The sheet music for "Dizzy Fingers" by Zez Confrey, one of the most popular of the novelty piano composers.

Novelty Piano is a genre of piano music that was popular during the 1920's. Image File history File links Dizzy_Fingers_Sheet_Music_Cover_1. ... Image File history File links Dizzy_Fingers_Sheet_Music_Cover_1. ...

A successor to ragtime and an outgrowth of the piano roll music of the teens, novelty piano can be considered a pianistic cousin of jazz, which appeared around the same time. Its originators were mostly piano roll artists from the Chicago area, where two of the largest piano roll companies, QRS and Imperial, had their headquarters. It is distinct from stride piano, which was developed in New York at about the same time. Second edition cover of Maple Leaf Rag, perhaps the most famous rag of all Ragtime is an American musical genre enjoying its peak popularity between 1899 and 1918. ... A piano roll is the medium used to operate the player piano or pianola, band/fairground organs, calliopes and hand-cranked organs and orchestrions and pipe organs as well. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... Stride is a type of piano playing, used primarily in jazz. ...

The first precusors to novelty piano works were published in the years leading up to 1920, including Felix Arndt's 1915 "Nola" as well as George Cobb's 1918 "Russian Rag". Felix Arndt (May 20, 1889-October 16, 1918) was a United States pianist and composer of popular music. ... George Linus Cobb (August 31, 1886 - December 25, 1942). ...

Novelty piano came to the attention of the public in 1921 with the appearance of Zez Confrey's "Kitten on the Keys". The popularity of this piece quickly led to other Confrey works including "Dizzy Fingers" and "Greenwich Witch", and inspired other artists to issue their own novelty pieces. The style remained popular through the end of the decade, at which time big bands were on the rise, player pianos were in decline, and the popularity of jazz continued unabated. Novelty piano slowly succumbed to, or was absorbed into, the new orchestral styles as the piano moved off center stage and took a support role. The sheet music for Dizzy Fingers. Edward Elzear Zez Confrey (April 3, 1895-November 22, 1971) was an American composer and performer of piano music. ...

Though novelty piano has structural and stylistic similarities to the earlier ragtime form, there are also distinct differences. Ragtime was generally sold in the form of sheet music, so it was important to keep it simple enough to be played by the competent amateur. By 1920, though, two new technologies had appeared which allowed the general public to hear music as performed by skilled musicians: the "hand-played" piano roll and the phonograph record. Novelty piano was developed as a vehicle to showcase the talents of these professionals, and was thus more often sold in the form of recordings and piano rolls than as sheet music. It was a new turbo-charged piano form, shorn of hackneyed Victorian-era stylings, infused with chromatic piano roll flourishes, and influenced by the "modernistic" sounds of the art-deco twenties.

Prominent artists in the novelty piano genre include Zez Confrey, Charley Straight, Roy Bargy, Victor Arden, Pete Wendling, Max Kortlander, and Billy Mayerl. The sheet music for Dizzy Fingers. Edward Elzear Zez Confrey (April 3, 1895-November 22, 1971) was an American composer and performer of piano music. ... The label of Charley Straights recording of Forgetful Blues for Paramount, made in 1923. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Pete Wendling (June 6, 1888 - April 7, 1974), a American composer and pianist, was born in New York City to German immigrants. ... Billy Mayerl (May 31, 1902_ March 25, 1959), composer. ...

External links

• • "Perfessor" Bill Edward's collection of novelty piano songs