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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This rating is computed automatically from heterogeneous sources. It gets things wrong, sometimes badly. If you know this work, your answer is worth more than our computation: it tells us which ratings to review.
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.
This Petite musique de clown triste projects a contained, bittersweet irony, like a little circus tune left hanging — alternating playful motifs and pauses that imply a subdued sadness. Technically, you will need to focus especially on Tempo rubato (3.1/5), which requires flexibility in taking small expressive delays and advances without losing the melodic line, and on the Pédale de sustain (3.1/5), which here calls for precise control to sustain resonance while keeping inner voices clear. Listed by the user as Romantic, it belongs to the composer's solo piano output and occupies the space of an intimate salon piece rather than a large-scale work. I do not provide a reference interpretation because I am not 100% certain of a specific widely recognized recording for this piece.