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General Site Information  | |
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| Domain: | perfessorbill.com |
| Established: | June 1997 |
| Provider: | iPowerWeb |
| Author: | All content written, coded, illustrated, maintained and posted by Bill Edwards |
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This is an ever-growing, but only partial list of known and recommended links available on the web for those who are interested in Ragtime/Old-Time Music, Traditional Jazz, Sheet Music, obtaining music, MIDI files, MIDI help, useful software for graphics or music, and other categories that in some way relate either to the content of my site or creation of that content. If you can recommend a related link or resource, please feel free to submit it to me via e-mail at As you look through these pages, please keep in mind that a great deal of work has gone into not only what I do, but what many of the other listed artists have contributed to ragtime performance and the advancement of the knowledge of this indigenous American music. With that in mind, know that your input is invaluable to any of us. Also, know that your patronage of any of us that have recordings or music for sale well help perpetuate future high-quality reference sources. Thank You |
| Individual Ragtime and Old-Time Music Sites |
Sue Keller's  | Lots of fabulous live MIDI files, great recordings for sale, and a great musicians resource list, all by a good musical friend of mine, Sue Keller-Vigorita! |
 Ragtime PianoMIDI Files by Warren Trachtman | Interesting repertoire and interpretation with other artists featured as well on a ragtime site meant to delight. Other neat stuff for your computer is there as well, including great piano sampling designed to improve your sound card's performance, and now piano roll scans as well. |
 | We lost the artist, John Roache, in 1999, but we did not lose his artistry. There are carefully crafted recreations of artists, and many original interpretations. These are among the most talked about MIDI recordings ever produced. |
 Colin D. MacDonald'sRagtime-March-Waltz MIDI Web Site | Colin MacDonald, a West Coast enthusiast and ragtime contributer, departed this world in March of 2008, but through this site his legacy remains. Very informative layout, complete with some downloadable scores and analysis of the pieces and their edited performances, this is a very good source for further interactive ragtime education from an individual with a true passion for the music. Fine work also by his editor Greenfield Bowie. |
 | Ragtime enthusiast Irwin Schwartz presents nicely crafted MIDI files in a number of genres along with information on the pieces. |
 | This Australian ragtime enthusiast has created a rich and growing database of ragtime era titles (over 7,500 to date) with information and sources for each listing in spreadsheet format. A remarkable body of hard work, this list belongs on every ragtime enthusiast's hard drive. You may also submit additional titles or corrections at any time. VISIT THIS SITE by all means. |
Mike Meddings'  | Mike Meddings, one of our friends in the U.K., with lots of ragtime music and extensive information updated frequently, featuring "Jelly Roll" Morton, J. Lawrence Cook, and Eubie Blake. |
 | Ted Tjaden has assembled this site focused in part on his native Canada and on the music in general. Includes many scanned images of original sheet music and links to many more, plus excellent articles and information on rags, genres, composers, etc. |
| Bruce C. Walker's Old-Time Parlor | A talented friend of the "Perfessor" who has much more than just ragtime to explore. There is a workshop, info on many pieces, some Jazz and Gospel, and even a touch of Christmas. Stop on by! |
 | Pianist Rich Cromie presents an entertaining on-line show of some old and some original rags celebrating 100+ years of the genre. |
| Primeline Chemical MIDI | A large collection of mostly ragtime and old-time MIDI files, some with explanatory text, by the "Perfessor" and many other artists listed herein. Days of listening pleasure. |
| Walt E Smith's MIDI | Some interesting interpretations of well-known ragtime composers. |
| Hamish Davidson Bluegrass and Ragtime | A dedicated and prolific young composer/performer from Australia with the same passion as the "Perfessor" for spreading the ragtime gospel. He also has many great originals to listen to. |
 | The real French Connection for a European view of ragtime, the site is presented in both Francais and English (click on the Union Jack) by dedicated young organist/pianist Benjamin Intartaglia. Don't miss his Who Am I Link which when read will make the visit even more meaningful. |
 Swedish RagtimeHome Page | Swedish ragtime enthusiast Oleg Mezjuev host some information and recordings of rags from Sweden and around the world, some that are not typically heard anywhere else. |
 | Translated into English it means Art of the Fugue. This European site has lots of MIDI files in various genres, including a page of ragtime from the European perspective. Hours of listening fun. |
| Rob Crausaz's Ragtime MIDI | Good variety and some unusual choices not usually heard appear on this simple yet very worthy site. MIDI files, some with brief explanations. |
George McClellan's | A ragtime veteran, he features many of his own compositions and some poetry to boot. |
