Buzzer Rag is a classic piano rag by May Aufderheide characterized by its syncopated melodies and steady bass accompaniment. It is distinct for its bright, upbeat harmonic language typical of the classic ragtime era.
The primary challenge is maintaining a steady 'oom-pah' left-hand stride while keeping the right-hand syncopations rhythmically precise.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Buzzer 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 Buzzer Rag lasts about 3 minutes.
Buzzer 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 Blue Ribbon 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.