The Entertainer by Scott Joplin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Entertainer by Scott Joplin - Essay Example He played with a group of minstrels before he settled down in St.Louis in 1890.He played in the Chicago World Fair in 1893. The railroad crash at Waco in 1893, inspired his composition "The great crash collision" Scott's life was not a bed of roses, he contracted syphilis from which he died in 1917. His long ill health affected his work. His African-American heritage had a great influence on his music.. Early influence on Scott was that of his musical family-Scott's mother payed the banjo and sang, while his father played the violin .His mother bought him a piano from the money she earned by cleaning houses Her influence can be seen in his early composition "Treemonisha" published in 1911. He was given free piano lessons by Julius Weiss, a German music teacher., whose influence on Scott's music was significant. Weiss taught him the intricacies of classical music form. His early training in classical music instilled a love for the classical form in Joplin, which is evidenced in his classic rags .Joplin made use of Afro-American folk music tradition in his rags. Ragtime music gets its name from the 'ragged rhythm' it uses. Having been composed mainly for the piano, "The Entertainer" is primarily in C major. In the "B" section, the melody is played on a higher octave. Its texture is homophonic, with a single melody The music is strongly tonal, with many sections of the music ending on a tonic chord. Although the rhythms and pitches are influenced by the African-American folk music traditions, the music has a definitely European - American form. Tempo is another aspect of Joplin's music. Joplin wrote instructions on his music not to play it at too fast a tempo, which would ruin the music. The Entertainer" is now considered one of the top ten songs of the 20th century.. Art Appreciation- Music and the Performing Arts Performing and Visual Arts - a descriptive essay Performing and Visual Arts . Each form of art like painting, music, dance or theater has evolved in its own way in different countries of the world, and each has its own characteristics. The arts, like painting, theater, dance and music ,have a wide range of techniques of expression. Painting has evolved from our primeval visual heritage Painting helps the painter to express the joy, enchantment and wonder he feels for the visual phenomena of the outside world, by using colors and drawing to express his ideas Paintings can be naturalistic, abstract or symbolic. Among the many techniques of painting, oil painting, pastels and Oil pastel, watercolor and acrylic painting are the most popular. While landscapes and still life painting are usually naturalistic, medieval painting was dominated by religious motifs Although different schools of painting use different ways of expression, there are some elements which are common to all types of painting. The basic elements of painting are shape, line, texture, tone and color. According to Peter Owen, "Most paintings, whatever their style and subject, and however many other aspects they may offer us, can be appreciated as patterns of shapes defined on the picture surface."(Owen . p1) Since the painter can communicate his ideas to the viewer only as a two- dimensional, immobile and