The Rags Thread

[gigiranalli]

I intended to respond to Frank much earlier about this, since he has resorted to putting a stamp on his scans. My response would have been to the effect that it is a shame that he has to 'deface' his scores - but more importantly that the stamp does not convey sufficient information to someone who has actually paid, that they have been ripped off and could (*as a genuine pianophile*) have obtained the same thing for free from people who enjoy sharing with genuine enthusiasts.

Dear Tobyjj,
I actually think that Frank had a very good idea in inserting that stamp and I thought I could have done that myself: unfortunately I'm too lazy to do all that job, so I renounced...
As soon as I have time I'll try to go more in depht on this issue and I'll try to get a reply from a lawyer I know.
Anyway, let's talk again about the music!!
I post two rags, "Can You Beat It" and "Get This!".
The second was composed by Walter Blaufuss, the composer of the great "Swanee Ripples" (whose sheet music can be found here: "http://digital.library.msstate.edu/cgi- ... =%22swanee ripples%22" ): while "Swanee Ripples" has been arranged by another ragtime great, Harry Thompson, the arranger of "Get This!" is the ubiquitous Henri Klickmann.
The differences between the two Blaufuss rags are noticeable, revealing the strong influence of the arranger in the final output of a ragtime publication...
I'm choosing the rags to post here trying to include only stuff that is not present on any online libraries (because in those cases a link would be sufficient I think).
So I'd say that the reason of posting these two pieces is that they can't be found on internet. But actually I don't like any of these two, to be honest.
Next time I'll post something better.
Luigi

Christen, Frederick - Can You Beat It.pdf

Blaufuss, Walter - Get This.pdf

[WCosand]

A big thank you to Frank and to others who have shared so much great music here.

[fhimpsl]

I want to sincerely thank Luigi and tobyjj for their words of encouragement and support against the internet piracy that has been going on behind our backs. Only today I found out that the same internet site in question has been selling all of the transcriptions of my own, which I posted on Pianophilia to freely share with everyone having a desire to play them. There are about a hundred of them, and they represent a 20 year period of my life when I was actively doing transcribing as a musical hobby. Selling as a package for around $35. Please tell any friends of yours who might have an interest in these scores to please join Pianophilia and just download them for free!

I intend to keep posting my collection on Pianophilia; both popular and classical music; to freely share with our members. Marking scores as originating from Pianophilia has taken extra time but it won't stop me. Life is too short to allow something like this to take away the joy we get in sharing and preserving piano music. And so with a smile and at the unethical who would destroy our efforts for personal gain, I say let the music keep rolling!

Coker, Leona - Leona Rag.pdf

Copenhaver, Carl - The Lakeside Whistle.pdf

Gates, Fred E. - The Levee Rag.pdf

Ittner, Ernest A. - Lauterbach Rag Two Step.pdf

Ruddy, Ray - Little Sticks O' Licorice.pdf

[fhimpsl]

Buckley, Merton T. - Mop Rag.pdf

Carter, Adrian - The Michigan Rag.pdf

Case, Anna - Metropolitan Rag.pdf

[fhimpsl]

DeVan, Julius - Molly Coddle Rag.pdf

Dugan, Boby - Mystic Rag.pdf

Edmonds, Earl E. - Moving Rag.pdf

[fhimpsl]

Gaul, Henry W. - Motor Boat Rag.pdf

Hirschfield & Levy - Miss Molly.pdf

Irvin, Cliff - Meer-Sham Rag.pdf

[gigiranalli]

Only today I found out that the same internet site in question has been selling all of the transcriptions of my own, which I posted on Pianophilia to freely share with everyone having a desire to play them. There are about a hundred of them, and they represent a 20 year period of my life when I was actively doing transcribing as a musical hobby.

Dear Frank,
I didn't notice that the website also included your transcriptions...the owner of that site has got some nerve...I think it could be sued at this point...
Thanks so much for still wanting to share your formidable sheet music collection with us, in spite of all that!
The rags your uploading are great and so rare! I didn't know there was another "Levee Rag" apart from the one composed by Charles Mullen...also the other pieces are totally new to me.
Today I'd post two good rags, one is the rather obscure "Kitty Wobble" and the other is a ragtime piano solo by the popular Van & Shenck vaudeville duo, "Crash!!! -Some Rag"
Adam Swanson, the ragtime piano prodigy, has recently posted a rare footage of Van & Schenk on YouTube.
Those who are interested can watch it in here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtMYV9R52V8
Best
Luigi

Gregory, Waylande - Kitty Wobble.pdf

Van, Gus & Schenck, Joseph - Crash.pdf

[Timtin]

I take the view, rightly or wrongly, that uploading a file to Pianophilia
is like releasing a wild bird. One simply loses control of where it will
go, and what will happen to it.
(Until last year, I belonged to a paysite where, in effect, I was paying
to download my own files, which they'd taken from the old PP forum!)

[gigiranalli]

Dear all,
here are three other rags: two of them are ragtime masterpieces and the third in rather interesting too.
Starting with the masterpieces, here's the great "Texas Rag" by Callis Welborn Jackson, a great folk rag!
I'm also including a mp3 of an arranged piano roll of this rag.
Then there's another great folksy rag entitled "Whoa! Maud", composed by Will Etter: according to Ed Berlin's "King of Ragtime", Etter and Scott Joplin were friends and Berlin notes the similarity of the first strain of "Whoa! Maud" with the first strain of the later "Solace" by Joplin: this seems to indicate that Joplin may have taken the idea for that strain from Etter.
Anyway the third strain in "Whoa! Maud" is clearly the first strain of the much older "Original Rags" by Charles Daniels and Scott Joplin: I think that Etter made a great job with that strain, freeing it from Joplin's typical stiffyness.
That's not surprising in a music genre like ragtime, with a strong oral tradition where it was used to pick up strains here and there.
A similar story is the one of "Esther Rag" by David Reichstein, whose second strain is identical to the last strain in Rob Hampton's "Cataract Rag", published one year earlier.
Enjoy the music!
Luigi

Jackson, Callis W. - Texas Rag.pdf

Texas Rag (arranged piano roll).mp3

Etter, Will - Whoa Maud.pdf

Reichstein, David - Esther Rag.pdf

[fhimpsl]

Those rare & great Texas rags are a tough act to follow! Here are some more ragtime obscurities:

Martinez, J.deJesus - Mexican Rag.pdf

Maurice, Victor - Merry Widow Glad Rags.pdf

Patrick, Willard C. - Mobile Rag.pdf