Preludio in D major, Wq.70, no. 7
Classical Piano solo ~2 min
In brief

The Preludio in D major (Wq.70 no.7) has a bright, energetic character, built from short motifs that trade off between forward push and quick responses, calling for clarity and lightness rather than sustained romanticism. Technically, the main challenges lie in Phrasing (2.5/5) and Legato (2.5/5): you will need to shape small melodic figures through subtle wrist inflections and quick finger releases to articulate phrases, while keeping smooth connections when the line continues. The piece belongs to the Classical period and is part of C. P. E. Bach's keyboard repertoire, reflecting his position between the galant style and more expressive keyboard writing.

MusicCoach difficulty
42/100
Elementary
Likely range : 30–54/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 4 to 5

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
30%
Among Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
30%
Era Classical
Genre
Estimated skills
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.

See the whole progression