Roots of Ragtime

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Master America’s Musical Heritage – Transform Your Piano Playing

Explore how Ragtime transformed American music with this comprehensive course that reveals the techniques, history, and cultural impact of this fascinating genre that laid the groundwork for jazz and modern popular music.

$77.00

Ragtime Roots. Jazz Future.

Discover the rich heritage of Ragtime piano with Royce Martin, a dedicated historian and performer who unveils both the technical elements and cultural significance of this quintessentially American art form. Learn to incorporate rhythm, harmony, and melodic finesse into your playing while understanding how Ragtime evolved through the 20th century into jazz and influenced the popular music we enjoy today. Whether you’re looking to transform your piano technique, expand your musical repertoire, or simply have more fun at the instrument, this course offers valuable insights that will help you sound like a completely different player than you thought possible.

  • INTERMEDIATE
  • 9 VIDEOS
  • 1.5 hours
  • LIVING NOTATION
  • Subtitles: English

Tunes in the course:

  • Maple Leaf Rag
  • Billie’s Bounce
  • The Entertainer
  • Paragon Rag
  • Elite Syncopations
  • Peacherine Rag Piano Roll
  • King Porter’s Top
  • Jelly Roll Blues

Meet Your Ragtime Guru

Royce Martin, a pianist and composer who graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2022, taught himself to play piano at age 14 on a small keyboard in his hometown of St. Louis. Following graduation, he returned to St. Louis to record his debut album Memories on Morgan Street: Scott Joplin Reimagined, having previously worked as the in-house pianist at the Scott Joplin State Historic Site. His compositions have appeared in productions for MAX and Hulu, including a full feature-length score for the MAX documentary They Called Him Mostly Harmless, with The New York Times describing his piano playing as “Sly, Relatable and Brilliant” in October 2024.

What’s in the Course

Course content

  • Welcome from Royce
  • Roots of Ragtime
  • The Rag That Started it All
  • Enter Jelly Roll Morton
  • Billies Bounce
  • New Strides in Harlem
  • The Entertainer
  • Advanced Rag Techniques
  • In Conclusion
Beginner
You can play the instrument at a basic level but you’re just getting started with jazz.
Intermediate
You’ve got the basics, now you want to build your repertoire and confidence on the bandstand.
Advanced
You’re a high-level performer focused on expanding your harmonic palette, complex tunes, and personal expression.