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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This rating is computed automatically from heterogeneous sources. It gets things wrong, sometimes badly. If you know this work, your answer is worth more than our computation: it tells us which ratings to review.
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 brief Arioso in A major unfolds an intimate, lyrical mood, with a singing melodic line supported by simple harmonic figures that call for cantabile focus rather than showmanship. The main technical challenges lie in Phrasing (2.5/5), which here requires precise fingering and subtle release to connect notes into a seamless line, and in Classical Style (3.1/5), which asks for clear attacks and a balanced touch that keeps expressive simplicity intact. Dating from the Classical period, the piece reflects C.P.E. Bach’s position between late Baroque expressivity and emerging classical clarity within his output. I do not give a reference recording because I am not certain of a single, widely recognized rendition for this exact piece.