The Entertainer Analysis Essay

Scott Joplin helped to shape music, in the past and in the present. Joplin’s works were composed with both classical and African-American techniques, which showed a new type of music the world had yet to see. Joplin helped to not only develop ragtime music, but also laid the foundation for the future of jazz music.

Scott Joplin was a composer and pianist of ragtime who was born in the late 1860s near the border of Texas. He learned to play the piano as a young adult and started to travel with his amazing talent while he was young. He is known as the king of ragtime during his generation. He is famous for writing 44 ragtime pieces during his lifetime. He wrote one ballet and two operas as well, and one of his pieces called “Maple Leaf Rag”, eventually was one of the most well-known ragtime pieces of the time. Joplin moved to Missouri to teach piano. Julius Weiss tutored Scott Joplin when he was a young boy. Joplin began to be introduced to classical and folk music from her. He taught several people like Arthur Marshall and Brun Campell to compose ragtime music there. He eventually died later in his life in the city of New York in 1917 at the age of 49.

The set used for Vernon God Little was highly symbolic and simplistic; when we walked into the theatre we could visually see that there were flowers, cards and memorable items attached on the audiences seats above our heads, which already created a sombre atmosphere around the theatre.

The I chord confuses the tonal direction becasuse the listener expects the ii to be followed by V and then I. This is even more confusing because the scale that accompanies the I chord implies V (the chord the listener wants to hear). The next bar rounds off this cadential prolongation (ii-V-I) but the exposition does not yet end. The arrival to I does not occur until beat three of the bar. The first two beats create even more prolongation as they nearly modulate. And even after this, the exposition is not done. There is a two bar codetta (a one bar figure played twice, the second time with variation) before the strong V7-I cadence with a C pedal tone. This is the first very strong cadence since the start of the closing material. Since the cadence at the end of the exposition is to C without any hint of F as a tonic, the Developement begins in C. In fact, it is clearly in C as its pick-ups are a C arpeggio and the first bar looks and sounds like I and shows no indication of a ‘Bb’ or any other scale alteration. The opening of the developement is also a textural change but seems to resemble old material in its melody. Both the first theme and the second theme have similar figures to the new material. The developement starts with tonal movement in each of the first two measures, I in the first measure and ii6 in the second. In the third bar the harmonic rythym increases with a I64 for the first two beats and a V7 in

0:00- The beginning of the song we hear a very slow tempo. There are a piano and digital effects. The beginning is marked by a piano solo that creates a very dramatic tone. The digital effects help build up the suspension before the singing begins. The piano accompanied by the digital affects gives the beginning of the song a polyphonic texture. The beginning of the song is important because it builds up the suspension and evokes the emotion that the person was feeling.

The harmonic rhythm is not very steady as the chords only change in bars 7, 10 and 11. The chord changes from D to A and then from A to E and E to A (shown in the musical excerpt). These chord changes are changes from either the dominant to the tonic or the tonic to the dominant, showing the typical barque chord changes.

Duke Ellington's pre-eminence in jazz is not only because of the very high aesthetic standard of his output and not simply due to his remarkable abilities as a pianist, composer and bandleader, but also to the fact that he has extended the boundaries of jazz more than any other musician, without abandoning the true essence of the music. Perhaps no other American musician left such a massive and challenging legacy in composition and performance.

This opera did not actually reach popularity until some 60 years later. New York proved to be stimulating for Joplin's creative mind. There he published many ragtime jewels, on right after another.

No doubt that the jazz elements can be viewed as the popular side of the piece, with the classical elements being the serious side.

He was later discovered here by John Stark who eventually published his first composition know as the Maple Leaf Rag. He later moved to St. Louis where he had the opportunity to perform for the next five years. Furthermore, he later left for New York, where he developed his own opera in 1911. This opera, called Treemanisha, was the first and only ragtime opera, but unfortunately, it only lasted one show. This was the falling point of his career, and he never regained the popularity he once had at the beginning of his career. In the 1970’s, Joplin and his opera was rediscovered with the revival of ragtime.

At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. The man was Louis Armstrong. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history.

The cello and organ provide the basso continuo, following the figured bass. The modulation in bar 10 to A major ends in a V7 - I, providing strength to the piece. This differs from Sonata pian’e forte which is in the Dorian mode with lots of root position chords (bar 1 and 2) and suspensions (bar 3). The melody is mostly stepwise and the tierce de Picarrdie in bar 4 gives a sense of balanced phrasing. This is felt again in bar 8, due to the consonant 4th. The modal harmony in bar 13 creates an imperfect cadence to mark the end of the A1 section. An interesting phrygian cadence (IVb - V) is used in bar 16 leads into a short circle of 5ths (bar 17) and then a perfect cadence in F major with a 4-3 suspension (bar 20). This ‘busy-ness’ before cadences was not uncommon, due to the very expressive works that were composed in this era.

The mystery of Jazz and its powerful impact on the music community can be explained largely by the context of it’s creation. Jazz was born in the United States, and because of this, many have referred to Jazz as “America’s music.” Like America, Jazz has a balance between structure and spontaneity. It capitalizes on the fluidity of the musicians, having several different instruments with independent spirits, coming together as one to form a great piece of music. Unlike other styles of music, Jazz has a certain way about it that makes it stand-alone in the world of genres. It improvises, moves, and transforms itself in a moment’s notice based on the musician’s intuition. Just as America harbors democracy, so too does a jazz ensemble, showing both the responsibility to a larger group, yet still allowing room for individual freedom. It all comes down to how well others can respect the overall framework and structure of the jingle.

Ragtime was a very influential part of the development of jazz. Ragtime became very popular in the late 1800’s. Ragtime’s distinct style set it apart from the other genres. Syncopation is what defines this art form. This is when the loud accents fall in between the beats. Anything that is syncopated is basically ragtime. One of the most important ragtime composers was Scott Joplin. Like all great artists, Joplin did not restrict himself to this favored art form. Both before the advent of ragtime and after, Joplin composed marches and waltzes, including the syncopated waltzes. There's more to ragtime than syncopation, while some very good ragtime is not of the classic form. But the lines are often blurred. Ragtime's influence on other

This afternoon, I went to the music concert hall where is located in the music building for the listening hour, a small noon-time concert which is performed by the staff and students from the music majors. Since it is a free noon-time concert, most of the audiences just wear the t-shirts and jeans to the concert. Dresses are not required for the concert. The performance today is given by the Ananda Jazz Ensemble. They have played “Running Away”, composed by Bob Marley; “Madalena”, composed by Ivan Linz; “Conejitos y Ananda”, composed by Abi Romero; “La Bikina”, composed by Ruben Fuentes; and “Chukaro”, also composed by Abi Romero. Because this is a Latin Americdan Journey, all of the music performed is jazz music. All pieces played in the concert are an ensemble of piano, bass, and drums. During the concert, I was trying to be a perceptive listener; I enjoyed the music with concentration and paid attention to the music’s unity and variety, such as the dynamics and tempos. I also tried to associate the music with a picture when I listened to it and understand the emotion in the music.