Dat Johnson Rag is an early 20th-century American ragtime composition by Nathaniel Clark Smith. It is distinctive for its stylistic blend of traditional syncopation and early jazz rhythmic sensibilities.
At Henle 4 this is an intermediate piece that expects secure technique and real attention to phrasing. The main demands: a left hand with real melodic or rhythmic responsibility of its own, and precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece.
Students must master the stride left hand to provide a solid, rhythmic foundation for the syncopated melody.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Dat Johnson Rag is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 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 Dat Johnson Rag lasts about 3 minutes.
Dat Johnson 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 12 Variations on "Ah vous dirais-je, Maman" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 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.