Scott Joplin was an African American composer and pianist of singular merit and influence. Academic interest in Joplin has increased in recent years, leading to new discoveries about the composer’s activities, yet teaching materials have not been updated at the same pace as 21st-century findings. Joplin was an entrepreneur, a performer, and a teacher, yet his biography is often reduced to a “celebratory” narrative of a composer creating toe-tapping music for the masses. “A Ragtime Life,” the first article in a three-part series, presents a modern understanding of the biographical context which shaped Scott Joplin's music, thought, and practice. It also provides suggested classroom activities for exploring Joplin’s life and works written in accordance with NAfME’s 2014 National Music Standards.
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