These roving composers include Scott Joplin, Charles Hunter, Thomas Turpin, Louis Chauvin, Charles L. 3 Itinerant pianists, who traversed the South and Midwest, eventually congregated in Missouri to produce a compilation of core ragtime compositions. Ragtime seemed to emanate primarily from the southern and Midwestern states, with the majority of activity occurring in Missouri. The popularity and demand for ragtime also boosted sales of pianos and greatly swelled the ranks of the recording industry. 2 By the early 1900s, ragtime flooded the music publishing industry. In 1899, Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag was published, which became a great hit. The emergence of mature ragtime is usually dated to 1897, the year in which several important early rags (musical compositions in ragtime) were published.

“Piano Professors” journeyed throughout the river valley “thumping” in all night cafes, saloons, pool halls, and sporting houses in cities such as Sedalia and St. 1 Sometimes referred to as “jig piano” or “piano thumping,” ragtime originated in African American communities in the Mississippi Valley. Its cardinal trait is a syncopated or “ragged” rhythm. Ragtime is a musical style that enjoyed its peak popularity between 18.

Rag time