Graceful Ghost Rag

Each year, I select a piece from the Federation Festival's "required" list of music. In 2023, I was in the "Musically Advanced I" category (it only goes up to "Musically Advanced II"), and I selected "Graceful Ghost Rag" because (a) I thought it was a beautiful piece, and I enjoyed learning Scott Joplin's "Solace" a few years back, and (2) upon hearing it, I thought, "I can do that."

Then I saw the sheet music, and boy did I learn a valuable lesson--never select a piece without first looking at the sheet music.

For me, this is the musical equivalent of wrestling an alligator. Although I played it at last year's Federation Festival, I waited until today to record it in an effort to "perfect it."

It's not even close to perfect, but as someone once told me, "perfection is the enemy of progress." Enjoy.