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SCOTT JOPLIN
You’ve probably heard of musicians such as Elvis Presley being named the
“King of Rock and Roll” and Michael Jackson being called the “King of Pop”.
Did you know that before either of those performers were even born, Scott
Joplin was referred to as the “The King of ______________”
Maybe you’ve never heard of Ragtime or Scott Joplin, but whether you know it or not, you’ve probably heard his music.
Ragtime music was most popular between ________ and _________ .
The main instrument used in ________ music is the _______, but it can be accompanied by other instruments such as
wind instruments, banjo, guitar and drums at times to give variety. The music is referred to as ragtime because the
rhythm is ‘ragged’ or __________ to give it a jazzier feel. If you took away the syncopation, the music would become a
_________.
Scott Joplin lived at a time where ___________ had not long been abolished. His father was a former _______ who got
a job working on the railroad after he was freed and his mother was a free African American who worked for a white
families doing household work. He learned to play when some of the families that his mother knew through her work
let Scott play their piano.
When Joplin was about eleven or twelve, Joplin’s father left the family, leaving his mother to provide for eight children
and it was about this time, the young Scott Joplin met a music teacher named Julius Weiss, a Jewish-German music
professor who had immigrated to the US. He felt sorry for his family so he gave Joplin free music lessons because he
could see his potential as a musician. It was here that he learned about the _____ and ________ genres of music and he
helped Joplin’s family acquire a piano. It is known that Joplin was so appreciative of Professor Weiss’s efforts with him,
that later, when he became a well known composer, he would send him gifts of money.
By the late 1880’s, Joplin was working as a traveling musician and became popular amongst the afro-american
community. Throughout his career, he wrote a total of _____ original ragtime pieces, ____ ragtime ballet and ____
operas. His two most famous pieces are _____ ______________ and __________ ________ ______ . This second hit
sold _________ copies in six months and gave him a steady royalty of _____ percent of all sales which brought him his
income for the whole of his life. After his initial successes, Joplin had increasing difficulty in publishing some of his
later works and operas and frequently ran into financial problems, especially in producing his opera’s.
Although Scott Joplin died young, penniless and disappointed, he is now known as a musical pioneer of ragtime music
and helped set the stage for future performers in the ragtime genre. He was given an unmarked grave for fifty seven
years and was finally noted for his contributions to American Music in the 19__’s when his music revived, thanks to a hit
movie called _____ __________ .
Fast Facts
Name: Scott Joplin
Born: c. 1868 Texas, USA
Died: 1917 New York City, USA
Style: Ragtime
Instruments: Piano
Important Works
________________________________________________
Fun Facts
In 1973, Scott Joplin’s music was adapted
for a film The Sting which won an Academy
Award. The version of the The Entertainer
used in the film reached #3 on the American
Top 40 Music Chart and prompted the New
York times to write:
“Thanks to the film and it’s score,
Joplin’s work became appreciated in
both the popular music world and in the
Classical music world, becoming the classical
phenomenon of the decade”
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Printable Music Lesson Plans - Jazz and Blues - Fact Sheet 1
© 2011 Fun Music Company
1
Scott Joplin
fun sheet
Word Search
Find the words listed below in the puzzle.
Words can go from left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, diagonal and backwards diagonal!
KZZOMLH I J EHGXDPOGXWP
IRUOSS IMNHAMF I AEYRYU
A
WOMARCHVRJNAIALTEKL
JTAYGCAHFTENPJFZPNF I
ZTLAWPLASCOTTJOPL INT
TNPYAEEOEBCHMCJNRABZ
CSHYRLNCRSC IQTZXDTRE
VXYDEOOVTYRBXEECTRFR
N
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CAPNTHOZTEOBL ATOZTNH
YAARDQSQMOHYBSWQONCS
MB A J O S G C U W O D A Z Q M X E I Q
FCOCRNQBOA EQGL RACE L T
TCXXWNOOHHHKQMTVYHY Y
OGFQL I PACJ SQQDO I I TXQ
MP O M Q W T F L M I Z M F R Y E H X P
PD E B F V V L B G L N M V S H B S O K
SQRRVPQTPKBXZTKRRDLN
VBTRAJJDV I UPJQJ I XBMC
NOCETS IVDZPLSVYSTOLH
BANJO
NEW YORK
ROYALTIES
CONTRACT
OPERA
SCOTT JOPLIN
MAPLE LEAF RAG
PIANO
TEXAS
MARCH
PUBLISH
THE ENTERTAINER
MISSOURI
PULITZER
WALT
Printable Music Lesson Plans - Jazz and Blues - Fun Sheet 1 - Page 1
© 2010 Fun Music Company
Scott Joplin
1
fun sheet
Below are the answers to questions about Scott Joplin. You need to figure out what the
question is.
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Answer King of Ragtime
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer It is ragged or syncopated
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer At his mother’s workplace
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer Mr. Julius Weiss
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer Free piano lessons
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer 49 years old
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer 1899
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer March
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer 1 percent
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer ‘The Sting’
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Answer fourty-four
Question _____________________________________________________________________________
Printable Music Lesson Plans - Jazz and Blues - Fun Sheet 1 - Page 2
© 2010 Fun Music Company