Music in Contrary Motion
Piano solo 9 min
In brief

This piano piece conveys an atmosphere of continuous motion and micro‑rhythmic variation, where repeating motifs slide between the hands and create a controlled instability rather than a singable tune. Technically, you will need to address Technique générale (2.5/5) to achieve an even touch across the repetitive figures — precise fingering and minimal position shifts to avoid bumps — and Rythme général (2.5/5) to sustain a steady pulse while coping with small internal syncopations, which calls for wrist support and metronome work; Phrasing (2.5/5) will also require introducing subtle shadings within repeated patterns so the gradual changes read clearly. The piece belongs to Philip Glass’s solo piano repertoire and reflects the repetitive, gradually evolving procedures found in much of his keyboard writing.

MusicCoach difficulty
55/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 43–67/100
Confidence : 35% · 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
82%
Among Philip Glass
63%
Era
Genre
Estimated skills
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Rhythm
General rhythm
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.

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