“So much influential music was created here, but it always gets skipped from the narrative.”Īs a genre developed by Black musicians, ragtime’s complicated legacy is tied up with racism. “Missouri is such an underdog in terms of musical history,” Müller says. They write new compositions, and teach the style’s tradition and Show-Me roots. They host radio shows, such as Ragtime with Joy on Columbia’s KOPN. They organize festivals, with one of the most popular ones in Sedalia. Ragtime still has its devoted, modern-day fans - a small community of performers, historians and enthusiasts spread across the world. Missouri is a crucial part of ragtime’s history. It’s the quintessential ragtime song, and Joplin wrote and published it in Sedalia. This “ragged” rhythm gave the genre its name, and it’s the same quality that made Joplin’s 1899 “Maple Leaf Rag” a nationwide success - its sheet music sold over half a million copies by 1909. He’s drawn by ragtime’s definitive feature: a syncopated, off-beat melody paired with a bouncy on-beat bass. When he’s not teaching visitors about ragtime music, he’s performing it on trumpet in early jazz bands. Müller works at the site, giving tours and preserving the home’s history. Now, the building is named the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site and serves as a museum and time capsule from another era, when streetcars ran the streets and people packed rows of houses in an increasingly segregated neighborhood. He composed more than 40 rags, including the popular song “The Entertainer,” which was likely written in the cramped quarters of this home. This is ragtime, the American musical phenomenon at the turn of the 20th century that has its roots in Missouri.įrom 1901 to 1903, this brick building was the home of Scott Joplin, who’s commonly dubbed the King of Ragtime. The piano sings to life with a catchy, tumbling melody set against the even one-two beat of the bass. Müller sets his feet on two large flat pedals and cycles at a quick and steady rate. The sheet is stamped with a label: “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin. He places it in a compartment above the keys of a player piano and hooks the rolls into place. Müller pulls from a stack of slim boxes and unsheathes a paper roll punched with holes. In a weathered but restored brick building in St. The music is still toe-tapping today but the music was born out of an oppressive time.Įvan Musil wrote and Xcaret Nunez produced this story, which is a collaboration between KBIA and Vox Magazine. Missouri, known as the heartland of Ragtime, is a big part of the ragtime story. The music known as ragtime first swept the nation more than 100 years ago.

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