Sonata in B flat major, K.440, L.97
Baroque Sonata Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

This B-flat major sonata feels bright and pointed, with lively leaps and rhythmic-melodic accents that require crisp articulation and a clear dance-like drive. Technical note: Analysis harmonique (3.6/5) helps you foresee key shifts and position the hand and fingers to secure connections and resonance; Bass clef reading (Lecture clé de fa, 3.1/5) requires fixing the left-hand bass line so the accompaniment remains steady through fast figurations. Firmly baroque, the piece belongs to Scarlatti's large set of keyboard sonatas, typically in binary form and showcasing idiomatic keyboard inventiveness.

MusicCoach difficulty
46/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 34–58/100
Confidence : 35% · 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
19%
Among Domenico Scarlatti
27%
Era Baroque
16%
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
Technique
Hand independence
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Technique
Trills
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