Mike Knudsen's Piano Rags and Marches (Updated 2007/7/10)

You can load and hear the MIDI files from this page too. See the Legend near bottom for guide to the notations. I'd love to hear comments about this page and my music.

You can now download the free program that created these MIDI masterpieces.

For another ragtime composer and pianist's interpretations of my rags, and to hear the cream of contemporary French ragtime, visit Benjamin Intartaglia's Ragtime Francais site. C'est magnifique!

Please check out our new Guest Composer, Rachel Newstead.

See my hints for downloading and playing MIDI files, and please read my Copyright policy.

Trail Bike Rag (1975 or even earlier)

The four strains (melody sections) capture the different moods of a two-wheel ride thru the back country. Try them out here. The A strain is fast and cheerful. The B strain is a 12 bar Blues, with a "cheating" guitar overdub in the repeat that can't be played by a human pianist, as our biker runs into some slippery mud. A powerful T transition leads to a slow, swinging Western ballad C strain, as the rider slows down and takes in the beauty of the landscape. The ride ends with a typical Ragtime D, repeated an octave higher.

Nadia Rag (c.1975)

This little jewel follows the traditional standard 3-strain rag form and marches right along. It's best played fast, in straight-8 time, though swinging can't hurt and is used on repeats in the MIDI version. The chord changes and bass runs show what I learned by playing piano in a Dixieland band. The B strain seems to flow naturally from the A. The Intro I is based on Hava Nagila, and the C Trio on a children's tune -- can you name it? This piece celebrated my introduction to fatherhood, and is named for my little boy's babysitter. Now a big boy, he's a folk singer and songwriter.

Chilton Rag (1977)

Short and sweet and sassy, this rag is named for my wife and stays in the key of C throughout. Since she grew up in the Navy, all over the world, I sprinkled a few short Oriental and Latin touches in the A strain. The B strain has daring chord changes, and suggests the S bridge. This S is used not only to lead into the Trio, but also in the first half before the A' reprise. Take a listen.

Frances {An Artistic} Rag (5/1978)

The first of my "Variation" rags, with variations instead of plain repeats on the A and B strains. The A2 variation shifts the melody from soprano to alto voice (pianist's right thumb). The B strain is a continuation of A. But the B2 is a screamfest of variations that knock over the potted palms that the sweet A strain hid behind. The S is in odd meters (try counting the beats in the MIDI performance!). The "mighty organ" C trio has 20 bars.

Christoph Schmetterer, a young but prolific Viennese ragtime composer, refers to pieces like this as Concert Rags, as in "Concert Marches" and "Concert Waltzes"; breaks in the rhythm and other experimental liberties mean they're not intended for marching, dancing, or barroom piano!

Pinball Rag (c. 1979)

Five strains, for the 5 balls you get on an old-style pinball machine, whose sounds and thrills this rag tries to capture. My best overall fun rag? Try it! The Trio opens with C, a takeoff on Frances' C strain without the sap. The old key returns at D, which has Mozart-like effects and daring chord changes. Everything is lit as E rings the bells and wins the replay and extra balls! Its repeat could also be played slower and swinging.

This rag is mentioned in Issue 87/88 (Fall 2001) of the PinGame Journal, page 22.
Don't miss Benamin Intartaglia's hand-played interpretation!

Sweetwilliam Rag (1981 - 1999)

Every ragtime composer needs one named for a flower. This is the second Concert or Variation rag, stylistically and historically a mate to Frances. Variations in the A and C strains shift the melodies to the Tenor part (pianist's left thumb). Sweetwilliam stretches the definition of Ragtime form -- I doubt any section has only 16 bars! The A strains are smooth barbershop, very pianistic but also good on organ. B has marching band effects with tight interplay between the right and left hands. This piece was definitely composed at the keyboard and written down later, the opposite of Sand Trap!

The Trio puts a 6/8 melody against 3/4 accompaniment, an idea stolen from Chopin. C's chord changes are based on Pachelbel's Canon; do you recognize them in the MIDI file? The S echos Trail Bike's S, but based on a Chopin prelude's chords and the Agincourt Hymn. But it really isn't musical Junkyard Wars, honest -- this is perhaps my most subtle and complex composition. Enjoy!

Sand Trap Rag (October 2001, April 2002)

Just what I needed, another hobby! But I've been way overdue for another Rag, so when these tunes popped into my head, I decided to name it after this summer's (2001) learning project, the outdoor version of pinball with real grass, sand, and water hazards. I've finished the "back nine" on this piece and it's time for some hot piano at the 19th hole.

