Swipesy Cakewalk - 2 Guitars

This is one of perhaps the less well-known rags to come from the pen of Scott Joplin (and also Arthur Marshall).

There's more than one story about where the title came from, and there's some debate about which of the composers wrote which section of the finished music. However, it makes a fantastic duet for two intermediate guitarists - taking it in turns to play melody and accompaniment as the roles swap seamlessly back and forth in a particularly jaunty ragtime beat.

The original, published in 1900, is sparsely marked - it has three dynamic indications (it's loud apart from the section in a different key), and a tempo marking which just reads "Slow".

I've changed the key from the piano-friendly Bb and Eb to the guitar-friendly D and G, and both guitars are tuned to 6=D to give a rich sound that makes use of the whole neck of the guitar.

Click see/hear/buy (on the right)Tap see/hear/buy below for sample score & audio