Scott Joplin - Complete Piano Rags 1989

Note that this contains only Joplin's rags, does not include Solace or his marches, waltzes, and songs.

Solace: And Other Short Works for Piano 2001

A good companion to Complete Piano Rags, this volume includes Joplin works not found in the piano rag collections, including marches and waltzes.

Treemonisha Vocal Score 2001

An excellent study guide to Joplin's crowning achievement, it gives insight into the Joplin's assertion of the extended potential of ragtime as a legitimate art form.

Classic Piano Rags - Complete Music for 81 Rags 1973

This is THE book, the one that has been around for nearly three decades, and is still a well-balanced collection of the best of classic ragtime composers.

Ragtime Rarities - 63 Rags 1975

There are excellent rags found in here that are hard to find even on eBay or in Antique malls. Many of these pieces can be found here at perfessorbill.com.

Ragtime Rediscoveries - 64 Rags 1979

Lots more pieces you will have trouble finding in sheet music form. This book alone can save you hundreds of hours of searching and thousands in cash required to buy them separately.

Ragtime Gems - 25 Rags 1986

The rags found in here are a little more common and well-known by most ragtime pianists. A good play-through book.

Ragtime Jubilee 1997

A very interesting collection of later ragtime, published after the previous books as the copyrights ran out. Many of the rags within are an essential part of the technical ragtimer's repertoire.

Cakewalks, Two-Steps and Trots for Solo Piano - 34 Pieces 1997

Contains a variety of dance-oriented tunes from the earliest cakewalks of the 1890s to the spate of animal dances of the 1910s.

Nineteenth Century American Piano Music 1978

Includes Louis Moreau Gottschalk's The Banjo, a precursor of ragtime, and other pieces that will give the pianist insight as to what was composed in the U.S. prior to the ragtime era.

Sousa's Great Marches - 23 Transcriptions 1975

All of his most popular marches, these pieces translate fairly well to the piano, and it is interesting to see how these well known pieces are actually executed.

Popular Songs of Nineteenth Century America - 64 Songs 1976

Many of these are songs we all knew in childhood, and so did our great grandparents. It is worth a look to see how much some melody lines and lyrical content have been altered in the interim.

Favorite Songs of the Nineties (1888-1906) - 89 Songs 1973

This is the stuff that was incorporated into and eventually replaced ragtime. A look at this and you'll see that the "Gay Nineties" weren't always so happy, at least musically.

Song Hits From The Turn of the Century (1892-1906) - 25 Songs 1977

A smaller collection than some listed here, it still has some lesser-known but worthy pieces from the earliest days of Tin Pan Alley. It is currently out of print but available from sources (click the cover).

Take Me Out To The Ball Game and Other Favorite Song Hits (1906-1908) - 23 Songs 1984

A nice combination of songs we all were born knowing and some that have been forgotten but should be remembered. Most of the arrangements are good sight-reading.

Alexander's Ragtime Band and Other Favorite Song Hits (1901-1911) - 49 Songs 1987

This is simply one of the best of the Dover song folios, and more than sufficient to support a good sing-along session with verses to boot.

Peg O'My Heart and Other Favorite Song Hits (1912-1913) - 36 Songs 1989

A look through these pieces shows a definite point of evolution in American popular music from even a few years prior, and has nice combination of operetta, early blues, Irish tunes and ragtime songs.

Saint Louis Blues and Other Song Hits (1914) - 21 Songs 1990

Smaller than similar collections, this one still packs a punch and includes a couple pre-World War One pieces associated with the war, along with some poignant ballads.

For Me and My Gal and Other Favorite Song Hits (1915-1917) - 31 Songs 1994

Another great source of sing-along material, the fusion of blues styles in popular music starts to appear more in many of these songs, as well as early jazz tunes.

A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody and Other Favorite Song Hits (1918-1919) - 40 Songs 1997

This folio represents yet another transitional period in American popular music, with a few ballads left over from the ragtime era along with some World War One and early Jazz tunes.

Beale Street and Other Classic Blues (1901-1921) - 39 Works 1998

This is simply the most complete collection of early blues in print, since it also shows the covers and includes the verses. There are some wild pieces as well as some that are true-blue.

35 Song Hits by Great Black Songwriters 1998

While there is some duplication crossover with previous Dover publications, as a themed collection this book stands on its own, and displays the equal talents of black composers in a predominantly white publishing world.

The Complete (Collected) Works of Scott Joplin (Volume 1) - Edited by Vera Brodsky Lawrence

New York Public Library

Piano Rags, Waltzes, Marches, etc. It is out of print, but worth locating. Note that the earlier Collected Works edition is short by three rags.

The Complete Works of Scott Joplin (Volume 2) - Edited by Vera Brodsky Lawrence

New York Public Library

Songs and the score to Treemonisha. This is out of print, available through a few major libraries, but worth finding as it contains covers to the pieces as well.

Scott Joplin - Complete Works for Guitar

Mel Bay Publications

Piano Rags plus a few non-Rags and Waltzes all transcribed for guitar solo. These are printed in standard staff notation with fingerings, and not in tablature.

Scott Joplin - Complete Rags for Piano

Schirmer Publications

Piano Rags plus a few non-Rags and Waltzes. Good value, AND it is currently available. All pieces have been newly engraved for consistent readability.

