Étude in E major Op.10 No.3
Étude Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

The piece unfolds a singing, wistful character, alternating broad lyrical phrases with moments where the melody clearly projects above the accompaniment. You will especially work on Nuances (4.8/5) — here you must shape very subtle dynamic gradations within long phrases without breaking the line — and Legato (4.8/5), which requires weight transfer and precise finger-to-finger connection with arm support to keep the line continuous and breathing. The work belongs to Chopin's Études Op.10 and occupies a place in his catalogue as an étude where poetic expressivity is used to develop refined pianistic technique. (No specific interpretation reference is given to avoid risking inaccurate attribution.)

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Sheet music

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MusicCoach difficulty
69/100
Advanced
Likely range : 63–75/100
Confidence : 72% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
On the syllabus: Grade 7 ABRSM

Official level, taken from the exam syllabus.

Other syllabi : Trinity_London Grade 7 · LCM Grade 7

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
Combined exam syllabi
Grade 7
66/100 normalised · 2 obs.
ABRSM (syllabus)
Grade 7
66/100 normalised
Relative difficulty
67%
Among Frédéric Chopin
85%
Era
47%
Genre
Estimated skills
Interpretation
Singing voice
1
Technique
Hand independence
1
Technique
Scales and arpeggios
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
2
Technique
Legato
2
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Technique
Fast passages
2
Ornaments
Romantic ornaments
1
Technique
General technique
2
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
What to play next?

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