Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.
Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.
Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.
The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.
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Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.
The safest next step.
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
A useful leap with guided practice.
These four waltzes have a danceable character framed by lyrical grace: they alternate chamber-like measures with singing passages and rhythmic highlights, calling for a supple pulse rather than emphatic force. The Polyrhythm 2 against 3 (3.1/5) will require the student to stabilise two-beat groups against three-beat groupings while maintaining an internal steady pulse (gesture: let one hand run a binary ostinato while the other shapes the ternary phrase), and the Legato (2.5/5) demands connecting the lines through controlled finger release so melodies sing without breaks. Placed in Korngold's modern period, these short piano pieces reflect his interest in dance forms and add to his catalogue of concise salon and character pieces.