Mazurka in A minor, B.140, "Émile Gaillard"
Romantic Mazurka Piano solo ~2 min
In brief

This mazurka has a character that is both dance-like and wistful, alternating bouncy figures with quieter, more withdrawn moments that convey a restrained melancholy rather than showiness. You will need to focus especially on Tempo rubato (4.3/5) — here that means managing small expressive fluctuations without losing the underlying pulse, using controlled wrist breath and precise finger placement so each rubato feels natural — and Pointed rhythms (Rythmes pointés, 4.3/5), which require the right hand to articulate and sustain notes accurately to preserve the mazurka's characteristic thrust. As a Romantic piece, it belongs among Chopin's mazurkas that adapt Polish folk elements into highly personal, intimate miniatures.

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Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
61/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 49–73/100
Confidence : 40% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6 to 7

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
46%
Among Frédéric Chopin
58%
Era Romantic
71%
Genre
Estimated skills
Rhythm
Dotted rhythms
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Style
Character and style
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
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.

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