Scott Joplin
King of rag time
“The entertainer”..
Scott Joplin was born on November 24 in Texas. He grew up in a musical
home. Joplin’s mother played the banjo and sang while his father played a
fiddle, which is any kind of stringed instrument. Scott learned to play a lot of
instruments, but his most favorite instrument to play is the piano. Joplin’s
family cant afford a piano because they are very poor so he would play the
piano at the place his mother is working at.
Early life.
When Scott Joplin was 11 years old, a local German piano teacher recognized his
talent and said he had a gift of playing the piano and gave him FREE piano
lessons. Before he knew it, he was composing his own music! In his music, he
mixed up African songs with melodies of classical music from Europe. Joplin
used his left hand to play a steady while the other hand plays a fast melody. A lot
of people loved to listen to “ rag time music” because of its entertainment. Some
people thought his music is horrible and should be wiped out!
Piano lessons
Scott Joplin went around USA composing, playing and teaching rag time
music. He also got an agreement with w a music publisher that he will get 1
penny for each sheet of music for the song“ maple leaf rag” that was sold. It
was very upsetting that he only made 4 dollars in a year!!
All grown up
Joplin composed over 50 pieces of music when he was alive. But by the time
he had died, people were forgetting about him. This is what he sad: “… when
I’m dead 25 years, people are going to begin to recognize me.” his predictions
were so close. 56 years after his death, a movie played one of his songs and
many people came to watch it. That’s when Scott Joplin was becoming famous
once more.
Joplin’s death
I admire Scott Joplin because his song were very entertaining and was very
catchy. My favorite pieces are the “entertainer” and “rag time”. He reminds
me of myself because he loves the piano just like me.
I admire Scott Joplin because….
If Scott Joplin was alive these are the questions that I would ask him:
How old are you?
What is your favorite piece you made?
Are you happy with you life?
How much money do you have now?
Do you like being a composer?
questions