Dick Hyman

Stride (often called Harlem stride piano) is an early jazz piano style distinguished by a powerful, syncopated left hand that "strides" between low bass notes or octaves on beats 1 and 3 and mid‑range chords on beats 2 and 4, while the right hand plays a highly embellished melody, runs, and improvised variations. Emerging in New York City—especially Harlem—after ragtime, stride expanded the rhythmic looseness, harmonic richness, and improvisational freedom that would feed directly into swing and later jazz piano traditions. It is both virtuosic and danceable, equally suited to fast showpieces and tender ballads, and was central to piano "cutting contests" of the era.

Novelty piano is a virtuosic, light-classical offshoot of ragtime that blossomed in the 1920s United States, particularly around Chicago’s player‑piano industry. It favors clean, showy right‑hand figurations (rapid runs, black‑key cascades, chromatic turns) over heavy syncopation, and often presents a bright, tuneful melody over a tidy, lightly striding or oom‑pah left hand. A successor to late ragtime and an outgrowth of the 1910s piano‑roll culture, novelty piano is frequently described as a pianistic cousin of early jazz: it borrows some jazz harmonies and rhythmic zip, yet it is distinct from Harlem stride, typically lighter, drier in pedaling, and more precision‑driven than swing‑oriented. Felix Arndt’s “Nola” (1915) is widely cited as an early hit that pointed the way toward the style, which went on to peak in the early–mid 1920s with recording and piano‑roll bestsellers.

Jazz is an improvisation-centered music tradition that emerged from African American communities in the early 20th century. It blends blues feeling, ragtime syncopation, European harmonic practice, and brass band instrumentation into a flexible, conversational art. Defining features include swing rhythm (a triplet-based pulse), call-and-response phrasing, blue notes, and extended harmonies built on 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. Jazz is as much a way of making music—spontaneous interaction, variation, and personal sound—as it is a set of forms and tunes. Across its history, jazz has continually hybridized, from New Orleans ensembles and big-band swing to bebop, cool and hard bop, modal and free jazz, fusion, and contemporary cross-genre experiments. Its influence permeates global popular and art music.

Ragtime is an African American–rooted piano style that flourished from the 1890s to the 1910s, characterized by lively syncopation in the right hand against a steady, march-like “oom‑pah” accompaniment in the left hand. Typically written in 2/4 or 4/4 time and notated with straight (unswung) eighth notes, classic rags unfold in multiple 16‑bar strains, often in the form AABBACCDD. The music draws on cakewalk rhythms, marching-band forms, and popular song, and it became a sensation through sheet music, piano rolls, and parlor performance. Scott Joplin, known as the “King of Ragtime,” helped codify the genre’s refined, compositional approach, calling for moderate tempos and a clear, singing melody. Beyond solo piano, ragtime was arranged for small ensembles and orchestras, found a home in vaudeville and dance halls, and laid essential groundwork for early jazz, stride piano, and much of 20th‑century American popular music.

Minstrelsy is a 19th‑century American theatrical music genre centered on variety shows that combined songs, dances, comic banter, and skits. It is historically associated with blackface performance and traffic in racial caricature, which makes it a profoundly problematic yet influential part of U.S. popular music history. Musically, minstrel troupes favored a small, lively ensemble built around banjo, fiddle, bones (clappers), tambourine, and occasionally concertina or guitar. Songs typically used simple, memorable melodies and strong chorus hooks in verse‑chorus form, often with call‑and‑response patterns and danceable rhythms. The repertoire drew on Anglo‑Celtic balladry and parlor song while adopting syncopations, timbres, and participatory practices that originated in African American music.