Sand Trap Rag has a different, more "vintage" style from my other rags, having a tradional, conventional form. The Intro suggests a laid-back stroll from the clubhouse to the #1 Tee, and the A strain is in Cakewalk style with a repeated figure suggestive of swinging a club. By the B strain it's clear that golf is no cakewalk, as fast and furious polyphonic countermelodies mimick the million thoughts that crowd the brain while setting up a swing at the wee white ball. You can almost hear the swearing and hacking away in the sand bunkers, but B ends with a confident stride to the next hole. Early in the A' strain's reprise a bass run suggests a topped tee shot barely dribbling down to the ladies' tee, but there are some joyful surprises in this reprise.

The bridge T quotes a Bath, Maine civic booster song and slows back down for the Trio's nostalgic, yearning C strain, followed by the striding D which "swings" on its repeat as our golfer swaggers thru the 19th hole lounge, improving his lies. The short Coda O finishes up the left hand with that most blessed sound -- the ball rattling into the cup.

This is my first rag composed away from the piano, at the computer instead (much like writing sheet music), so the B strain is tricky to play, and I had to revoice chords everywhere to fit human hands. I'll send GIF images of the sheet music on request to anyone who'd like to try their hands at it.

A darker "program" for this music was suggested by a close friend who critiques my compositions. I wrote the first two strains a week after Sept. 11. In his thoughts, the A cakewalk represents the happy-go-lucky innocence of America before the terrorist strikes, and the B feels the nervousness and complexity of always looking over your shoulder and staying alert. When I added the C strain, it seemed to convey a yearning for the lost innocence and simpler times, and anger at who and what had been taken from us.

St. George's March, or "Pound For Pound" (1975? - 2000)

A carousel band organ march, not a rag, but the Rag form is based on the March form, like so many other popular song and dance types. Does the MIDI file sound like a merry-go-round to you? This March has just been arranged for a real band organ by David Wasson, a machinist in San Diego (as far from Maine as you can get in the USA) who built his own organ Trudy from scratch and punches his own music rolls! Please try this MP3 recording of his organ playing "St. George's March." Since then, a Swedish organ builder has also adapted St. George. Old George does get around!

Meanwhile, I punched it myself on a 31-note roll for my "monkey grinder's" crank organ or hurdy-gurdy. Originally "Pound For Pound", it was renamed in honor of St. George's Church in Beckenham, Kent, just south of London, where I spent a week on a choir trip with a great English family.

No funny "concert" business, we march in straight 2/4 time throughout. So far this is my only piece to use Percussion, which would spice up my rags too. A2 is a bells and Irish Penny-Whistle takeoff on the A1 melody, sneaking this march into the Variation class. The S sounds a bit like football halftime fanfares, but otherwise the piece has an English flavor.

March of the Red-Capped Penguins, or"Keep The Dream Alive" (2001)

A march tune that came to me as I was working on the LINUX version of my composing program. The title represents Bill Gates' worst nightmare, ranks of penguins marching towards the Microsoft campus as he fumbles for the BatSignal in his sweaty pajamas.

You can also sing it to "Keep the Dream Alive," where you are welcome to finish the lyrics for whatever "dream" inspires you, such as space exploration or open-source software. (This tune and title are 4 years older than the French nature documentary movie, but you may sing "Keep the Egg Alive".)

Both strains have a German feel and are rich in countermelodies. (Subconsciously, I seem to have borrowed some snippets from a Dutch/German piece called "Schutzliesel" (Shooting Gallery)). The A strain repeats use a fluty calliope sound versus the opening brass chorus, and the B strains use clarinets. The AABAAB form is temporary for this "work in progress," and I've arranged it for my grind organ as AABABA, like a song with verses and refrains. One more strain would make it a full march, but it's worth hearing now.

The Lonely Coed (1964+, aka The Homely Coed)

I made up this tune on the student practice pianos at Penn State University (where my senior year kicked off with Joe Paterno becoming head coach). But I was frustrated by not being able to play the melody, swinging Dorian Mode accompaniment, and bass line all at once with only two hands. Once I had my UltiMusE composing program running, I could finally hear this played as I'd imagined it. And many people have been delighted by my hurdy-gurdy roll arrangement.

The B2 variation combines reggae bass with Oriental licks on steel drums, but the whistling A' repeats remind some listeners of a Spaghetti Western theme. You'll want to hear for yourself.

Friends Are Where You Find Them (1964, 2006)

This was my first "folk song" tune, written with some bad lyrics at Penn State to commemorate my becoming friends with some types of people that I was sure would never want anything to do with me. The relative-minor B strain picked up a Klezmer character when I arranged this piece for my monkey organ in 2006. Don't be fooled by the diatonic opening theme statement in church-organ guise; it gets happy in a hurry. What you hear is close to my crank organ version, with some of the missing notes put back in.

