Keyboard Sonata in C major, Wq.90, no. 3, H.524
Classical Sonata Piano solo ~8 min
In brief

This sonata feels galant and lively, with quick figures, abrupt rhythmic breaks and question-and-answer gestures that require crisp attack and control. Technically, rely on your Harmonic Analysis (3.6/5) to predict modulations and manage voice-leading in dense chordal passages, and on Phrasing (2.5/5) to shape the short motifs by subtle variations of articulation and touch. In context, the piece belongs to the Classical period and is typical of C. P. E. Bach’s keyboard sonatas, which sit between the empfindsamer/galant style and the emerging classical forms. I do not provide a recommended recording here because I prefer not to name performers unless I am fully certain of an authoritative reference for this exact work.

MusicCoach difficulty
57/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 45–69/100
Confidence : 32% · 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
80%
Among Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
80%
Era Classical
44%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Style
Classical style
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
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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