"The Easy Winners" is a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

composition by

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

. One of his most popular works, it was one of the four that had been recorded as of 1940.

Title and cover

The title of the composition is a reference to athletes who are expected to win a sporting event without difficulty. The cover depicts scenes of baseball, football, horse racing and sailing.

Musical structure

According to musicologist and Joplin biographer Edward A. Berlin, "'Easy Winners' must be judged one of Joplin's great works. It has a classical balance between its strains, its moods, and in its progression from the smooth calm of strain A to the sporadic agitation of strain D." The composition follows the structural pattern typical of many Joplin rags, although the pattern is extended to include an introduction before strain A and another before strain C, commonly called the trio. Thus, the structure reads: :Intro AA BB A Trio-Intro CC DD The introduction and strains A and B are played in

A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...

. The second half of the composition is played in the subdominant key of

D-flat major D-flat major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. The D-flat major scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in w ...

. In keeping with the sports theme of the composition, Joplin begins the trio with an introduction that is reminiscent of the

first call First Call was an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, consisting of Mel Tunney, Marty McCall, and Bonnie Keen. During their career spanning more than 30 years, the group worked with many noted producers and arrangers including D ...

used before a horse race.

Trio and strain D

Berlin notes that the trio is the composition's outstanding feature, revealing "musical thinking unusual for ragtime." One of Joplin's signature compositional techniques was the use of voice leading in harmonized melodic lines, particularly the use of an inner voice descending a chromatic fourth. Although Joplin often used the technique to bring resolution to individual strains, in "The Easy Winners," he builds the entire trio on the concept. The trio has four similar phrases that feature an inner voice descending from B flat to A flat, all being interrupted before spelling out a full fourth. Finally, in the last five measures of the trio, Joplin begins the phrase an extra semitone higher at C flat and completes the chromatic descent to F natural. To emphasize this chromatic descent, Joplin double-stems the notes, suggesting they be brought out in performance. Another notable feature of the trio is Joplin's use of a contrapuntal bass line. Played by the left hand in octaves in the last five measures, it heightens the complexity of the chromatic descent in the right hand and helps bring the strain to resolution. To further emphasize the importance of the trio's climactic phrase, the last five measures of the trio and D strains are identical, producing what Jasen and Tichenor call a "strong echo-like effect."

Publication history

The copyright was registered October 10, 1901. The Shattinger Music Company of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

bought the piece and published a simplified version. Only later did

John Stillwell Stark John Stillwell Stark (April 11, 1841October 21, 1927) was an American publisher of ragtime music, best known for publishing and promoting the music of Scott Joplin. Early life and education Stark was the eleventh of 12 children born to Adin S ...

publish it as-written.

References

External links