Fugue, for organ in C, T.271
Baroque Fugue Piano solo ~3 min
In brief

This C fugue feels clear and driven: the circular subject is stated regularly and propels a contrapuntal flow where entries answer one another with rhythmic steadiness rather than wide lyrical gestures. Technically, two aspects will be demanding for you: Harmonic analysis (4.4/5) requires you to understand and shape cadential and modulatory functions to steer phrasing, and Polyphony for three or more voices (4.4/5) forces very independent finger work to balance voices, allocate themes between hands, and secure clean attacks and re-entries. The piece belongs to the Baroque organ tradition and reflects Pachelbel’s emphasis on counterpoint and textural clarity rather than showy ornamentation.

MusicCoach difficulty
50/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 38–62/100
Confidence : 40% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 5 to 6

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.

Where this work sits
050100

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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Relative difficulty
59%
Among Johann Pachelbel
38%
Era Baroque
9%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
1
Reading
Bass clef reading
1
Ornaments
Baroque ornaments
1
Style
Baroque style
1
Technique
Hand independence
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Two-voice polyphony
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

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