Piano music of the early 1900s by African-American composers such as Scott Joplin, and band and orchestral scores imitating the original piano compositions. Characterized by left-hand alternating bass notes and chords, and syncopated melodies in the treble. Often in march tempos and march form, complete with trio in relative key, but many rags were slower than commonly believed. Tremendously influential as a precursor to jazz, but also embraced as a symbol of American culture by popular songwriters such as Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.