Title: The evolution of Ragtime piano into Novelty, Stride and Jazz
1The evolution of Ragtime piano into Novelty,
Stride and Jazz
- Tom Cortese
- Composer, performer, and collector of rare and
unusual piano music - (Research Scientist)
- (Innovative Computing Lab)
- (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
2Outline
- Musical terminology (?)
- Some trends in piano music history (?)
- Ragtime (?)
- Novelty piano (?)
- A musical progression and examples (?)
- A few ragtime and novelty tunes
3Some musical terms
- Notes
- Scales and arpeggios
- Intervals
- Chords
- Tonality
- Melody / Accompaniment
- Improvisation
4A grab-bag of musical ideas
- Intervals and tunings
- Melody and accompaniment
- Dynamics
- Harmonic richness (unique notes)
- Syncopation and Polyrhythm
- Repetition, Call and Answer
5More on Intervals
- Unison (11)
- Octave (21)
- Fifth (32)
- Major Third (43)
- Minor Third (54)
- Sixth
- Fourth, Second
- Seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth
6Experiments by Classical Composers
- Paul Hindeminth (Ragtime, from 1922)
- Erwin Schulhoff (Toccata sur Kitten on the
Keys, Charleston) - Samuel Barber (Blues, from Excursions)
- Leopold Godowsky (A Little Tango Rag, from
Triakontameron) - Claude Debussy (Golliwogs Cakewalk, the
Little Nigar, Etude pour les Quatres) - Conlon Nancarrow (Boogie-Woogie Suite)
- Igor Stravinsky (Jazz anybody know more
details?)
7A Birds-Eye View
- For centuries, classical music has become
increasingly complex - Gregorian Chants
- Baroque (e.g., Bach, Mozart)
- Romantic (e.g., Chopin, Brahms)
- Impressionistic (e.g., Debussy, Ravel)
- 20th-Century (e.g., Honneger, Dutilleux)
8View from a different birds eye
- Here is another example of musical development
March (e.g., Sousa)
Polka
Stride (e.g., Johnson, Waller)
Waltz
Jazz (e.g., Brubeck, Corea)
Blues
Boogie-Woogie (e.g., Ammons, Lewis)
Novelty Piano (e.g., Confrey, Mayerl)
Ragtime (e.g., Joplin, Lamb, Scott)
9Related Artistic Developments
- The development of instrumental music is
intertwined with many aspects of popular culture - Dance (e.g., ballet)
- Spiritual (e.g., dixieland funerals, camp
meetings) - Theater (e.g., Vaudeville, Broadway musicals)
- Home player pianos and piano rolls
- Cinema (e.g., silent movies, soundtracks)
- Radio / Television (e.g., commercials, MTV)
- PCs / Internet (e.g., home studios, Napster,
iPod) - Live vs. Recorded
10Narrowing the focus What is Ragtime?
- The first truly American form of music, with
distinct styles from different regions - The only kind of music allowed by law in any
saloon in any Western movie - An instrumental, syncopated march
- The music they used to play during silent
movies - A combination of African polyrhythms and
European musical traditions - That stuff you hear in Shakeys Pizza
- Oh, you mean The Sting?
- The soundtrack of brothels? Thats not real
music - (pulling iPod or cell-phone out of ear) huh?
11A recipe for Novelty Piano
- Start with ragtime
- Season the left hand octaves with tenths
- Relax the constraints of the traditional oom-pah
left hand - Add 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, and augmented chords
- Stir in some whole-tone and chromatic scales
- Stop for a break once in a while
- Add a pinch of two-hand rhythmic effects
- Consider using the piano to imitate other things
12An idealized musical progression
- March, Polka, Cake-walk
- Left octaves, mostly on beat, slow changes
- Right straight or dotted, no syncopation, no
breaks, simpler harmony - Ragtime
- Left octaves on beat, chords off beat (oom-pah),
slow changes, usually not fast - Right straight or dotted, syncopation, no
breaks, simpler harmony - AABACCDD structure is similar to classical Rondo
format
13An idealized musical progression (cont.)
- Waltz (digression)
- Like Ragtime, except three beats per measure
- Hemiola effect used by classical composers
- Tango (digression)
- Left like Ragtime, but syncopated
- Right can be syncopated
- Boogie-Woogie (digression)
- Left Driving, repetitive, rhythmic, pulsing,
usually fast - Right Syncopated, improvised, polyrhythm
14An idealized musical progression (cont.)
- Blues (digression)
- Actually fairly similar to Boogie-Woogie with a
different left hand, and often much slower - Stride
- Left Oom-pah, faster changes, walking bass
- Right can be syncopated, more complex harmony
- Novelty Piano
- Complex harmony, fast tempo, syncopation,
hemiola, chromatic runs, written breaks,
polyrhythm, two-hand effects, impressions,
15An idealized musical progression (cont.)
