The most popular music back then was called ragtime .(那時最流行的音樂叫拉格泰姆音樂。)

Ragtime remains distinct from jazz both as an instrumental style and as a genre.(無論是作為一種器樂風(fēng)格，抑或是作為一種體裁，散拍樂迥然有別于爵士樂。)

This send-up of ragtime song and dance begins in 1915 San Francisco when society boy Roger Grant decides to pursue popular rather than serious music.(當(dāng)社會男孩羅杰格蘭特決定追求流行，而不追求嚴(yán)肅的音樂時，一個對白令人逗笑的爵士音樂歌舞開始于1915年的舊金山。)

He infused ragtime with the blues and black church music, and organized ensembles consisting of brass instruments and clarinets, changing the way jazz composers tended to orchestrate their music.(他為拉格·泰姆注入了布魯斯和黑人教堂音樂。組織由銅管樂器和單簧管組成的合奏樂隊，改變了爵士作曲家偏向在音樂中嵌入過多管弦樂的方式。)

So the guy sits the dog on the piano stool, and the dog starts playing. Ragtime, Mozart… and the bartender and patrons are enjoying the music.(那個人把狗放到了彈鋼琴坐的凳子上面，狗就開始了演奏，先是拉格泰姆音樂、接著彈莫扎特還有其它的……服務(wù)生和顧客們都非常欣賞它的彈奏。)

Ragtime music is dance music.(拉格·泰姆音樂是舞蹈音樂。)

He also worked on his opera, "Treemonisha." he had hoped his longtime business partner John Stark would publish it, but he refused. Stark did not think a ragtime opera would sell.(他還一直創(chuàng)作著歌劇“Treemonisha”，并一直希望自己的終生的事業(yè)伙伴約翰·斯·達(dá)克能夠?qū)⑺l(fā)行出來，但斯達(dá)克認(rèn)為，拉格·泰姆的歌劇賣不出去。)

Jazz music borrowed syncopated rhythms from ragtime, and syncopation is what makes jazz the lively, energetic music that it is today.(爵士樂從散拍音樂借用了切分音的節(jié)奏，也正是切分音為今日爵士樂注入了生氣與活力。)

The ragtime had a cracked, heartbroken rhythm as though it were a one - step of despair.(爵士樂曲發(fā)出破碎、傷心的節(jié)奏，倒象是絕望的獨步舞曲。)

Ragtime also influenced the creation of jazz.(拉格·泰姆音樂也影響了爵士樂的形成。)