Nocturne no. 5 in B flat major, op. 37
Romantic Nocturne Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

This Nocturne projects an intimate, lyrical mood: the singing melody floats above a flowing arpeggiated accompaniment with moments of suspended harmony and a very narrow dynamic palette that requires sensitive balance. You will face specific technical challenges in Legato (4.4/5) — requiring continuous finger connection and careful arm-weight control so the line truly sings without gaps — and in Sustain Pedal (4.4/5), which calls for very refined pedaling, often half-pedaling, to connect arpeggios without blurring the sonorities. A Romantic-period piece by Fauré, it belongs to his set of piano nocturnes and exemplifies his intimate, refined keyboard writing. I do not provide a reference interpretation here to avoid suggesting a specific recording without full certainty.

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Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
56/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 44–68/100
Confidence : 38% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6

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
28%
Among Gabriel Fauré
49%
Era Romantic
33%
Genre
Estimated skills
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Interpretation
Singing voice
1
Ornaments
Romantic ornaments
1
Technique
Legato
2
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Interpretation
Dynamics
2
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
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