The presently prevailing research describes our favorite music as
divided into two fields.  There is 'Classical Ragtime' and there is
'Ragtime Style'.

Classical Ragtime is just that: "classical music."  As with all
classical music it follows a form.  If you study classical music, you
will know that all music of that type follows a certain form.  That
form can vary within limits, but it will follow the form.

A composer who changed the form sometimes is credited with inventing
a new form, and if it is taken up by other composers, it becomes a form
of its own and sometimes ushers in a whole new era in music.  This is
why we have the Medieval era begetting the Renaissance musical era,
which begot the classical era (Mozart, Haydn) which begot the Romantic
Era (Chopin, Tchaikowsky, Beethoven.)

Beethoven was one of these pivotal composers.  He began composing in
the Classical era and helped bring on, and died in, the Romantic era.
Joplin is credited with establishing the ragtime form, and that is
not to say that others did not compose things that were of the ragtime
style.

I played many songs in ragtime style, but it was much later that
I discovered classical ragtime.  In fact, I can play just about any
piece of music in ragtime style but that does not make it ragtime.

Are there any musicologists who have done more recent research that
would indicate that music history has changed its mind about ragtime?
I would be open to enlightenment.

D. L. Bullock    Piano World    St. Louis

 [ Is it safe to say that Classic Ragtime is rather narrowly defined
 [ -- as represented by the 'big three' composers: Joplin, Scott and
 [ Lamb -- and what's leftover is Ragtime Style?  That's how many
 [ fans at ragtime events seem to define it.  Thanks for the
 [ clarification, D. L.   -- Robbie