Black Ink Rag is another composition by Cameron Lee Simpson, showcasing his commitment to the ragtime tradition. It uses typical ragtime syncopations and melodic sequences that drive the piece forward.
Students should work on accuracy of the left-hand position changes during the stride segments.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Black Ink Rag is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
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 Black Ink Rag lasts about 3 minutes.
Black Ink Rag 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 24th Street Rag by Cameron Lee Simpson, Bullseye Rag by Cameron Lee Simpson, Banana Pepper Rag by Cameron Lee Simpson — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.