Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin (1867/68-1917)

These are just a few of the interesting facts and trivia about Scott Joplin.

• Scott Joplin was an African-American composer. No one knows exactly in what year Joplin was born—either 1867 or 1868. When Joplin was a child, a classical music teacher taught him about composition and form. Joplin studied composition in college.

• Joplin is famous for creating “ragtime” music. Ragtime is a combination of African-American folk style and classical form. Many “player pianos” play Joplin’s ragtime pieces. Player pianos are self-playing mechanical pianos.

• “Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Entertainer” are Joplin’s most famous pieces. “The Entertainer” won an Oscar for best song for the 1973 movie “The Sting.”

To learn more, visit Alberti Publishing.

Illustration by Heidi Cabrera.