American Beauty Rag

[Mike Neer]

This American Beauty Rag by Joseph F. Lamb, published in 1913. This is the first demo track I’ve completed towards my next CD. I’m tentatively calling it American Steel since all the music featured on it will be from great American composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries, like Jelly Roll Morton, Jospeh Lamb, Scott Joplin, Edward MacDowell, and others. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more excited about anything before. The music is already composed—my only job is to interpret it.

I recorded this until late last night. Even though I’ve been working on all aspects of this tune for almost a month, from writing out chord charts, bass lines, deciphering the score, this was the first time I had played the melody all the way through and it only took about three tries. It was my lucky night. Sol Hoopii’s Rickenbacker has become a great inspiration for me. I’m becoming very attached to it.

I’ve uploaded this to Bandcamp but it’s a free track. Let me know what you think! The tune has several sections, so try and see it through to the end if you can bear it.


https://mikeneer.bandcamp.com/track/american-beauty-rag

[Matt Perpick]

So fun. Thanks for sharing.

[Mike Neer]

Thanks, Matt. It is a pleasure to play this great, uplifting music. I think one of the proudest things for me as an American is our great, diverse musical heritage.

[Andy DePaule]

Splendid is the least I can say.
Thanks for free sample.

[Jim Mckay]

Very clever playing Mike.well done.

[Mike Neer]

Very clever playing Mike.well done.

You have to pull out all the stops and utilize every trick you can sometimes, and this music a perfect example. It’s not supposed to sound as difficult as it really is.

Thanks for listening everyone! What I really like to think about is how much the music of all the great ragtime composers influenced all the music that followed. There was such a craze at the time, and every decade or so there is a resurgence, because the music is a part of everything we listen to. All the music that followed was touched by it. I also really love Sousa and will be looking at some of his music as well.

[David Irving]

Very tasty playing.

[Bill Sinclair]

Wonderful stuff - especially being played on that particular Rickenbacher. I wonder if I'm the only one who was half-expecting to hear a Grateful Dead tribute.

[Shaun Marshall]

Thank you, Mike! This is so great! The Rickenbacker sounds like it was made to play on this and the two others you did recently, Graceful Ghost Rag and the Entertainer. I'm really looking forward to an album of this as an entire work.

Coincidently, I have been reading the Jerry Byrd biography this weekend while listening to a bunch of his albums on vinyl and that Rickenbacker has such a clear yet haunting sound from another time, yet timeless.

[Andy Volk]

Bravo, Mike!

[Orville Johnson]

Hey Mike, just listened and it sounds great. Obviously a very complex tune but you really make it flow and get a beautiful tone. Looking forward to more!

[Peter Jacobs]

Nicely done, Mike — I love your fluidity and all of the moving lines. I can hear the piano-ness of it, but it sounds like it was written for steel.

[Bill Groner]

Awesome job Mike. I can see where you spent a good month working on that.

[Steve Cunningham]

Very cool Mike!

[Scott Thomas]

I can't help but think of all the marches and rags that Sol played on that guitar, and now here you are essentially reinventing that tradition with your versions of this music. That was really phenomenal!

Those first whistle-like glisses surprised me, which is nice. Music should surprise as well as excite all the other emotions. I had never heard the original of that rag, so I looked it up and had a listen. It was indeed very inventive the way you adapted that high note for the steel guitar arrangemnent and actually made it into a memorable "hook".

It's amazing the way you internalized this complex piece and distilled the essential melody.

Thanks for the inspiration.

[Mike Neer]

Those first whistle-like glisses surprised me, which is nice. Music should surprise as well as excite all the other emotions. I had never heard the original of that rag, so I looked it up and had a listen. It was indeed very inventive the way you adapted that high note for the steel guitar arrangemnent and actually made it into a memorable "hook".

It's amazing the way you internalized this complex piece and distilled the essential melody.

Scott, thanks a lot. I feel like you hit the nail on the head. When I look at a piece of music, I’m always asking myself what can I add to the music that makes it a successful use of the instrument in an arrangement. It’s not enough to just play the notes, it is a ton of small decisions that are made to make the piece playable in the way you hear it. I am extremely happy arranging music for steel.

I can remember thinking I would never get to the point of creating steel arrangements, or that I even wanted to; I was into arranging a head and then improvising. But I have done a complete 180 and I am really enjoying taking my time to work through challenging pieces and doing everything I can to make it flow and surprise, but in a subtle ways. I think the most gratifying part is knowing how difficult some of the parts are and no one notices.

I can safely say I am spending from 2-4 weeks on each piece, including arranging the other instruments. It takes a week to really embed the tune to the point I can sing it from start to finish.

[anewcomb]

Wow I really really enjoyed that track Mike Neer, because I tried a lot of those rags on piano a long time ago, and A.B. was one I could not for the life of me comprehend from the sheet music. There even was a player piano in the house at the time with a roll of that piece - a machine for mocking the the frustrated amateur. But I loved the sound of it then and hadn't forgotten it. Your version as everyone here says, takes it to a real high level. And it lets me finally get a clear look at the melodies. so Thanks!

[Jim Kaznosky]

The feel and arrangement is really good. Your motivation is motivating to me.

[Mike Neer]

My friends, thanks for all the comments and for listening. I’m making good progress on the arranging and demoing and I think this release, “American Beauties” will be finished by year-end.

I have released American Beauty Rag as a single on all streaming platforms, so if you are streaming and ever want to hear it again, it’s there.

[Michael Johnstone]

That's really amazing Mike. I'm very impressed.

[Stuart Berlinicke]

That sounds fantastic! I really enjoyed that Mike, thanks for posting

[Mike Neer]

Honestly guys, it means the world to me, so thanks for your comments.

I feel like this is a very uplifting piece of music. The last movements of the piece are so joyful to play, especially on bass.