Amherst Rag

This is a rag I wrote recently. It has no significant inspiration or story.. I just jotted it down during one of my classes at University.

Amherst Rag

Very cool rag mate :phones:

this is called inspiration nice one! memorable too, which is important. put anyone in a good mood hones:

Another great rag! Makes you feel as though you were walking down some crowded NY street in 1900.

Thanks very much for your remarks.

Nice rag music you got there!

Recently, I love rag music, especially those from Joplin Scott.

Anyway, I like your piece!

Thanks for the upload, and keep up the good work!

Cheers!

Utterly brilliant: so expressive and full of life, it's quite impossible not to like :happy: I found myself bouncing to this wonderful piece. Favorite and 10/10!

Your name is very well earned: ragtime to the max!

With ragtime, it's easy to fall into a rut of making ragtimes that are very close sounding, and if played side by side, difficult to tell apart. But every one of your has been very distinct, and you should be very proud of that.

Thanks for sharing, absolutely wonderful :phones:

Yet another brilliant rag! Max, you're fast becoming one of my favourite and most respected composers on this board. Loved the tunes, LOVED the bass line, and the style, as always, is spot-on.

You see, people? This guy is creating perfectly legitimate, artistically valid music in an historical style. He's not fooling around; this is a rag Joplin himself would have appreciated - hell, he might even have learnt a few tricks from it. With every one of these Max writes, he belies the academic notion that this cannot, and should not, be done. Should this marvelous music not exist because it doesn't seek to be NEW and MODERN as a means unto itself? I think not. Historicism is gaining ground, and I for one think it's time for academia to start accepting and encouraging it as the legitimate, authentic expression it is.

Max, other than Joplin, who are your influences?

I probably always say this about every new ragtime you write, but:

I really like this. Ragtime can get boring, but you always make it exciting and fun.

Another great work! Write more of 'em!

Heckel

Thanks for your insightful remarks, Mr. Graham! When I first began composing music, I was entirely self-taught, and unaware of academic criticisms on writing in a historic genre. I simply wrote rags and related forms because I loved (and still love) that kind of music; it's my native musical language, and many of my inspirations find themselves in ragtime form.

I agree that historic practices are starting to fall at the altar of "modernism" and "uniqueness." Oftentimes composers try to distance themselves from old practices and conventions rather than building upon them; this results in music that, while different and unique, entirely misses out on the virtues of established techniques. I should hasten to note that I am not condemning modern styles of composition, and am just offering my personal opinions on it.

To answer your question, my influences aside from Joplin are quite numerous, including: James Scott; Joseph Lamb; John Philip Sousa; Delius; and the usual Romantic-era greats (ever notice how Joplin often used very Beethovenesque chord-voicings?)

very interesting Rag Time!

is perfect stile!!

I think it is a very well made piece, congratulations to the splendid work!

Thanks for the kind words! I'm very glad you like it.

You, sir, are awesome.

Loved the ragtime! I like Joplin's work a lot, and you fit his style incredibly well while retaining a spark of individual personality.