新托福聽力經典加試題：Ragtime Music

　　這是托福經典加試的一篇音樂方面的段子題，結合我前面給大家總結的音樂分類看看吧。雖然新托福考試機經重復率變得很小，但是經典加試還是重復率極高的，再比如像大王花這道植物學題，和浪漫主義、新古典主義這道文學題目，以及神經膠質細胞這道微生物題目,考生一定要做到耳熟能詳，聽覺形象的快速建立。下面我們來看看Ragtime Music.

　　Ragtime介紹了一種流行于美國十九世紀左右名為ragtime的音樂，能夠表現年青人的活力(spirit of youth)之類的，此樂流行是由于piano的關系，因為兩者真是太搭配了。在那個年代，在各種場合都用鋼琴。此樂當時流行程度，(like Rock & Roll在某一時期一樣)。這里出現考點，女學生說了一堆后，來了一句 I just don't get it，意思是要教授explain，還說piano 之所以當時那么受歡迎，一是因為它能與音律產生和諧，另一是因為當時它算一種財富地位的象征什么的symbol of wealth and status。再加上，那個年代，大家都沒錢，就去public concert or restaurant什么的聽音樂，而piano聲音夠響亮，又和ragtime music rhythm搭配的天衣無縫，所以，兩者相得益彰這個音樂年輕人很喜歡，因為很有激情。除了到處演出啊，park演出等不用鋼琴，因為難搬(出現考點)because of transportation problem。 同時，此樂也是 jazz的前身，因為演奏者不按牌理出牌，一首曲七個人彈，彈出七種調。這種regtime音樂影響很遠啊，例如現在的jazz就是從那發展來的。

　　Ragtime 拉格泰姆音樂(1890-1915期間在美國流行的一種音樂)

　　Ragtime is an American musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1899 and 1918. It has had several periods of revival since then and is still being composed today. Ragtime was the first truly American musical genre, predating jazz. It began as dance music in popular music settings years before being published as popular sheet music for piano. Being a modification of the then popular march, it was usually written in 2/4 or 4/4 time (meter) with a predominant left hand pattern of bass notes on odd-numbered beats and chords on even-numbered beats accompanying a syncopated melody in the right hand. A composition in this style is called a "rag". A rag written in 3/4 time is a "ragtime waltz".

　　Ragtime is not a "time" (meter) in the same sense that march time is 2/4 meter and waltz time is 3/4 meter; it is rather a musical genre that uses an effect that can be applied to any meter. The defining characteristic of ragtime music is a specific type of syncopation in which melodic accents fall between metrical beats. This results in a melody that seems to be avoiding some metrical beats of the accompaniment by emphasizing notes that either anticipate or follow the beat. The ultimate (and intended) effect on the listener is actually to accentuate the beat, thereby inducing the listener to move to the music. Scott Joplin, the composer/pianist known as the "King of Ragtime", called the effect "weird and intoxicating". He also used the term "swing" in describing how to play ragtime music: "Play slowly until you catch the swing...".[1] The name swing later came to be applied to an early genre of jazz that developed from ragtime. Converting a non-ragtime piece of music into ragtime by changing the time values of melody notes is known as "ragging" the piece. Original ragtime pieces usually contain several distinct themes, four being the most common number.