 Melody Lane | Primarily a wonderful spectrum of old-time songs, it is a sing-along site with good MIDIs and MP3s, plus some interesting info and even more sheet music covers to admire. |
| E.T. Paull Sheet Music | Dedicated to the covers (and in some cases the music) of the great publisher of Marches and thematic pieces from Joe Feenstra's collection. |
| Public Domain Music | A great collection by artist Benjamin Tubb focusing on mid to late 19th century American works by Stephen Foster, George Root, Henry Clay and others. |
 | A variety of musical works is constantly being added to this site, which focuses largely on the sometimes overlooked works of Victor Herbert, composer of Babes in Toyland among other early musicals. |
 | Interesting interpretations of a wide variety of Blues, Jazz, Boogie, Stride, Barrelhouse, Swing, and Country music styles. |
| Individual Ragtime Artists and Associate's Sites |
 | A friend of the "Perfessor" and an absolutely brilliant and charming interpreter of novelty and 1920s/1930s piano. If you can't hear him in person, this is a good start. |
 Brian Holland | The "Perfessor" knew Brian Holland back when he was barely of legal age, and before he started playing better than most of us and won the Old-Time Piano Championship three times straight! He and Jeff Barnhardt provide some great entertainment and CDs to boot. Check them out. |
 | A close friend of the "Perfessor", Marty has a command of the piano that equals his wry and corny sense of humor. Marty says he likes being a farmer because he is out-standing in his field. *flinch* Anyhow, he is still an active Iowa apple farmer with a keen interest in American Musical Heritage. |
 | A great ragtime stage performer and friend of the "Perfessor" who is particularly adept in Boogie, Boogie-Woogie and blues music. Great story teller as well, as his books are full of wonderful anecdotes. |
 Edward A. Berlin'sRagtime and Scholarship | One of the finest researchers in ragtime on the web and in the world, as well as the utmost Joplin authority, you can view his writings and obtain his research books here as well. |
 Richard ZimmermanTracy Doyle | Dick is a founder of the famed Maple Leaf Club in Southern California, and we owe him a great debt for his active role in keeping ragtime out in front of the public, and his assistance to those artists performing it. He has many great rag collections for sale of pieces that can't be found elsewhere. Tracy has been instrumental in exploring the work of composer Egbert Van Alstyne, and is truly Dick's right hand. |
| Nora Hulse | Specializing in rags by women composers, this Missouri artist researches and performs ragtime works by women, and has folios of these rags available as well. |
 Mimi Blais | Mimi is a classical Canadian pianist who caught the ragtime bug and has not been able to shake it (thankfully). Her phenomenal interpretations garner well earned attention everywhere she performs, and she is the foremost authority on Canadian ragtime figures. |
 | This unique group starts where the famous Six Brown Brothers left off, bringing exciting piano ragtime renditions to listeners via saxophones, with all the fun of their predecessors and more. Some exciting CDs there, plus word on appearances. |
 | A site dedicated to Ragtime and Early American Music featuring rag icon Johnny Maddox, whom I have had the pleasure to know, and who has been an inspiration to me for a great deal of my career. |
 | The place to find the best of the best of contemporary ragtime artists on CD. Wide selection that goes beyond piano ragtime, and reliable service to boot. |
| Other Ragtime and Old-Time Music Sites/Archives |
 | A huge inventory of covers for display in varying categories, mostly from 1850 to 1920, and many with downloadable images of the music as well. NEW for 2007 - a major upgrade including better presentation, larger images and PDFs for many pieces. This is the original on-line archive, and still one of the best historically. |
 | Duke University has a nice inventory of selected sheet music categorized by decades from the 1850's to the 1920's, with images of the covers, music, and ads in various sizes for viewing or downloading. |
 | A fine collection of music associated with Colorado and a great selection Ragtime sheet images. Includes some Euday Bowman originals. |
 | A wonderful collection that has an expanding on-line presence, it includes the famous DeVincent collection, plus the Starr collection, and Hoagy Carmichael as well. Even the non-digitized listings are a great reference source. |
 | Another fine Indiana Collection with good imaging. Searching by category is a little hard, but with patience you'll find some real gems in here. |
 | This site, home of the Charles H. Templeton Sr. Music Museum, has grown incredibly in 2007, with more to come. Beautiful design, and lots of ragtime goodies. The search engine works well now, and there are additional helpful resources on the site, which Charles Templeton Jr. assures me is one of his priorities and clearly the pride and joy of his late father. |
| UCLA Digital Music Library | Waited many years for this to come online, and now it's here. Growing, but still expansive in the early stages, many items found here that aren't elsewhere. Select Search, then Browse, and you'll have a good time. |
