott Joplin. A Picture Of
Her Face. Syracuse, NY: Scott
Joplin, 1895.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin. I Am Thinking of My
P*ckaninny Days (lyrics by Henry
Jackson). St Louis, MO: Thiebes Sterlin Music
Co, 1901.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Little Black Baby
(lyrics by Louis Armstrong Bristol). Chicago,
IL. 1903.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin. Maple Leaf Rag
(song) (words by Sydney Brown). St Louis, MO:
John Stark & Son, 1903.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin. Sarah Dear
(lyrics by Henry Jackson). St Louis, MO:
Bahnsen Music Co, 1905.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. When Your Hair is Like
the Snow (words by Owen
Spendthrift). St Louis, MO: Owen Spendthrift,
1907.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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Scott Joplin, arranger. Composed by Harry
LaMertha. Snoring Sampson: A Quarrel in
Ragtime. St Louis, MO: University
Music Publishing Co, 1907.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Pine
Apple Rag (song) (J Snyder). New
York, 1910.
[view
sheet music]
Source: University
of Mississippi Libraries [top]
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Scott Joplin. Lovin' Babe.
1911.
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Scott Joplin. A Real Slow Drag. 1913
(excerpt from Treemonisha).
[view sheet music] [orchestral version]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division
[top]
|
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Scott Joplin. Frolic
of the Bears. New York: Scott
Joplin Music Publishing Co, 1915.
[view
sheet music]
Source: Library
of Congress, Music Division [top]
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4) Recordings
of Scott Joplin Compositions [top]
Set out below is an experimental
.MP3 of me playing Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag. I
hope to add more recordings in the future.
There are also a number of widely
available commercial recordings of Scott Joplin
compositions:
Commercial Recordings of Scott
Joplin Compositions:
Set out below is only a select list of Joplin
recordings; there are many, many more available.
- Guido Nielsen, Scott Joplin: The
Complete, Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs.
Basta Records, 2004. Purchase details here.
- John Arpin, John Arpin Plays Scott
Joplin, Vol 1 and 2. Purchase details
here.
- Joshua Rifkin, Scott Joplin Piano Rags.
Nonesuch Records, 1990. Purchase details here.
- Richard Zimmerman, Scott Joplin: His
Complete Works. Bescol Records, 1994.
Purchase details here.
I hope to shortly order the
following CD from Deutsche Grammophon, a recording
from 2005 of Joplin's Treemonisha:
- Gunther Schuller, conductor.
Treemonisha (Deutsche Grammophon).
Purchase details here.
MIDI Recordings of Scott
Joplin Compositions
A number of ragtime music enthusiasts have made
MIDI recordings of Scott Joplin compositions
available for free on the Internet:
5) Bibliography [top]
- Berlin, Edward. "A Biography of
Scott Joplin (c 1867-1917)" (1998) (available online
here).
- Berlin, Edward. "Eleanor Stark:
From Moszkowski to Classic Ragtime" in Music,
American Made: Essays in Honor of John Graziano.
Sterling Heights, MI: Harmonie Park Press, 2011.
- Berlin, Edward. King
of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era, 2nd ed.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2016 [book details from edwardaberlin.com/works.htm].
- Berlin,
Edward. Ragtime: A Musical and Cultural
History. Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press, 1980.
- Blesh, Rudi & Harriet Grossman Janis. They
All Played Ragtime, 4th ed. New York: Oak
Publications, 1966 [Internet Archive version].
- Curtis, Susan. Dancing to
a Black Man's Tune. Columbia, MO: University
of Missouri Press, 1994 [Internet Archive version].
- Frew, Timothy. Scott Joplin
and the Age of Ragtime. New York: Friedman
Fairfax, 1996.
- Jasen, David & Gene
Jones."Chapter 1: Scott Joplin" in Black
Bottom Stomp: Eight Masters of Ragtime and Early
Jazz. New York: Rutledge, 2002.
- Jasen, David & Gene Jones. That
American Rag: The Story of Ragtime from Coast to
Coast. New York: Schirmer Books, 2000 [Internet Archive version].
- Jasen, David & Trebor
Jay Tichenor. Rags and Ragtime: A Musical
History. New York: Dover Publications, 1978 [Internet Archive version].
- Ping-Robbins, Nancy. Scott
Joplin: A Guide to Research. New York: Garland
Pub, 1998.
- Reed, Addison. "Scott Joplin:
Pioneer" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime: Its History,
Composers, and Music. New York: Schirmer
Books, 1985:117-36 [Internet Archive version].
- Total Joplin: The Complete
Works of Scott Joplin (CD-ROM, Sunhawk, 1996).
Introduction by Trebor Tichenor. Introduces the user
to the life and music of America's ragtime composer
Scott Joplin. Includes the complete collection of
scores and digitally restored sheet music covers,
rarely published Williams-Walker prints, a
multimedia review of Joplin's life, and more than
five hours of classic ragtime hits.
- Waterman, Guy. "Joplin's Late
Rags: An Analysis" in JE Hasse, ed, Ragtime: Its
History, Composers, and Music. New York:
Schirmer Books, 1985:232-42 [Internet Archive version].
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