Nat Johnson's Calico Rag is a quintessential early 20th-century ragtime piece. Its appeal lies in its infectious rhythmic vitality and straightforward melodic structure.
The technical challenge is maintaining consistent tempo and clarity during the quick jumps in the left hand.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Calico 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 Calico Rag lasts about 3 minutes.
Calico 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 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.