Sonata in G major, K.13, L.486
Baroque Sonata Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

This G major sonata has a bright, sprightly character with brisk, skipping figures and hand leaps that give it a clear, dance-like energy rather than a reflective mood. You will need to focus on Analysis harmonique (3.6/5) to anticipate quick chordal progressions and redistribute voices so the principal line remains clear, and on Baroque ornaments (3.1/5) which require precise fingering and very short inflections (mordents and small appoggiaturas) woven into the rhythmic flow without weighing it down. The piece belongs to the Baroque period and is part of Scarlatti's large body of keyboard sonatas, often aimed at exploring virtuosic effects and idiomatic keyboard figurations. I do not give a reference recording here because I am not 100% certain of a single widely recognized interpretation for this particular sonata.

MusicCoach difficulty
64/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 44–84/100
Confidence : 57% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 7

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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Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
7
74/100 normalised
MusicCoach consensus
uncertain
Relative difficulty
75%
Among Domenico Scarlatti
74%
Era Baroque
62%
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
Legato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
What to play next?

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