Felix Arndt was primarily known for his ragtime and novelty piano compositions, and this piece reflects the upbeat, populist spirit of early 20th-century American light music. Its structure leans heavily on popular dance rhythms of the period.
The player must ensure rhythmic precision in the syncopated passages to maintain the character of the piece.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
As Long as the Band Will Play is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 3.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of As Long as the Band Will Play lasts about 2 minutes.
As Long as the Band Will Play is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Alexander's Ragtime Band by Irving Berlin, Waltz in D-flat major, No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin, 12 Variations on 'Ah vous dirai-je, Maman' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.