Mikrokosmos: 153 Progressive Piano Pieces in 6 volumes, BB105, Sz.107
Modern Piece Piano solo ~110 min
In brief

This piece from Bartók’s Mikrokosmos feels exploratory and intimate, built on repeated motifs and light harmonic colors rather than broad melodic statements. You will specifically face Polyrhythmie 2 contre 3 (3.1/5), which requires sustaining two equal pulses in one hand against three in the other—demanding internal subdivision and independent control of fingers and wrist; the Style impressionniste (3.1/5) appears through subtle dynamic shading and careful use of the pedal to create blurred colors without obscuring texture. As a 20th‑century modern work, Mikrokosmos is a core pedagogical cycle in Bartók’s output, arranged as progressive studies that develop harmonic and rhythmic language for students.

MusicCoach difficulty
25/100
Elementary
Likely range : 13–37/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 2 to 3

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
27%
Among Béla Bartók
2%
Era Modern
6%
Genre
Estimated skills
Rhythm
Polyrhythm 2 against 3
1
Style
Modern and contemporary style
1
Sight-reading
Sight-reading
1
Technique
General technique
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