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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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 E major sonata feels bright and sprightly, driven by quick exchanges and chordal jumps that create a playful forward motion rather than introspection; clear articulation is required so the dancing motifs remain distinct. You will be specifically challenged by Reading bass clef (Lecture clé de fa, 3.1/5) — here that means accurately reading and balancing independent lower-line patterns and producing a precise touch in the bass register — and by Baroque ornaments (Ornements baroque, 3.1/5), which demand crisp, rhythmically placed embellishments (short trills and mordents) to keep the style light and idiomatic. As a Baroque piece, this sonata belongs to Scarlatti’s large output of short keyboard sonatas that probe virtuosity and color within compact forms. (I do not list any reference recordings to avoid proposing uncertain attributions.)