Maple Leaf Rag

A 1899 ragtime piano composition by Scott Joplin, distinguished by syncopated melodies over a steady bass and chord pattern. Its commercial success helped establish ragtime as a national musical style.

Syncopation: A rhythmic pattern that emphasizes beats or subdivisions normally considered weak. Its displaced accents create the piece’s characteristic rhythmic tension.
Scott Joplin: An American composer and pianist known as a leading figure in classic ragtime. Joplin composed and published the piece in 1899.
Ragtime revival: A renewed public interest in ragtime music, especially during the 1970s. The composition gained a new audience through recordings and performances during the revival.
Maple Leaf Club: A social club in Sedalia, Missouri, associated with the name Scott Joplin gave his rag. The composition’s title is commonly connected to this club, where Joplin performed.
Stride piano: A piano style in which the left hand alternates bass notes and chords across a wide interval. Unlike the piece’s more restrained accompaniment, stride piano makes the left hand’s leaps a defining feature.
John Stark: An American music publisher who issued works by Scott Joplin and other ragtime composers. Stark published the piece and helped bring it to a national audience.
The Sting: A 1973 American crime film whose soundtrack prominently featured Scott Joplin’s ragtime music. The film’s use of Joplin’s music renewed interest in ragtime and his compositions.
Maple Leaf Rag sheet music: The published piano score of Scott Joplin’s 1899 composition. The score preserves the written form from which the piece’s performances developed.
Ragtime form: A sectional structure used in ragtime compositions, often built from repeated strains in related keys. The piece’s sequence of contrasting strains gives its syncopated themes a larger architecture.
Sedalia, Missouri: A city in central Missouri where Scott Joplin worked and developed his musical career. Joplin’s association with Sedalia connects the composition to the city’s ragtime scene.

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