Scott learned to play several musical instruments. But Florence Joplin wanted her son to learn how to play the piano. When Scott was about seven years old he began taking piano lessons with a music teacher at his school. The Joplins were poor, so Scott’s mother paid for the weekly lessons with food. Florence Joplin also got permission for her son to use a piano in one of the houses she cleaned in Texarkana.

Florence and Giles Joplin separated before Scott became a teenager. Some experts think Scott blamed himself for the break-up. Many experts also think Scott Joplin’s opera “Treemonisha” included incidents of his life with his mother after Giles Joplin left. For example, the character “Treemonisha” receives music lessons paid for by her mother who cleans people’s houses. Listen to this aria from the opera. Carmen Balthrop is Treemonisha.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Scott Joplin’s early piano lessons did not include ragtime. That kind of music was played in dance and drinking places and was not considered acceptable. Scott first studied classical music with several teachers. They included a German immigrant named Julius Weiss who probably had the strongest influence on the boy.

VOICE TWO:

Scott left Texas when he was a teenager. He worked as a piano player and gave lessons in the guitar and mandolin. In his twenties he settled in Sedalia, Missouri. He formed a group called the Texas Medley Quartet. The group sometimes traveled great distances to perform. Scott Joplin began his music-writing career in Sedalia. He attended college classes to learn to become a composer.