Buck Dance Bill is a characteristic American ragtime-influenced piece composed by Lewis F. Muir during the early 20th century. It features syncopated rhythms typical of the era's popular dance styles transposed for the keyboard.
The primary challenge lies in maintaining a consistent, steady tempo while executing the characteristic syncopations in the right hand.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Buck Dance Bill 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 Buck Dance Bill lasts about 3 minutes.
Buck Dance Bill 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.