Composer:	C. Blake	Suppliers:
Editor:	Geoff Grainger	Sextet	A/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B)
Publisher:	Ditty Box Enterprises	Publication:	DBE 362

Add to cart:

Purchasing information Notice for leaders/bass players
Length: approx. 2¾ mins.
The Gravel Rag is a is a bright and cheerful composition with a number of nice touches. Its form is ABACCB with a 6-bar introduction whereby the ABA and CCB are in the major keys of G and C respectively. The A-strain is characterised by pleasing bell-like effects and a chirpy dialogue between the treble and 1st tenor voices, the latter having most of the melody. This is continued in the 1st B-strain where honours are more-or-less even. The C-strain makes a smooth contrast with a brief walking phrase and is repeated an octave higher before being followed by the final triumphant B-strain. A most enjoyable piece!
The cover of the original sheet music shows a smiling tramp walking down a presumably gravel path. Why the word "Gravel" should be adorned with inverted commas is lost in the depths of ragtime history.
A tempo of 74 crotchets/min. is suggested.
The Gravel Rag was published by Jerome H. Remick & Co., New York & Detroit, USA.