The City of Ships (2001, 2002)

This little waltz tune was composed by Martha F. H. Mayo as an 8-bar, 3-chord "civic booster" jingle for her (and now my) home town of Bath, Maine, which has been a shipbuilding center for over 300 years. To arrange it for my hurdy-gurdy organ, I added the Intro and Bridge sections that suggest a ship rocking on the waves and bosun's piping. In one section I represent fog horns calling each other across the bay (we get lots of fog in Maine).

My MIDI version was used only for punching my grind-organ roll, but I've added instrument changes to reflect the way I'd be switching stop registers with my left hand while cranking away with my right.

David Wasson, San Diego's builder of the Trudy band organ, added more verses and a countermelody to his MIDI file, which again was intended only to punch his much larger organ roll.

To really hear the result of Martha, me, and David, try the MP3 recording of David's huge organ! The tonal variety is fascinating, and in the "fog" verse the fog horns duel across the bay until the sailors shriek in terror as yet another uncharted Maine "ledge" rock sprouts before them. More work for our shipbuilders ...

But in 2004 I was asked to arrange it for Concertina Orchestra (really!). I kept David's embellishments and added a minor-key interlude with the melody in the Bass. This melancholy section depicts the Great Depression years when nobody could afford a ship, and many Bath residents were out of work. But all ends well.

Fighters Of The Flames (Firemen's March)

This march is dedicated to the world's firefighters, whom I have long admired. Conceived in 6/8 meter as a concert band piece, it would work just as well on an organ. The minor-key A strain opens with three alarm bells, and shows the scrambling in the firehouse and the anxiety of people at the fire, which upgrades to four alarms midway thru the strain. And halfway thru, we hear my town volunteer department's mournful siren that used to wake me up as a boy, played as a euphonium countermelody. On the A repeat, the euphonium sneaks in the future Trio melody in the minor key, still rising and falling as a siren.

The sprightly B strain sees our firemen clanging thru the streets, knocking down the fire, and riding proudly home. The Tuba bass line is almost a melody in itself.

Enough corny program melodrama. The C Trio is a solemn hymn to courage, played in the clarinets' low register while the bells pay a "4 by 5" homage to fallen comrades. A dramatic dogfight S brings back the Trio at triumphant full volume, with the Trombones' countermelody reprising the original A strain but in the major key. The original MIDI file shows how I first conceived this march as a band organ number, but the far better Band Arrangement represents real concert band instruments and has recently been arranged for the Bath Municipal Band.

LEGEND or Key to the Notation

• Letters (A, B, C, ...) are each a separate strain or melody, usually 16 bars (measures) long. No relation to the musical keys of A, B-flat, C, etc. Rags and marches need at least three strains, and many rags have four.
• Period (.) comes to a full stop. Otherwise the music is assumed to flow smoothly.
• Prime (') means a slight change in form of that strain, not enough to count as a Variation.
• Numbers (1, 2, 3) after a strain letter mean a true variation on that strain, in the musical fashion of Shakespeare's Elizabethan era, and the basis of Jazz today. Actually, theme and variations has been a favorite musical trick since the Middle Ages. Beethoven loved writing them. Sure beats inventing new tunes :-)
• I is the Introduction, an original creation, usually 4 bars.
• I- is an introduction stolen from the last 4 bars of the A strain.
• T is a transition section to get into the Trio, about 4 bars
• _T is a "stealth" transition that flows directly out of the preceding strain as an extended 2nd ending.
• S is a "Sousa Span" transition within the Trio, used to repeat C. Aptly called the "Dogfight" by marching band players. See Stars & Stripes Forever* or Scott Joplin's Eugenia Rag.
• O is a Coda special ending, maybe 4 bars at most.
• _O flows smoothly into a coda as an extended 2nd ending.
• O- is a not so original Coda based on the S or other section.
• { } Braces enclose a section that is optional and sometimes left out in performance.
• -k means the piece does not change key where expected, or reverts to original key later.
  Normally a Rag or March adds one flat before the C strain (Trio).
• +k indicates a key change at a "non-standard" place, a bonus.
• Trio is the standard rag/march/dance term for the C strain and everything following.

COPYRIGHT POLICY

All the MIDI files here are Copyright© by Michael J. Knudsen, their composer. Permission is granted for free adaptation, arrangement, and use on any mechanical organ or piano, provided that credit is given to me, the composer, and I am notified when the arrangement is completed. Recordings of such organs including my music may be sold without further permission, provided that my piece(s) and my name are identified on the labels. Sale of rolls or MIDI files to other organ owners requires my permission if any profit is involved. Continuous usage of my music in a commercial place (e.g., a player piano in a hotel lobby) requires my permission. Other than the above, all normal copyright considerations apply. Band arrangements in particular require my permission. Enjoy the tunes, and feel free to contact me.

COMMENTS ON MY RAGS and MARCHES