Carlson 1
Natalie Carlson
Professor Vince Fejeran
Jazz
11 March 2012
Word Count 954
Jazz Piano Styles
As a little girl, I was always enthralled with my grandparents’ player piano. My favorite
songs to “play” were the old style Boogie Woogie, Ragtime, and Stride piano styles. It’s the
music that made everybody get up and dance around, and for good reason. There are only a few
styles of piano playing that are prominent Jazz that stand out as prominent styles: Ragtime,
Stride piano, and Boogie Woogie.
The Ragtime style in jazz was only popular for about 10 years, 1900-1910, but was
extremely influential to the other eras and piano styles preceding it. Ragtime, was originally
referred to as “Ragged Time”, named for its syncopation in which the “overall beat is either
played or implied” (History of Ragtime). Syncopation is putting an emphasis on beats that are
unexpected, or the off beats. The Ragtime style of piano playing also made syncopation popular
throughout the rest of Jazz music (Gridley 35). The most famous pianist and composer that came
out of this era was Scott Joplin. It is said that Joplin was instructed by a German music teacher,
who put emphasis on teaching European music, including classical music and operas
(ScottJoplin.org). As a result, the complexities of European music can be heard throughout his
music today. In August of 1899, one of the most famous of his pieces was published, “The
Maple Leaf Rag” (Scottjoplin.org). This song is still considered today be an icon in music. The
song incorporates “African American polyrhythm… harmonies and [the] structure of a concert
Carlson 2
march”, making it a difficult piece to play, but a fun tune to listen to (DeVeaux and Giddins 73).
Listening to this piece, one can hear a multitude of different things happening at once. If the left
hand was only played, one would recognize the beat of the song very easily. With the right hand
playing along however, it is a bit harder to hear it because the right hand tends to play off, and
around, the beat of the song, making this song a difficult one to learn. Ragtime was not just
confined to the piano, however. The style of playing was also mirrored in bands, singers, and
banjo players (Gridley 39). One thing about playing Ragtime music however was that it left little
room for improvisation, making it hard to stay popular with the ever changing Jazz music
(Gridley 39).
One way of keeping up with the changes in Jazz through the piano was the development
of the Stride Piano style in the 1920’s. Stride piano actually developed out of the techniques
used in the Ragtime era, so they are very closely related. The style actually gets its name from
the long strides one has to make in the left hand to reach the notes on the particular beats.
Dictonary.com defines Stride Piano as “A style of jazz piano playing in which the right hand
plays the melody while the left hand plays a single bass note or octave on the strong beat and a
chord on the weak beat. . .” (dictionary.com). James P. Johnson is considered to be the father of
Stride Piano, and influenced many other later piano players. One of his most famous songs that
he composed was the “Charleston” song, the most recognizable song of the 1920s, which
demonstrates the Stride Piano technique that he uses in this composition (Deveaux and Giddins
130). This song is a good example of Stride Piano because the song’s bass notes that are played
are spaced out and octave or more for each beat it plays, which is the definition of Stride Piano.
The third style of jazz piano playing was Boogie Woogie during the 1940s. A prominent
musician during this time period was Pine Top Smith and his song “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie”.
Carlson 3
Boogie Woogie style was like Stride Piano style in the fact that it was a derivative of Stride
Piano and Ragtime piano styles. Boogie Woogie however was a blues style of playing that held
“insistently repeated melodies”, so that the piece sounded as though it had an 8 beat feel to it
instead of the 4 beat feel (DeVeaux and Giddens 196). Pine Top Smith’s song, “Pine Tope’s
Boogie Woogie” displays a lively beat, with an accompanying upbeat melody. The notes that are
played in the left hand switches between being played like a walking bass, and being played like
Stride piano. If the song was altered, so that the melody being played in the right hand was
eliminated and only the bass melody was standing, one would be able to pick out the actual beats
in the song, as well as the added in eighth and sixteenth notes fairly easily. It’s the added pulses
or beats in the measures that make it a classic Boogie Woogie style piano playing. Mark
Gridley suggests that the style of Boogie Woogie actually surfaced in 1912 in the south, and
continued to grow and develop from there (Gridley 73).
All in all, throughout the Jazz eras, there have been a lot of progressive changes to music,
especially piano styles. Like Jazz music in general, one has always built on the previous style of
playing, with musicians adding to different techniques of playing each style.
Carlson 4
Works Cited
Berlin, Edward A.. "Biography & History of Scott Joplin." Scott Joplin International Ragtime
Foundation in Sedalia, MO. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
Deveaux, Scott, and Gary Giddins. Jazz. New York: Norton, 2009. Print.
Gridley, Mark C. Jazz Styles. New Jersery: Pearson, 2009. Print.
"History of Ragtime." American Memory from the Library of Congress. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
"Stride Piano." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.