 | An exciting addition to the many on-line archives, there are some very unique items that are to be found in this collection. The single drop-down title page is a bit more difficult to navigate, so the browse by composer pages (linked to here) are recommended. Just select Music from the list and Go. |
 | A large multi-tiered archive with some standards as well as four to eight hand arrangements, hosted by the University of Maine libraries. There are several ways to search, and good keyword use or filtering by years are recommended to minimize results. |
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Presented with the Detroit Public Library, this important collection includes full scans of many pieces of African-American music or that with Negro Themes, and is invaluable for research on composers like Fred S. Stone, Eubie Blake or Bert Williams among others. |
 Digital MusicCollection | This collection lives at the University of South Florida. It is a great reference for years of publication and publishers, as well as composers. |
 | A nicely organized and visually rich archive of African-American based music from 1850 to 1920, and worth a lengthy browse into its treasures. |
| Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music | A well categorized collection acquired by the Smithsonian Institution, this focus largely on the images and how they reflect the American way of life. Images are few, but can be viewed at the American History Museum in Washington, D.C. |
 | The Library of Congress section devoted entirely to ragtime. You'll find rarities by many composers including original transcriptions easily downloaded for your perusal. |
 | Ragtime and other music from Down Under. This is an interesting resource that features not only music unique to Australia, but many imports from the U.S. and elsewhere as well. Search on "Rag" or specific composers or titles. |
 | There are a surprising amount of great resources and references that include sheet music in this library archive, worth a look when trying to search for more information on any particular composer. |
| Ted Tjaden has assembled this site focused in part on his native Canada and on the music in general. Includes many scanned images of original sheet music and links to many more, plus excellent articles and information on rags, genres, composers, etc. |
 | Covers and accompanying MIDI sequences for music from the 1800's to the 1940's. A very well balanced and represented collection with a good archive. |
 | Dedicated to most facets of the life of the "World's Greatest Entertainer". Entertaining in itself, and a very insightful look into a complex life. |
| Ragtime and Old-Time Music Organization Sites |
 | Held each Memorial Day weekend in Peoria (formerly in Decatur), Illinois, this is a great gathering of both seasoned and budding ragtime and old-time pianists. The Memorial Day Weekend 2008 contest will be the 34th annual. |
 | Interested in not only preserving quality music but representing it through quality performances. A great organization to be involved with for listeners and performers alike, and one the "Perfessor" regularly partakes in. |
 Ragtime Music Reviewsby Jack Rummel | KGNU Ragtime Radio Host Jack Rummel has been reviewing ragtime recordings in print for over two decades. Now he thankfully contributes to the web on his review site, which also includes links to his weekly radio shows. |
 | Based in Sedalia, Missouri, home of the Maple Leaf Rag and other great ragtime compositions, their yearly Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival is held in early June, with the ragtime players from all over the world in attendance, and the ragtime store both in Sedalia and on-line is open all year. |
 | Traditional Jazz is a direct descendant of Ragtime. This organization both lists and hosts events year-round where exciting instrumental traditional jazz is performed. |
 | Established in 1975 in Germany and led for most of its life by Klaus Pehl, this group is one of the great instrumental ragtime forces in Europe, and has hosted many great players from all over the world. An informative site, it also includes downloads of band arrangements, including Standard High Class Rags, long known as the Red Back Book. CDs for sale as well. |
| Ragtime/Traditional Jazz Calendar | The Ragtime Press hosts this updated events calendar for festivals and presentations held throughout the United States and beyond. |
 | One of the longest running ragtime publications around, this informative magazine has great articles on ragtime music past and present, events listings, and a great archive. |
 | This Ragtime organization hosts the annual West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento, California. In addition to providing extensive information on the Festival, their site also provides lists of Ragtime event calendars, performers, vendors, organizations, publications, and MIDI sites, especially ragtime-based ones. Obviously a destination for those who love the music. |
 | All things concerning Traditional Jazz, the immediate child of ragtime, can be found here along with many sound files and related links. |
| Traditional Jazz in NW England | Information and news on the Traditional Jazz scene in the U.K. along with a calendar and mentions of groups elsewhere as well. |
 The Ragtime Webring | Members of this ring are selected for their dedication to the preservation of Scott Joplin's music and ragtime in general. All of these links are highly recommended. |
 Automatic Musical Instrument Related Sites |
