Sonata in G minor, K.102, L.89
Baroque Sonata Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

This G minor sonata projects a sharp, interrupted energy, alternating brisk figures and detached gestures that call for rhythmic clarity and contained expressiveness rather than long singing lines. You will specifically need to work on Ornaments (3.1/5), which here means very precise attacks and finger control to execute small embellishments and appoggiaturas without muddying the line, and Knowledge of form (3.6/5), requiring you to map the binary structure and repeats so you can shape dynamics and articulation appropriately for each section. The piece belongs to Scarlatti’s Baroque keyboard output and exemplifies his blend of rhythmic drive with formal clarity.

MusicCoach difficulty
54/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 42–66/100
Confidence : 40% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6

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
44%
Among Domenico Scarlatti
47%
Era Baroque
35%
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
Tone
Touch control
1
Technique
Hand independence
1
Technique
Fast passages
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.

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