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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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 Scherzo by Bartók projects a nervous, percussive energy, shifting between virtuosic flourishes and clipped motifs that require incisive articulation more than lyrical warmth. You will need to focus on the Passages rapides (2.5/5) — here the challenge is to keep clarity and evenness in fast figures by using economical wrist and grouped-finger motion rather than large arm gestures — and the Polyrhythmie 2 contre 3 (2.5/5), which demands independent rhythmic control of the hands and precise accent placement so the duple and triple subdivisions coexist. The piece belongs to Bartók's piano repertoire where scherzos often take on a dramatic, driving character consistent with his rhythmic, percussive language. I do not suggest a reference recording because I cannot be certain of a single widely recognized interpretation for this specific work.