Ragtime is a style of composed piano music that flourished from 1890 to about 1915. It was developed primarily by African American pianists who travelled in the Midwest and south playing in saloons and dance halls. Not long after it originated, ragtime became a nationally popular style that reached millions of people – both black and white – through sheet music, player pianos, ragtime songs and arrangements for dance and marching bands.

Ragtime piano music is generally in duple meter (24) and is performed at a moderate march tempo. The pianist’s right hand plays a highly syncopated melody, while the left hand steadily maintains the beat with an “oom-pah” accompaniment. A ragtime piece usually consists of several melodies that are similar in character. It takes such forms as AA-BB-A-CC-DD or intro-AA-BB-CC-DD-EE. Although the forms of ragtime are derived from European marches and dances, it rhythms are rooted in African American folk music.

Early jazz musicians often used ragtime melodies as a spring board for their improvisations. The syncopations, steady beat, and piano style of ragtime were an important legacy for jazz. 

The acknowledged “king of ragtime” was Scott Joplin (1868-1917), a composer and pianist whose father had been a slave. Joplin was trained in classical music and wrote a ballet and two operas, as well as many piano rags, the term often used for a ragtime composition.

Maple Leaf Rag is a classic example of Ragtime. It was named after the saloon in Missouri where Joplin worked as a pianist. The piece lasts about 3 minutes and has the form AA-BB-A-CC-DD. Each section is exactly 16 bars in length.