Victory Rag

At a glance

• What it isa ragtime piece for solo piano.
• Who and whenpublished in 1921 by James Scott, a composer from Missouri.
• What to listen forthe lilt traded between a left hand that keeps the beat and a right hand that plays with syncopation.

Listen for

• Two hands, two jobsthe left hand alternates low notes and chords to lay down the floor, and the right hand carries the tune above it. Try picturing the two hands doing different work as you listen.
• Syncopationa rhythm that puts its weight just off the strong beats is the heart of ragtime. Tap the beat with your foot and you will feel more clearly when the right hand slides past it.
• Sections in a rowa classic rag usually presents a few sections of around sixteen bars, one after another, each repeated. Listen for the places where the mood shifts and a new tune comes in.

When it was written

Ragtime is piano music that arose among African American musicians in the late nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century rag sheet music sold widely. But in the 1920s, listeners' ears were turning more and more toward jazz.

James Scott was born in Missouri around 1885. As a young man he worked at a music store in Carthage, Missouri, and began publishing his own rags. Today he is counted, with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb, among the big three of classic ragtime.

Scott moved to Kansas City, where he taught music and accompanied silent films in theaters. This piece appeared in 1921, while he was living there. Scott died in Kansas City in 1938.