 | Hosted by noted piano technician and historian Art Reblitz, this site not only features his marvelous and detailed book on mechanical music instruments, but has many articles on the history of such machines and the companies that built them, along with other highly useful information and links related to the topic. |
 | The oldest remaining piano roll provider also offers many new technologies to enhance old players, create new ones from ordinary pianos, and many types of MIDI interfaces, along with a fabulous selection of piano rolls, PianoMation discs, tuning supplies, roll cabinets, piano lights and useful accessories for any piano owner. |
| ARTCRAFT Music Rolls | Douglas Henderson has lovingly recreated or restored a number of piano rolls for reproducing and standard action players, along with some newer interpretations of older pieces. His recording techniques will bring new life to your Duo-Art or Ampico, or provide added fun for any player piano. The site also features the Pianola News. |
 | Hosted by Frank and Amanda Himpsl, this site features the late John Farrell's piano roll transcriptions of great stride solos and some MIDI files of the rolls as well. There are more rolls by other artists, great for any player piano or stride enthusiast. |
 | A virtual trading post for lovers of player pianos, music boxes, orchestrions and music rolls. Lots to browse through. |
 | A delightful tour of the instruments restored by Swiss collector Hanspeter Kyburz with good information and many fine pictures of unusual devices. |
| Automatic Musical Instruments Collector's Association | Lots of information and images of a variety of self-playing musical instruments. A good site for whetting one's interest in the topic. |
| Piano Roll MIDI Files by Warren Trachtman | Bringing new life to piano rolls and making them available to people who mysteriously don't have player pianos already is what Warren is doing for the world. Lots to listen to, and constantly growing. |
| Ragtime Automated Music | Full of pictures of player pianos and orchestrions, streaming video, MP3 audios, and MIDI files, this is a mechanical music paradise that will take some time to go through. |
 Ed Gaida's Home Page | A great source from an experienced technician for detailed information on mechanical musical instruments and unusual automatic devices, along with pictures and explanations. Ed is accessible to those interested in restoration of anything that reads a perforated roll. |
 | Classic piano rolls and some newer interpretations, focusing mostly on the genre of blues piano and ragtime. Includes Ampico, Duo-Art and Welte (Licensee) rolls. |
 | Musical Box Society International is a haven for those interested in all manners of mechanical music, of which music boxes are among the earliest forms. Lots to see there. |
 | A moderated digest for owners or lovers or mechanical music devices. Several pages of images, links to other mechanical music sites, and lots of information on the topic. |
 | Started in part by long-time piano roll aficionado Mike Montgomery, they feature a number of fabulous piano roll recordings and restorations from the Ragtime and Jazz eras. Tell Mike who sent you! |
Victor-Victrola  | The best resource for information on Victor Victrolas, the phonographs built by Victor with internal horns. There are links to many other resources as well. |
  | A variety of articles and other goodies all related to antique phonographs of all varieties. An auction area is included for collectors. |
 | Dedicated to the preservation of early recorded sounds, you can listen to streamed recordings and there are many CDs of material available. |
| Inventing Entertainment- Thomas Edison U.S. Library of Congress Site | Lots of information on Edison's role in the development of both Cylinder and Disc phonographs, including an article on Diamond Discs and some sound recordings. |
 | Information about your piano, the industry in general, and links to various piano competitions. |
| Commercial Music Resource Sites |
 | Paul Riseman has frequent on-line auctions from a variety of estates and other sources, sometimes with some truly valuable finds. Read the rules carefully before bidding to avoid any confusion in the process. |
 | This well-known stop is a good source for much of the ragtime and traditional jazz currently in print, as well as lots of used material that is hard to find. Search on Ragtime Music |
 | One of the most prestigious of booksellers, they host a considerable network of dealers that have rare sheet music available. Search on "Sheet Music", including the quotation marks. |
 | Dover has the best of the best of ragtime folios as well as many other genres and categories of historical interest. Search on ragtime or follow the music links. |
 | This on-line store has a large selection of ragtime music in both print and downloadable forms. From the following link you can see their Ragtime and Jazz/Blues Sheet Music selections. |
 | Fairly good selection, although some of the better known Dover editions are buried, and the searches are not as focused as may be desirable within such a limited spectrum. Worth a look, though. |
 | A European site with digital scores requiring Scorch. Some of the scores they are charging for ($5.79 for Maple Leaf Rag?) are actually available for free from on-line archives, but some arrangements of rags are also accessible to less-skilled players. |
