![]() This piece alone shows his personal distinctive ideas that have successfully led him to become one of the most appreciated composers at the time. The work was heavily syncopated, upbeat, and showcased many different octaves. After collaborating with Joplin’s publisher at the time, Scott published Frog Legs Rag, one of his most well-known rags. These first three rags granted Scott a lot of recognition and soon in 1906, James Scott met Scott Joplin. All three works had similar styles, including repeating rhythms with the left-hand lower notes, and creative off beat melodies in the right hand. In 1902 Scott was hired by the Dumars Music Company where his first rags, A summer Breeze (1903), The Fascinator (1903), and On the Pike (1904) were published. Scott continued performing in places such as the Delphus Theater and Lakeside Park as his career continued to flourish. His music and stage presence created a specific atmosphere and more of a feeling to his rags. Scott took this a step further by creating his own melodies with abrupt phrasing. It was not until ragtime where music started to have its own character with more notes off the beat. Prior to this time, piano music was uniformed, stagnant, and lacked rhythmic style. This is a clear indicator of Scott’s unique style. Scott was also known for his “flying fingers” because he would scale every inch of the piano whole also fitting as many tones as possible into one single beat. ![]() With this stance, he was able to really feel the music, normally rocking back and forth to the beat of the music he was playing. His left leg was usually wrapped around the left leg of the piano bench, stool, or chair. Audience members would describe his posture when playing. After more exposure to the instrument, Scott began to obtain gigs, playing in saloons. His family moved to Carthage, Missouri in 1901 and soon thereafter, Scott’s father bought the family their first upright piano. This allowed him to move along quickly with his studies. Scott’s private lessons with a black music teacher John Coleman, revealed his perfect pitch and impressive understanding of harmonies. It is safe to assume that a lot of Scotts ability to create stylistic and authentic music came from his mother. She would play a plethora of folk and African American music based on her own knowledge. James Scott first learned music from his mother who had no formal musical training.
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