The simplest definition is attributed to authors David Jasen and Trebor Tichenor: "Ragtime is a musical composition for the piano comprising three or four sections containing sixteen measures each which combines a syncopated melody accompanied by an even, steady duple rhythm."

Actually, they have described a "piano rag," not ragtime in general. Ragtime is characteristically a syncopated (or "off the beat") melody over a march-type (oom-pah) bass. Actually, ragtime has been written in other forms, like waltzes and 5/4 time. Two other forms of ragtime are the "cakewalk," which was originally a dance that later became associated with a particular type of syncopation; and the ragtime song, which has two themes (verse and chorus), the rhythmic characteristics of a rag, and of course, words. The common characteristic is, however, a steady, impulsive bass beat with a syncopated melody. There are ways to tell if a piece is ragtime, whether or not you read music.

Note - all the sound files here are in MIDI format. And - there are exceptions to EVERY rule, so don't take me to task on those few exeptions you will find to my examples and guidelines.

So, what does ragtime look like on sheet music? (You don't have to read music to understand this! Promise!)