Paris Ragtime

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http://youtube.com/watch?v=g1bJCsm0pD4

“Paris Ragtime” … a new ragtime composition for solo piano, inspired, written, and performed during a stay in Paris, France. • What makes ragtime “ragtime”? • The answer is syncopation. Ragtime music came from the African American community in the United States, post the Civil War though its roots go back even before that. It comes from dance music and vocal music common in those communities who adopted piano and guitar as their primary instruments. • The term “ragtime” comes from “ragged time” as frequently the melody accents are off beat – essentially syncopated in some pattern as compared to the metric beat found in the accompaniment of the music. The genre evolved via the piano to a stride style in the left hand (notes played in octaves alternating with typically triadic chords in the first or second inversion). • This music influence early blues, various early 1900s classical composers (Eric Satie, Igor Stravinski, etc.) and led directly to the stride jazz that evolved in the 1920 and 40s which in turn led to the rise of modern jazz, bebop, etc. Post 1920, Ragtime fell into obscurity but went through a couple of revivals including the substantial revival spurred by the Oscar winning film “The Sting” in the 1970s. • That film leveraged the work of perhaps the greatest Ragtime composer of all time, Scott Joplin. His work was almost unchanged by the film’s composer, Marvin Hamlisch, who was awarded an Oscar for the film’s soundtrack. Joplin’s music anchored both the era, and the emotions convey by the film’s actors. • Since then, Ragtime music has been used in a variety of films, TV shows and in video games, particularly those with a steam punk setting. It sets the mood and era of scenes so definitively! • Joplin was actually one of three great Ragtime composers, the other two being Joseph Lamb and James Scott. Between them, they wrote hundreds of what became known as “rags” which leveraged several different styles and sub-genres (Cakewalks, Slow Drags, Ragtime Songs, etc.). Their music was played by the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, James P Johnson, W.C. Handy, etc. – the musicians that brought blues and jazz into the world. • Thanks to bands traveling on the great ocean liners of that era, Ragtime also jumped the Atlantic Ocean and became popular in Western Europe, particularly in the UK and, of course, in Paris where jazz has always been a major pursuit of the listening and dancing public. • I have played stride piano and Ragtime piano almost since first touching a piano keyboard. My father played stride extremely well and I picked up the rudiments of the style quickly from him. I’ve never understood why he never played Ragtime, but I suspect it is because when he was a teenager, the great stride jazz pianists were all the rage and Ragtime was therefore “not cool”. • For me though, it is all cool! • And so, I woke up one morning here in Paris with a new Ragtime theme going through my mind, sat down at my Nord Piano and recorded it before I even made my morning tea. It was fresh and fun and took on a life of its own … quickly growing to 7 minutes in length. I trust you’ll enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed writing and playing it! • • MUSIC INSIGHTS: • This rag, liked most, is in 4/4 time. It uses an AABB structure – so it is a relatively simple Ragtime composition. It is scored in the key of C major and leverages a few chords outside the usual triadic I, IV and V chords. These add the excitement and lift to the music. • The melody is typical Ragtime with accents off beat, of course. There are several different Ragtime styles used I the melodic development. I also accelerate the tempo smoothly from start to finish. This gives a solid build to the music. • It is, of course, a positive, happy, and motivating piece of music. If it had lyrics, they would be about moving forward, perhaps with the one you love, as you walk by the Seine and enjoy the City of Light! • • VIDEO INSIGHTS: • I kept the video quite simple: scenes from the 1900s through 1930s – typical of the US at the time you would have heard Ragtime and stride piano. • • Please do indicate if you like the music and/or music video – it would encourage me to release other new works. Also, please do subscribe to this channel so that you get announcements of all future releases. • • “Paris Ragtime” was recorded using Ableton Live with final instrument voices from sample libraries from Spitfire Audio, and Native Instruments in Paris, mid-October 2024. The post processing and master mix was done with iZotope Ozone 9. • • At some time in the future, it will be released for streaming. • • Be sure to subscribe here and follow-on social media or signup for the weekly newsletter through the Solo Hands website (if you sign up for our newsletter, you will also receive our free eBook, Musical Notes – Composing Arranging): • http://www.solohands.com • Facebook: @SoloHandsMusic • Instagram: @SoloHandsMusic

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