A Little Lost Lamb

Ragtime Press

Through the efforts of Sue Keller and Joseph Lamb's daughter, Patricia Lamb-Conn, this much needed book contains a spectrum of Lamb works that spans his entire writing career, including marches, songs, a waltz and many rags, most published for the first time.

The Library of Ragtime and Early Blues Piano

AMSCO Publications

A well-mixed collection that spans the era from early rags to early blues. There are some items in here that are unique, but there is also much duplication with the Dover folio series shown above.

Max Morath's Giants of Ragtime

Hal Leonard Publishing, New York, NY

While not a lot of pieces are contained within, this is a good source for some Eubie Blake and Luckey Roberts tunes.

Max Morath's Ragtime Guide - Best of Ragtime

Edward B. Marks, New York, NY

Available sporadically, there is nothing here that is not available in other folios.

All American Ragtime Volumes 1-5

Creative Concepts

Vol. 1    Vol. 2    Vol. 3    Vol. 4    Vol. 5

Collectively over 200 rags in this series, some not found in Dover books. Great for traveling since they are thinner. Sporadically in print.

Sincerely Eubie - Transcribed and Edited by Terry Waldo

Edward B. Marks Music/Hal Leonard Publishing

Another hard to locate publication, but it may still be in the bins in some music stores and pops up on the internet on occasion. Includes analysis of the rags and some of Eubie's biography.

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton: Collected Piano Works - Edited by James Dapogny

Smithsonian Press

A scholarly treatise of Morton's works as he recorded them, it is a great guide to ascertain elements of the "Jelly Roll" style, but not sight reading material.

101 Rare Rags - Compiled and Edited by Richard Zimmerman

American Ragtime Company, Grass Valley, CA

Even though a few of the rags have been published elsewhere since this volume was first released, it still has a number pieces you won't find anywhere else that are worth the money and the effort.

Gems of Texas Ragtime - Compiled and Edited by Richard Zimmerman

American Ragtime Company, Grass Valley, CA

Nowhere else will you find all of Euday Bowman's rags. There are a number of other worthy pieces that have been recorded but not reprinted elsewhere.

First Ladies of Hoosier Ragtime - Compiled and Edited by Richard Zimmerman

American Ragtime Company, Grass Valley, CA

Some of the best rags from Indiana are included in this collection of rags by May Frances Aufderheide and Julia Lee Niebergall, both considerable talents.

60 Years of Ragtime Piano - Compiled and Edited by Nora Hulse

Nora Hulse

Yet another in a great series of folios for today's foremost authority on women ragtime era and beyond composers. Many cool items you just won't find anywhere else. CD also available.

Ragtime Refreshments - Compiled and Edited by Nora Hulse

Nora Hulse

A compilation of many long-neglected ragtime era pieces composed by women, complete with cover images and biographical information. You will be hard pressed to find any of these fascinating pieces elsewhere. CD also available.

Cake Walks, Two Steps and Rags by Women Composers - Compiled and Edited by Nora Hulse

Nora Hulse

Many previously neglected ragtime gems in a folio that includes the covers and biographical info on the composers. CD also available.

24 Piano Rags by Women - Compiled and Edited by Nora Hulse

Nora Hulse

An exciting collection of piano ragtime that includes the covers and biographical info on the composers. CD also available.

Hot Kumquats and Other Frosty Treats - Hot Thirties Style Piano Compositions by Robin Frost

A must have for those who love hot stride piano. I recommend getting the incredible accompanying CD by the late John Roache, since many of these are better off played by a computer than a frustrated human. Click the cover to order or for more info.

The Best of Robin Frost Volumes 1 and 2

Includes many of his Ragtime and Novelty compositions that go back to the late 1970s, some of which have been rescored. Includes some original humorous illustrations. Get a CD of his material to appreciate the skill that Mr. Frost puts into his work. Click the cover to order or for more info.

Irving Berlin: Ragtime and Early Songs

Hal Leonard Corporation

Part of a series that Berlin himself categorized and stipulated for posthumous publication over 40 years before his death at 101. It constitutes a time-capsule of sorts for the era.

Scott Joplin - King of Ragtime

Ashley Publications

Includes a couple of Joplin songs and waltzes not found in the Rag-only collections.

William Bolcom: Complete Rags for Piano

Cherry Lane Books

One of the most durable ragtime composers and artists of the 1970s to present, this book is worth having for the Ghost Rags and Seabiscuits alone. The notations are complete and directions on how to play cleverly clear. Know that many of these rags are very challenging, but all are worth the effort to learn.

Ain't Misbehavin'

Hal Leonard Publishing

The great revival of Fats Waller's musical genius was driven in a large part by the Broadway show from which the selections in this book were drawn. It includes the verses for many of the tunes even though they don't appear on the soundtrack or on stage. This collection does not represent Waller's instrumental output all that well.

Fats Waller: The Great Piano Solos 1929-1941

Hal Leonard Publishing

Within are transcriptions that duplicate or paraphrase some of the more famous piano solos that Waller recorded in his short professional career, many that have remained staples of stride and jazz pianists since they first appeared. Moderate to high difficulty.

Harlem Stride Piano Solos

Warner Brothers Publishing

A benchmark of great transcriptions of the better known stride piano solos originally only available on recordings. If you are up to the challenge, it can help you decode some mysteries of how certain licks were achieved.