A rag written by yours truly, this piece is available on a piano roll from Artcraft Music Rolls in Wiscassett, Maine (plug!). One day, while looking through some old sheet music, I noticed that most of it was torn and tattered around the edges, making me think that most ragtime music has “ragged edges.” I thought this would be a good name for a rag, so good I thought, that there was probably already one written with that name. I checked several sources but could not find a rag published with that title. The next time I was inspired to write a rag, I decided to call it Ragged Edges. Several years later, while looking through a sheet music collection in Stark, Mississippi, I found a Ragged Edges by Otto Frey, published by Victor Kremer (1911) in Chicago. I decided to keep the title, since it was still a good one for a rag, and considering that the original must not have been very popular, since it was so difficult to find. The gospel-sounding second theme wasn’t intentional, but I’m pleased that it turned out that way.

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