Can anyone ID this (ragtime?) music, from sheet music?

Cafe Society
1

Like the title says, would anyone here happen to be able to identify a “rag” from this sheet music?

It’s from a 2009 steampunk sci-fi book, “Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel,” written as a coffee table history book about a (fictional) Victorian robot. The piece illustrated is titled the “Boilerplate Rag,” but as I can’t read music, I can’t tell if that’s an actual original piece, just a retitled period song, a retitled anachronistic song put in as a joke (“Freebird,” maybe?), or even just complete gibberish.

So…can any brass-goggled boffins or bodgers out there lend this old swot a hand?

2

Unfortunately, I can’t ID it, but it’s almost definitely ragtime, and isn’t one of the major Joplin rags, like the Entertainer or Maple Leaf Rag (I can recognize those). Sorry I can’t be more helpful!

3

I’ll probably be scooped here, as this will take me some time, but I’ll jam the music into a music processing program, and then try to find some way to make the .mid sound file available. Um… I know how to share photos, as in Photobucket, but where’s a good place to share sound files?

4

https://soundcloud.com/

5

A musician friend says it’s a rag in G major written for the piano. He says it’s familiar but he doesn’t know the name.

6

I did a quick Google on the name Mark Nuismer and it looks like he’s a legit composer. Maybe he wrote it on commission?

7

FWIW, the author is Mark Nuismer who is the founder of the Portland (OR) Ragtime Society. I’d bet my eyeteeth it’s an original piece–why would a ragtime virtuoso have to fake it? Since it’s included in a coffee-table book, and since the copyright date is bogus (1903), and since JJ Abrams is making a movie about the fictional robot, I can’t imagine the legalities involved if it isn’t an original “rag.” I’d also bet you can contact him yourself and ask him.

Researching this was fun, thanx. I love ragtime. :slight_smile:

8

I know women who hate it.

9

^Testify, my friend! Mrs. Burpo is college-educated piano and she can barely stand it. :o What do THEY know?

10

FWIW, I worked from the sheet music in a music processor, and uploaded the mp3 file to soundcloud. (Thanks, Anamorphic!)

If it works at all, here is the location.

About three minutes.

It’s a bit tinny, and I can’t vouch for all of the notes; the pdf of the sheet music was kinda smallish. But, hey, I had fun!

11

Trinopus–

That was effin fantastic, man! Thanks for all that effort. I’ve plugged Ragtime note-for-note into sequencers, and it ain’t easy. Kudos!

12

Wow—incredible! I’m in your debt. :cool:

Again, thank you, all! I love this place.

13

Ummm…I don’t think he was talking about the music. :wink:

14

ThelmaLou…you…are…so…BAD! What would Deputy Fife say? :smiley:

15

Cripes! Johnny L.A., you whooshed me big time–I bow to the master. :slight_smile:

16

Never heard it before but, my word, you can play a bit can’t you? I kept listening all the way to the end although I had no idea what it is.

17

The song was input note-by-note (sequenced) into the computer, not actually played live.

18

I was talking to the computer.

19

Chrome is refusing to load that page due to malware detection.

20

Ah, is that a “bit” pun? Carry on, then.

(My Chrome is loading the song up fine. It’s just a soundcloud link.)