Ru
EnF. Shaк, M. Piganov
The trials of modern understanding of Scott Joplin’s heritage
The music by Scott Joplin is an important element of the artistic heritage, preceding many artistic achievements in the development of African American music of the pre-jazz period. Currently, there is a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards the legacy of Joplin in the jazz pedagogy around the world. His works are recognized as an integral part of early jazz history, preceding further revolutionary shifts in jazz art. On the other hand, many modern performers perceive ragtime as a very archaic phenomenon that is potentially unable to interact with new varieties of jazz. In the article, the authors set several goals at once. First of all, the situation with academic research of Joplin’s music nowadays needs to be clarified. His contribution to the legacy of African American musical culture was not properly recognized for a long period. In the first half of the 20th century, only few monographs were published on the topic. The article indicates a numerical increase in the works analyzing the composer’s music. Their authors become more active in the second half of the century, and it is mainly determined by the general activization in the field of academic research related to jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, as well as a large-scale reconsideration of racial issues and topics. The article provides a panoramic overview of the main English-language sources associated with Joplin. The process of integrating Joplin’s legacy into modern jazz pedagogy is proposed to be considered on the example of an educational and methodological guide made by one of the authors of this article. The material of the guide is based on the arrangement of piano ragtimes for the trombone quartet performance. The modern tendencies in creating guides require the use of a multimedia component, so the authors provided studio recordings of all arrangements for trombones. With the help of QR codes students are invited not only to listen to the recording, but also to carry out instrumental practice, the essence of which is to perform any of the parts as one of the participants of the quartet.
Key words
ragtime, Scott Joplin, early jazz composers, trombone in jazz, trombone improvisation.
For citation
Shaк F., Piganov M. The trials of modern understanding of Scott Joplin’s heritage // South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2023. No. 2. Pp. 79-84.