- Walking Bass
- Like Stride, without the chords (opposite ends of
a continuum) - Can be fully improvised, within the rather loose
constraints of original song structure - Is conceptually very similar to the baroque
two-part invention! - Modern Jazz
- Can be fully improvised, within the rather loose
constraints of original song structure - IntroSolosOutro format is conceptually very
similar to the theme and variations format
16Novelty piano characteristics
- Trains (rhythm, whistle)
- Reality impressions (chimes, music box, etc)
- Unusual harmony (whole tone, chromatic, parallel
7ths, 9ths, 11ths, etc) - Instrument impressions (banjo, bagpipe, etc)
- Unusual rhythm (swing feel, or steady beat with
accents in unexpected places) - Fast breaks (Liszt)
- Often fast tempo
17Some Novelty Piano Composers
- Leroy Anderson
- Roy Bargy
- Rube Bloom
- Hans Bund
- Zez Confrey
- Raie da Costa
- Kurt Engel
- Ernst Fischer
- Gerd Giese
- Jaroslav Jezek
- Werner Klein
- Billy Mayerl
- Fred Peltzer
- Lothar Perl
- Eric Plessow
- Ethel Ponce
- Lee Sims
- Otto Stolzenwald
- Dana Suesse
- R. Wismar
(Highlighted in red)
18Grace and Beauty (1909)by James Scott
I A A B B A C C D D
- Intro Singing notes
- A Modified oom-pah left
- B Call and answer, tremelos
- C Call and answer
- D Call and answer, fast chord changes near end
19Original Rags (1899)picked by Scott Joplin
20Gladiolus Rag (1907)by Scott Joplin
21Maple Leaf Rag (1899)by Scott Joplin
- Make-believe Rag by Janis Joplin
22Virtuoso Ragby Johnny Guarnieri
A A B B A C C D D E D ? A A O
- A Even eighths right, stride left, rapid chord
changes - B Like A, with tenths on repeat
- C Unusual key change, breaks
- D Main section
- E Temporary reprieve from fast tempo
- ? Short bridge
- O Extended coda ending with octave scales left
23Sonniger Morgen (1934)by Ernst Fischer
I A A B B A C C A A B B A O
- Intro Fourths, harmony
- A Fourths, call and answer, pah-oom
- B Richer harmony, pah-oom
- C Parallel descending tenths, technically
challenging - Outro Like a coda in classical music
24Alerta!by Ernesto Nazareth
I A A B B I A C C I A
- Intro Novelty-style break
- A Basically ragtime, with slightly modified
oom-pah left - B Lots of syncopation right, modified oom-pah
left - C Trio section syncopation, use of high register
25Mittsommerzeit (Midsummer Time)by Ernst Fischer
I A A B B A C C I A A
- A Fourths right, Tenths left, lilting rhythm
- B Relatively slight meandering from A
- C Unusual key change, rich harmony, descending
9ths - Intro Dramatic change back to intro with no
bridge between sections
26Sweet William (1938)by Billy Mayerl
I A A B B A O
- Intro Ninth chords
- A Two voices right, large strides, pah-oom left
- B Scales and thirds right, subdued oom-pah left
- Outro Short coda
27Kitten on the Keys (1921)by Zez Confrey
I A A B B I A C C
- Intro Parallel fourths, swing feel, odd leaps
- A Fourths!! Modified oom-pah left
- B Unusual key change. Similar to classic
ragtime, except for fourths - C Scherzo, fourths, syncopation, kitten on keys
impression
28Bugatti Step (1931)by Jaroslav Jezek
I A A ? B B ? A O
- Intro Fourths, two-hand effect, rhythm games,
chromatic, parallel seventh chords - A Rich harmony, large strides, break with
hemiola, chromatic, accents - B Parallel fourths, oom-pah left hand, tenths on
repeat - Outro Hemiola
- ? Short bridges between sections
29Ragtime Nightingale (1915)by Joseph Lamb
I A A B B A C C ? B
- A Based on Chopins Revolutionary Etude (minor
key is somewhat unusual in classic ragtime) - B Subdued oom-pah
- C Lighter, trio
- ? Short bridge connecting two sections
30Baltimore Todoloby Eubie Blake
A A B B A ? C C A O
- A Rapid chord changes, singing notes right,
tenths left - B Singing notes right, oom-pah left
- ? Short bridge between sections
- C Singing notes right, oom-pah left
- O Short coda ending
31Thank you for attending!
Questions? Discussion? Wanna hear Tom play a
few ragtime and novelty piano tunes?
32Extra ideas
- Popular / Classical (Gershwin, Gottschalk)
- International (Nazareth, Fischer, Jezek,
Gottschalk) - Jelly Roll Morton
- Alberti bass and ragtime Oom-pah
- Blues harmonic structure and baroque music
- Trills (harpsichord) and shakes