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.
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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Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.
The safest next step.
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
A useful leap with guided practice.
This Ballade in variation form has a dark, dramatic character, shifting between lyrical episodes and forceful outbursts that require a continuous sense of narrative rather than mere decoration. You will need to work specifically on Phrasing (3.9/5) — here it means shaping melodic lines so each variation breathes and connects clearly — and Octaves (3.9/5), which call for arm control and forearm relaxation to produce powerful strokes without tightening the hand. From the Romantic period, the piece holds an important place among Grieg’s extended piano works, reflecting his use of Norwegian folk material within a concert idiom. I do not list a reference interpretation because I prefer not to risk naming a specific recording without full certainty.