 | Also called PianoPlace.com, they have a selection of some music that is hard to locate in other places. You will have to do some mining to find what you are looking for. |
 | A general purpose resource related to piano performance, sheet music, information, and history of the beloved instrument. |
 MIDI-Classics | A vast resource of MIDI creation software, pre-recorded MIDI, a large inventory of music books, and much more. |
 | This site allows you to download selected scores to your computer for printing. |
 | Long a standard in the printed world, and now on-line, it is a great resource for music of the past 100 years with good articles on playing as well. |
 | Within is one of the best online music stores (formerly Sunhawk.com), covering all styles of music, including many titles in the ragtime/old-time genre with legal digital downloads that you can print directly. This includes virtually all of the works by Scott Joplin. Search on "ragtime" or by title or composer. Many include MIDI files and can be transposed quickly, plus some have tab and/or chords. |
 | This company specializes in hard to find or out of print books. Search on Ragtime or the specific book title. Since many of these books are rare but in good condition, expect to pay a premium for ownership. |
 | This is the largest on-line 24/7 auction, and the available items are always changing with constant bidding. Items are offered by individual subscribers, and free registration is required to bid. Search on "Sheet Music" or try Collectibles:Sheet Music:By Decade, Collectibles:Sheet Music:Rag, or Collectibles:Sheet Music:Blues and Jazz. |
 | Records you want? Records they got. CDs, Sheet Music and other items also. Multiple levels of search, ratings of merchants, and more. The "Perfessor" is also listed on GEMM.. |
 | A combination of sources combined into one location, you can search on multiple categories, including rag, and purchase scores for piano or morse, many from eBay buy-it-now links. At the very least, it can fast-track some of your searches for many items. |
| General Musician Resources |
 Public DomainInformation Project | Everything you need to know about US and International copyright law, how it pertains to Public Domain, what Public Domain is and how it affects musicians and entertainers, and a partial listing of pieces that are currently in the Public Domain. |
 | Simply the largest resource for musical instruments at reasonable prices and reliable delivery that the "Perfessor" has found and frequented. A large spectrum of items, including recording studio equipment, and frequent "scratch and dent" sales. |
 ElderlyInstruments | A large selection of new and refurbished guitars, including many folk and small-sized models, plus banjos, non-traditional percussion instruments and CDs to boot. Great resource for old-time music lovers. |
 | An excellent source for recordable CDs and DVDs of all varieties and sizes, jewel cases, MiniDiscs, and related production supplies. |
 | A wonderful supplier of high quality blank cassettes, with tape and CD production/duplication services, quick turnaround, and lower prices than a lot of local and national firms. |
 | Resources on all things CD from production and design to materials and distribution. Good source for first-time do-it-yourselfers who want to find the best and most legal way to get their CDs on the market. |
 | Labels and labeling systems for CDs, DATs, MiniDiscs, and more. Highly recommended for ease of use and appearance. |
| Other Interesting Sites |
 | The web version of the popular television show which covers, among other things, items of cultural value related to the ragtime era. The link here goes to an article on vintage sheet music. Subscription required for some features. |
 Hand MadeRagtime Teddy Bears | Each bear is individually patched together by the creative Nancy Bassett, and named after a particular piano rag, perhaps one of your choosing. The one shown here was made just for the "Perfessor" in fact. A unique ragtime-based gift, for sure, even if it's just for YOU. |
 Coney IslandHistory Site | Where did New Yorkers and visitors to the not-quite-so-big apple go for fun during the ragtime era? The answers are in this fascinating site on America's first true amusement area, which is pure fun. Don't knock it Tilyou try it. Sheer Luna-cy. |
| The Tin Chicken | An avid Old-time music fan with a vast site, much of it with music and lyrics for old-time and gospel songs. |
 | Childrens activities, lots of MIDI links, and other fun stuff. |
| THE OHIO WEAVER | "The Travelin' Troubadours of Ohio", now in memory of the male half of the duo, featuring MIDI and acoustic folk music on authentic folk instruments. |
I always welcome your comments, questions, corrections, and/or requests for further information or additional links. I also will be glad to engage you in discussion about these topics if you want to mail me directly on |
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The Ragtime Webring-Dedicated to Scott Joplin and the music of the Ragtime Era, this ring is an invaluable resource for jazz music lovers, musicians and historians. Sheet music, midi files, afro-american history, record collectors... |
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There are lots of great ragtime recordings by top artists available from
Including some of my recommended favorites: And don't miss these movies which include some ragtime music: |
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