Allegretto with 6 Variations in C major, H.65, Wq.118, no. 5
Classical Variations Piano solo ~5 min
In brief

The Allegretto with six variations in C major has a playful, galant character, shifting between a clear tuneful theme and variations that emphasize vocal clarity and rhythmic-dynamic contrast rather than overt display. The main technical challenges for the student will involve "Analyse harmonique (3.8/5)", which here requires following modulations and chordal inversions to keep the bass line and voice leading coherent, and "Phrasing (2.5/5)", which calls for precise legato gestures and subtle dynamic shaping to differentiate theme and variations. The piece belongs to the Classical period and sits among C. P. E. Bach's small-scale didactic and entertainin g works that explore variation technique on a simple tune. I do not list reference recordings because I am not fully certain of a single widely recognized performance for this exact piece.

MusicCoach difficulty
60/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 48–72/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6 to 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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Relative difficulty
89%
Among Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
87%
Era Classical
52%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Style
Classical style
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
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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