MusicCoach difficulty
47/100
Intermediate
Level of the complete work
We have no level specific to this movement. The figure above is that of the complete work: within a cycle, movements often differ widely in demand.
Estimated skills
Tone
Touch control
1
Technique
Legato
1
Technique
Two-voice polyphony
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.
Gentle step
The safest next step.
Gentle
Sinfonia in E minor, H.115, Wq.122, no. 3
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Sinfonia in E flat major, H.104, Wq.122, no. 2
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
3-Part Inventions, BWV.787-801
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Suite f minor BWV 823
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
moderate risk
fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Polyphonie à deux voix — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
French Suite no. 3 in B minor, BWV.814
Johann Sebastian Bach
new reflexes
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Suite d minor HWV 436
George Frideric Handel
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level
Same level
Chromatic Invention (1)
Béla Bartók
close skills
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Demi-pédale and Polyphonie à deux voix — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Same level
Invention No.8 in F major BWV 779
Johann Sebastian Bach
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Invention No.13 in A minor BWV 784
Johann Sebastian Bach
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
This Sarabande in rondo form unfolds as a slow, solemn dance, with recurring phrases like a refrain that call for contained elegance rather than overt drama. Technically, pay close attention to Touch control (2.5/5): you will need to fine-tune finger pressure and release to shape inner dynamics without upsetting the steady pulse, and to Two-voice polyphony (2.5/5), which requires isolating and balancing the principal line against the accompanying voice through distinct fingering and phrasing. The piece sits within Bach’s keyboard suite repertoire and reflects his concentrated polyphonic writing for keyboard rather than his ensemble works.