Sonata in B flat major, K.331, L.18
Baroque Sonata Piano solo ~5 min
In brief

This sonata unfolds with rhythmic clarity and a light, dance-like character that requires precise articulation and a sense of breath to highlight contrasting motifs rather than continuous romantic expressiveness. Technically, the Analysis harmonique (3.6/5) means you must identify and follow the modulating progressions to anticipate hand shifts and balance the voices, and the Style baroque (3.1/5) calls for clean fingering and articulation, measured ornamentation and a flexible détaché to respect the period aesthetic. The piece is part of the composer's output of keyboard sonatas and sits within the baroque repertoire for keyboard, where concise forms and textural contrasts are common. I do not provide a recommended recording here to avoid asserting a specific reference without full certainty.

MusicCoach difficulty
45/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 33–57/100
Confidence : 38% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 5

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
15%
Among Domenico Scarlatti
22%
Era Baroque
13%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Reading
Bass clef reading
1
Ornaments
Baroque ornaments
1
Style
Baroque style
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Technique
Staccato
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
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.

See the whole progression