The big book of ragtime piano piano: Piano Solo

If you're looking for a relatively comprehensive book of ragtime music to play on the piano, look no further... unless you're just starting to play the piano. If you're just starting to learn, the sheet music might be very daunting, and I'd advise looking elsewhere (pretty much all ragtime is not for novices, unless it's a beginner's arrangement, which is pretty easy to find).Already pretty good at piano? This is the book for you. Lots of rag at a decent price (It really is a BIG book of rag at about 60 different pieces totaling 300 pages of content).An added plus: taking a seat at the piano and playing some Scott Joplin is always a crowd pleaser.

This is the one to get. Good price, excellent selection. Paper and print quality is superior.The Dover edition for $20 dollars is printed on inferior paper and has a smaller selection.This is well worth the $30 dollars.

Over 60 rags in 300 or so pages. Notation is well spaced and easy to read. 25 or so Joplin rags. For a tenner its a great buy

Abwechslungsreiche Zusammensetzung. Die Noten sind wirklich hervorragend gesetzt und gedruckt und so gut zu lesen. Umblättern ist halt, wie so oft bei Noten, Mist wegen der Bindung. Ich kopiere mir die entsprechenden Seiten einfach raus.

I have been a big fan of ragtime piano for a lot of years and thought my collection of printed rags was pretty complete until I saw "The Big Book of Ragtime Piano" when I was shopping for a high school graduation gift for one of my more advanced piano students. I ordered a copy for myself as well as for him when I saw that the pieces have been newly laid-out in a much easier to read format than most of my other books, which contain copies of the original sheet music. I love having the original sheet music covers, as they say so much about our American culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but the sheet music itself is often a bit cluttered and hard to read. (This book does not contain the cover artwork!) This book is beautifully-transcribed and easy on the eyes. I don’t know who edited the book, but it contains a great sampling of Scott Joplin’s rags (26 of them - 43% of the book) as well as four by James Scott (my other favorite), five by Joseph Lamb, two by Eubie Blake, and many others. The pieces that I have played feel like the originals, so I don’t think any arranging has been done - perhaps some corrections and clarifications, but I believe these are the original pieces as composed. My only complaint is that because it’s a very big book (304 pages), it’s hard to keep it open on the piano. Spiral-binding would be ideal, but I’m sure the book will get broken-in soon as I’m rediscovering some old favorites and finding some new treasures. As others have mentioned, this is not easy or even intermediate music to play, but it’s great fun and a first-hand look at what is now being considered “American Classical Music.” Very enthusiastically recommended!