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 C major sonata has a bright, sprightly character with quick conversational exchanges between the hands and lively rhythmic drive typical of Scarlatti’s style. Technically, you will need to apply Connaissance des formes (3.6/5) to honor the repeats and shape the two-part binary structure, and Analyse harmonique (3.6/5) to follow the shifting harmonic progressions and balance bass and inner voices; practically this means clear decisions in phrasing and finger balance to reveal harmonic motion. In context, the piece belongs to Scarlatti’s Baroque keyboard sonatas, illustrating his compact but inventive approach to keyboard writing.