[Dixielandjazz] the "trio" in Ragtime ?

[James O'Briant]

Mark Weber wrote, in part:

> ... what is meant when  they refer to the "trio" 
> section of a ragtime composition?

That's an answer that goes back to the baroque era, and then
travels down through musical history.

Rags are, in general, constructed in the same way as marches,
which in turn have a structure similar to the minuet.  The minuet
structure derived from other dance forms from the baroque era, the
era of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti and others.

As an example, let's use Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever,"
a march that most of us should know pretty well.  Here's the form
of that march:

	Introduction
	"A" Strain (repeated)
	"B" Strain (repeated)
	"C1" Strain 
		(this is the familiar "Hail to the Red, 
		White and Blue" tune)
	Interlude
		(in marches, also called the "dogfight" or
		"break strain.")
	"C2" Strain
		(same tune as C1, but arranged differently. In
this
		march, this is where you hear the piccolo
obbligato)
	Interlude (again)
	(C2) Strain (again)

So we have three main melodies, "A," "B" and "C."  Although there
are exceptions, and although the precise structure varies, most
marches, rags and minuets have this same general feature. (In
addition, at least in most marches and rags, the "C" strain is in
a different key, usually the subdominant key -- up a fourth or
down a fifth from the preceding strains.)

In many baroque era compositions, this "C" section was played by a
smaller ensemble out of the orchestra -- usually a melody
instrument, a harmony instrument and "basso continuo" (bass and
keyboard, two instruments, but treated as one harmonic entity).
This was done for textural contrast, as opposed to the full
orchestra playing in earlier parts of the piece.

With three entities -- melody, harmony and continuo, this section
was often called the "trio" section.  Through the centuries the
name has stuck.

Thus, in a ragtime piece, there are usually three melodies (A, B &
C), with or without introduction, and with or without interludes,
and with or without the change of key. Sometimes "A" is repeated
again following "B". Sometimes there's a fourth "D" section.
Sometimes "A" or "B" is played again following "C" or "D", and
they may be in the original key or they may be in the same key as
"C" and "D".  But through all of this, "C" (and usually "D," if
there is a "D") is the TRIO section of the piece.

Jim O'Briant
Gilroy, CA