Blue Ribbon Rag is a classic example of American ragtime by May Aufderheide, featuring bright melodies and stride-inspired bass lines. It is distinguished by its charming syncopation and lighthearted, nostalgic character.
The main challenge is maintaining a steady 'oom-pah' stride rhythm in the left hand while keeping the right hand light.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Blue Ribbon 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 5.
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 Blue Ribbon Rag lasts about 3 minutes.
Blue Ribbon 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 Buzzer Rag by May Aufderheide, Alexander's Ragtime Band by Irving Berlin, Waltz in D-flat major, No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.