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 Polonoise in C minor has the character of a measured, slightly accented dance, with clear beats that require maintaining a steady pulse while preserving phrase shape; there are also contrasting moments of forward drive that must remain controlled. Technically, the skill « Style classique (3.1/5) » here means focusing on ternary articulation and clean stress placement to convey the polonaise gait without anachronism, and the skill « Phrasing (2.5/5) » requires shaping melodic arcs by slight lengthening and easing of tension rather than showy gestures — concrete wrist and touch control to bring out the lines. It belongs to the Classical period and is one of C.P.E. Bach's keyboard pieces that treat dance forms with a more immediate expressivity than his father's. I do not list a reference interpretation because I am not sufficiently certain of a specific, widely recognized recording for this work.