Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime

Scott Joplin was a fascinating figure in the world of music, though there are tantalising gaps in our understanding of his life. Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime takes a different approach and explains the wider context of music and the arts against a backdrop of American culture and politics, and sheds new light on Joplin's achievements and motivations. More...

The Wexford Carol and Other Carols

Already people are counting down to Christmas. If you are looking for Christmas sheet music, then mfiles has a wide range of Christmas Carols arranged for a wide range of instruments. The "play" links below will take you to the piano version of the carols, and from there you will see the different versions for other instruments:

• The Wexford Carol Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Cradled in a Manger Meanly Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Joy to the World Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Silent Night Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Away in a Manger Play, Print, MIDI, or MP3
• The First Nowell Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Deck the Halls Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• A Coventry Carol Play, Print, Midi or MP3
• The Holly and the Ivy Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Once in Royal David's City Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• What Child is This? (Greensleeves) Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Oh Little Town of Bethlehem Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Good Christian Men Rejoice Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• God rest you Merry Gentlemen Play, Print, MIDI or MP3

If your instrument is the guitar, then we have a number of very special arrangements of Christmas Carols by guitarist and regular contributor Glenn Jarrett:

• The Wexford Carol (guitar) - Traditional (Print, MIDI or MP3)
• Once in Royal David's City (guitar) - Henry John Gauntlett (Print, MIDI or MP3)
• I Saw Three Ships (guitar) - Traditional (Print, MIDI or MP3)
• Cradled in a Manger Meanly (guitar) - S J P Duncan (Print, MIDI or MP3)
• Silent Night (guitar) - Franz Gruber (Print, MIDI or MP3)
• A Coventry Carol (guitar) - Traditional (Print, MIDI or MP3)
• The Huron Carol (guitar) - Traditional (Print, MIDI or MP3)
• Gabriel's Message (guitar) - Traditional (Print, MIDI or MP3)

Scott Joplin: Bethena - A Concert Waltz

We add a new ragtime piece to our catalogue of Scott Joplin's piano rags. "Bethena" is a ragtime waltz and so it is quite unusual, since a waltz has 3 beats in a bar whereas most ragtime pieces have 2 or 4 beats in a bar. This work is also a neat tie-in with last week's review of the soundtrack to "Benjamin Button" since it is the final track on the second album. We provide the piece in the following formats:

• Bethena: A Concert Waltz by Scott Joplin - scorch sheet music and video
• Bethena: A Concert Waltz by Scott Joplin - PDF sheet music to download
• Bethena: A Concert Waltz by Scott Joplin - MIDI file
• Bethena: A Concert Waltz by Scott Joplin - MP3 file

Classical Music
Classical music can help you concentrate. Play some Baroque while you are studying!

Bach Toccata
Bach wrote more than one Toccata, some better known than others.

Electronic Music

Whichever way you look at it, the creation and processing of music by electronic methods is a huge industry which grew from small seeds sown more than 100 years ago. Many engineers, musicians and composers have been caught up in the Electronic Music revolution which now permeates many aspects of different media and music genres. With his range of instruments from the Moog Modular to the MiniMoog, Robert Moog (who died in 2005) was one of the key players in that fascinating and complex history. In this article we pay tribute to Robert Moog and those other pioneers who have helped to shape electronic music into what it is today. We have also included mp3 downloads of some of our own electronic classical music. More...

Military Bugle Calls

These are traditional pieces which have been used by the armed forces for centuries as a means of communication. The bugle can be heard over long distances, and is an effective way to communicate simple information and orders to a large number of people. The calls are frequently used to signal events requiring action, a familiar one being the "charge" of the US Cavalry as shown and heard in many Western movies. Perhaps the best-know of all bugle calls is the "Last Post". This marks the end of the day, and is also used as a mark of respect for the dead at funerals and commemorative ceremonies. To mark the start of the day, different forces from different parts of the world use different tunes. The "Rouse" is a short wake-up call, and the "Reveille" is a longer call used under similar circumstances.

• The Last Post Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Rouse Play, Print, MIDI or MP3
• Reveille Play, Print, MIDI or MP3

Music to welcome the New Year

Help us celebrate the New Year with some traditional music associated with the mfiles home of Scotland. Each version is available in different formats and can be played by a variety of instrumental combinations.

• Auld Lang Syne
• Amazing Grace for Guitar - an arrangement by Glenn Jarrett
• Amazing Grace for Piano
• Amazing Grace for Flute and Piano

Compare Prices of MP3 downloads

mfiles launches a Price Comparison service. Search for music with a single click, and instantly compare prices. Here's some suggestions to get you started:

• Christmas Hits - 4 albums
• Search: Christmas Carols
• Susan Boyle - I Dreamed a Dream
• Shirley Bassey The Performance
• Chart: Top 50 UK tracks
• Chart: Top 50 UK albums

How Music Works

Giles Swayne (composer-in-residence, Clare College, Cambridge) is to present a series of sessions to tell us "How Music Works". These will take place in London, with the first event on November 9th. Each session consists of a 60-minute talk with musical illustrations, followed by an uplifting drink and 45 minutes of open discussion. This PDF contains More Information.

Popular Wedding Music :

Although Weddings take place all year round, the summer months are a popular time in the hope of sunshine and flowers and a chance to spend time outdoors. If you are planning or arranging a wedding remember to consider appropriate music for the occasion. We propose a few traditional pieces for the event in our Wedding Music page, including the following classical favourites:

• Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn
• Bridal Chorus by Richard Wagner
• Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel

Church Music and Hymns

Our recent theme is the influence that the Church has had on the development of music. To illustrate this we highlight the following:

• Article - The Church and Music summarising how the church has shaped music development for centuries.
• Classical/Religious Composers Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
• Hymns by Tallis: Tallis' Canon and Third Mode Melody.
• Onward Christian Soldiers composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan.
• Some hymns which we associate with early settlers in the American West: Rock of Ages, Shall we Gather at the River, Amazing Grace and Bringing in the Sheaves.

Solace by Scott Joplin, now with video :

We've started including videos along with certain pieces of sheet music available on mfiles. First up in the Scott Joplin Ragtime collection is one of our favourite rags Solace:

• Solace - print sheet music
• Elite Syncopations - print sheet music
• The Easy Winners - print sheet music
• Swipesy (with Arthur Marshall) - print sheet music
• The Chrysanthemum - print sheet music
• The Entertainer - print sheet music
• Maple Leaf Rag - print sheet music

What is Music?

Music is weird stuff. It is just sounds strung together, but it is everywhere - in our homes, cars, shops and restaurants. People build careers in music, popular songs sell in their millions, concerts are attended by thousands, music is played at all sorts of ceremonies, there are radio stations dedicated to playing music, television uses music during soaps, quiz shows and adverts, and films use music to heighten dramas. It is everywhere because we like music, we crave it, it is a powerful phenomenon and it affects our moods. But what is music and why does it affect us so? We try to answer this question in our article What is Music?.

Powaqqatsi - Philip Glass

The striking image on the cover of the Powaqqatsi album shows a boy walking down the side of a dirt road with a huge truck advancing from behind bringing with it a storm of dust which is about to engulf him. This brief moment seems to sum up the film, which observes a range of third world countries moving rapidly from traditional practices of farming, fishing and crafts towards huge sprawling cities, traffic jams and junk food. The music by Philip Glass borrows a number of ideas from "world music" traditions, and weaves these ideas in his own inimitable style into a striking tapestry full of rhythms, soundscapes and themes which are as diverse as the cultures they accompany, yet united in their depiction of a world in transition leaving the observer to ask where is it heading. More...